As part of the 1976 amendments to the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act the Congress authorized the Endowment to expand its assistance to the humanities through a broad new program, Challenge Grants, which is intended to help humanistic institutions improve their financial stability by stimulating new or increased support from the public. In Challenge Grants differ from ordinary Endowment grants in a significant way: because the amount of available funding has been small in relation to the demand, Endowment aid is normally limited to specific projects which have a defined scope, duration, and result and which relate to priority areas recommended by the National Council on the Humanities as meriting special attention by NEH. enacting the Challenge Grants provision, however, the Congress recognized the need for basic operating support to those institutions which--as they develop, organize, preserve, and disseminate humanistic knowledge and provide the human and material resources required for high quality humanities programs--undergird the Nation's educational and cultural strength. Challenge Grants therefore complement existing NEH programs by offering institutions the assistance they need to carry out their basic functions and by stimulating non-Federal sources to share in their support. The new type of grants authorized by the Congress are termed Challenge Grants as they --challenge an institution to examine carefully both its traditional sources of support and untapped potential sources, its present audiences and others which it might usefully serve, and its long-range programming and financial needs; --challenge members of the public to demonstrate the value they place on their local humanities institutions and to express their concern about the continuing functioning of those agencies; --challenge state and local government, business firms, labor organizations, and civic groups to recognize the role played by humanities institutions in the educational or cultural life of their state and community and to help support that role. Objectives of NEH Challenge Grant Program According to the legislative authorization, the broad purposes to be pursued by the Endowment through Challenge Grants are: --enabling cultural organizations and institutions to increase the levels of continuing support and to increase the range of contributors to the program of such organizations or institutions; --providing administrative and management improvements for cultural organizations and institutions, particularly in the field of long-range financial planning; --enabling cultural organizations and institutions to increase audience participation in, and appreciation of, programs sponsored by such organizations and institutions; --stimulating greater cooperation among cultural organizations and institutions, especially when it is designed to serve better the communities in which such organizations or institutions are located; --fostering greater citizen involvement in planning and cultural development of a community; and --encouraging a continuing observance of the Bicentennial period through support of humanities projects which bring the public and private sectors together to assess "where our society and Government stand in relation to the founding principles of the Republic" and to find "new processes for solving problems facing our Nation in its third century." What May Challenge Grants Be Used For? Unlike regular Endowment grants, which may support only projects in defined NEH program areas, Challenge Grants may be used for a variety of broad purposes which the recipient institution judges to be most critical to its long-term functioning and financial -health. Possible uses include: --general operating expenses (including staff salaries, rent, utilities, mortgage, general administration) --defraying of operating deficits --renovation of facilities --acquisition of equipment and materials --maintenance, preservation, and conservation of collections --improved planning, evaluation, and automated data systems --design and conducting of development and fund-raising efforts --new or expanded programming and services --increased community-oriented information and "out-reach" programs --establishment of inter-institutional programs for resourcesharing and joint administrative improvements. Note: Federal regulations prevent the use of NEH funds for endowment, cash reserve, or construction of new facilities; however, donations to an institution for such purpose may be used by it to meet the matching requirements of a Challenge Grant (see below), and the NEH portion of the Challenge Grant may then be used for current or other operating expenses. Bicentennial Projects A special provision of the Challenge Grant authorization encourages public and private groups to explore the development of American ideals and institutions, to examine the humanistic dimensions-historical, philosophical, ethical--of contemporary problems, to infuse the humanities and humanistic concerns into the approaches developed for resolving such problems, and, thereby, to lay the foundation for a thoughtful observance of the two-hundredth anniversary of the adoption of the U.S. Constitution in 1989. In preparing an application for a Bicentennial Challenge Grant institutions should note that a preliminary proposal, or at least prior consultation with NEH staff, is necessary in order to assure that the activity envisioned is eligible for Endowment support. Inquiries should be addressed to NEH Bicentennial Challenge Grants National Endowment for the Humanities |