Spotlight on Humanities in Higher Education

The Spotlight on Humanities in Higher Education program supports small projects that help students from underserved populations gain access to and benefit from the humanities. Projects must enhance the teaching and study of the humanities at one or more colleges and universities that enroll fewer than 10,000 undergraduate students and that belong to at least one of the following categories: community colleges, minority-serving institutions, rural colleges and universities, or colleges and universities with more than 40% of students receiving Pell grants. These institutions, nonprofit organizations, and state, local, or Native American Tribal governments aiming to advance the humanities at these institutions are eligible to apply.

The outcome of a Spotlight project will be planning for or advancement of a project to develop a curriculum, initiative, community or faculty partnership, or teaching resource that improves student understanding of and access to the humanities. The program supports activities including but not limited to course or program development, expert consultations, speakers’ series, student research and experiential learning, creation of teaching resources, and community engagement.

You may request support at one of two levels: Exploration or Development. If you have not yet begun working on the project and would use a Spotlight award to get started, you should apply at the Exploration level. If you have taken steps (even small steps) to begin your project and would use a Spotlight award to make additional progress, you should apply at the Development level.

What’s New for 2024: 

Award Amount

The maximum Exploration award amount has been raised to $30,000.

Eligible Applicants

If your institution is a college or university, it must

• enroll fewer than 10,000 undergraduate students, and
• belong to at least one of the following categories:
  • community colleges,
  • minority-serving institutions,
  • rural colleges and universities, or
  • colleges and universities with more than 40% of students receiving Pell grants

If your institution is a nonprofit or a state, local, or tribal government, you must

• explain how you will partner with one or more eligible colleges or universities
• submit Attachment 2 (to list partner institutions and show how they meet eligibility criteria or, if not yet selected, to explain how you will select project partners and ensure that they meet eligibility criteria)

If Spotlight is not an appropriate program, you may wish to consider other NEH funding opportunities. You can find brief information about several other programs (including Humanities Initiatives, Humanities Connections, and Preservation Assistance Grants) under Related Funding Opportunities in section H of the NOFO and full information for all our funding opportunities through the Grants section of the NEH website. 

Webinar Recording: The informational webinar below provides an overview of the Spotlight program’s purpose, eligible applicants, application requirements, funding and budget details, and what to know about submitting your application.

Live Q&A Session: July 31, 2024, at 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Click here to participate, or call in (audio only): +1 202-606-8430, Meeting Code: 166 165 098# 

Optional Draft Review: Submit draft materials to @email by August 20, 2024, to receive feedback from program officers before the final deadline. You do not need to have a fully developed program idea or near complete application to submit materials for review and feedback.

If you have not already done so, you must create a Login.gov user account to register and log in to SAM and Grants.gov.

Ensure your SAM.gov and Grants.gov registrations and passwords are current. It may take several weeks to register with SAM.gov and Grants.gov. NEH will not grant deadline extensions for lack of registration.

Applicants to NEH for awards with expected issuance dates on or after October 1, 2024, should be aware of revisions to the Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards (2 CFR Part 200) effective from that date. All NEH awards issued on or after October 1, 2024, will be subject to the revised regulations. You may incorporate these changes into your applications now.

Additional information is available at https://www.neh.gov/grants/manage/2024-Revisions-to-2-CFR-200