On Monday, December 21, the Board of Directors of Connecticut Humanities (CTH), the state’s affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities and counterpart to the state’s Office of the Arts, voted to approve grants to fifty nonprofits totaling $1.5M.

CTH’s COVID Relief Fund for Museums helps larger non-profit museums and other 501c3 non-profit humanities organizations with full-time staff and annual operating budgets of at least $450,000 recover from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Grants range from $22,727.25 to $45,456.00.

Dr. Jason Mancini, executive director at Connecticut Humanities, stated, “Like performing arts venues, museums and other public humanities organizations are dependent on various revenue streams that simply evaporated because of the pandemic. These are vital and vibrant places in our communities that also need a bridge to the future. As the principal advocate for and funder of humanities nonprofits in our state, CTH is uniquely positioned to accept and award this funding and we are grateful to Governor Lamont, OPM Secretary McCaw, and DECD Commissioner Lehman for their support.”

Funding for CTH’s COVID Relief Fund for Museums was made possible by the Connecticut State Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD)/Connecticut Office of the Arts (COA) through an allocation to the State of Connecticut from the CARES Act.

“Connecticut’s museums are anchors in our communities. They give residents of all ages opportunities to engage with local history and culture and spaces for dialogue and connection,” Governor Ned Lamont said. “In addition, museums are part of the tourism and culture sector responsible for thousands of jobs. It is vital that we sustain Connecticut’s museums through this pandemic.”

The total estimated financial losses due to the coronavirus pandemic for these fifty organizations through December 2020 is more than $25.4M. In addition, all told they have lost over three hundred full- and part-time jobs to date. These grants are to be used to reimburse organizations for eligible operating expenses incurred between March and December 2020, enabling the state’s museums to retain staff and enter 2021 in a stronger financial position.

For more information and a full list of the grant awards, visit cthumanities.org/grants/covid-relief-grants-for-museums/