An update on humanities funding in North America

December 1, 2025

A view of the stacks in the main library at Connecticut College. With a line of lights parrel to the stacks. — Image: © jcarter | iStock

Open Access Government updates readers on humanities funding in North America, highlighting a significant research grant aimed at combating anti-Semitism within American society

In the October 2025 edition of Open Access Government, we explored the activities of America’s leading public funder of the humanities, the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). We addressed concerns regarding potential staff reductions, significant cuts to grant programs, and the possibility of rescinding previously awarded grants.

We examined one of the NEH’s special initiatives, “A More Perfect Union,” which seeks to enhance civics education and foster a deeper understanding of U.S. history and culture through the humanities.

Additionally, we looked ahead to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 2026. The NEH’s Public Impact Projects Celebrating America’s 250th Anniversary program will offer grants of up to $200,000 in this vein.⁽¹⁾

A National Endowment for the Humanities update

On August 20, 2025, the NEH announced a major reorganization aimed at streamlining its grantmaking divisions and programs. This decision follows the agency’s workforce reduction by two-thirds in June 2025. NEH merged seven grantmaking offices and divisions into four new divisions to support projects focused on advancing humanities research, public programs, education, cultural preservation, and infrastructure.

NEH’s new divisions are:

Division of Federal/State Partnership.
Division of Collections & Infrastructure.
Division of Lifelong Learning.
Division of Research.

Since its inception in 1965, NEH has awarded over $6.5 billion through no less than 70,000 grants, enabling Americans to engage with programs that highlight literature, history, culture, and ideas. This public investment has resulted in films, books, museum exhibits, and the preservation of cultural resources. NEH grants have supported the publication of 12 U.S. presidents’ papers, made 23 million pages of historic newspapers accessible via the Chronicling America website, and supported enrichment programs for college and K-12 educators. ⁽²⁾

Combating anti-Semitism in American society

On September 15, 2025, the NEH provided a $10.4 million grant to Tikvah, an educational center and think-tank, for a significant three-year project aimed at combating the “recrudescence and normalization” of anti-Semitism in American society.
This initiative will feature a comprehensive series of educational programs, scholarship opportunities, plus public programs.

This grant notably represents the most significant award in the NEH’s 60-year history and will fund Tikvah’s “Jewish Civilization Project”. The project will explore Jewish culture, history, and identity within the broader view of Western history. Its goal is to counter anti-Semitism by promoting a deeper understanding of the religious, moral, and intellectual contributions of the Jewish people to Western civilization, particularly in the United States.

“While it is essential to combat the rise of anti-Semitism in the political and legal arenas, the humanities also have a vital role to play in this fight. And Tikvah is well positioned to bring a comprehensive approach, grounded in the best of humanities scholarship, to educating future leaders and the broader public on the ways in which the sinister and hate-filled attacks on Jewish people that we have been witnessing on American campuses and streets are, at a deeper level, also attacks on the very foundations that have made the United States the exceptional nation that it is,” said NEH Acting Chairman Michael McDonald.

Some highlights of this initiative include developing a Jewish civilization curriculum for middle and high school students by means of school partnerships and teacher training. It will also expand a fellowship program for high school students with intensive seminars and develop university courses in Jewish humanities alongside Western Civilization BA programs. The project includes public programs concerning anti-Semitism, scholarly books on Jewish resilience in American and Western history, and a fellowship “for early-career journalists who seek to write about anti-Semitism and advance knowledge of Jewish history and culture”.

These activities will explore foundational texts of Jewish civilization, ranging from the Hebrew Bible and Talmud to modern Jewish art, literature, and philosophy. It will examine topics such as the impact of Hebraic ideas on Western and American civilization, the meaning and history of Zionism, and the contemporary challenges facing the Jewish community.

“It is an honor to partner with NEH on this ambitious educational project. At this weighty moment in the history of the West, we believe that Jewish ideas are essential to strengthening the best of our shared American culture and answering the perverse ideology of anti-Semitism with the enduring majesty of Jewish civilization,” said Tikvah, CEO, Eric Cohen. ⁽³⁾

Humanities broadening the horizons of human knowledge

We extend our best wishes to the NEH as it continues its crucial mission of promoting research and education across a range of fields, including history, literature, philosophy, and other areas of the humanities. In August 2025, the NEH invited institutions affected by the floods in Central Texas in July 2025 to apply for expedited emergency grants aimed at preserving and protecting humanities collections at museums, libraries, universities, colleges, historical societies, plus other cultural organizations. ⁽⁴⁾

In June 2025, the NEH announced a new grant program designed to enhance and preserve public access to primary source materials related to the Founding Era of the United States and the history of American government. ⁽⁵⁾ Additionally, in August 2025, the NEH announced $34.79 million in grants for 97 humanities projects across America. ⁽⁶⁾

These examples vividly illustrate the considerable influence of NEH’s research funding in broadening the horizons of human knowledge. With financial support, researchers can delve deeper into a wide range of subjects, uncovering new insights and fostering a richer understanding of diverse topics.