Grants at CT Humanities

Connecticut Humanities grants have supported a variety of projects and organizations for more than four decades. Since 1995, the Connecticut General Assembly has provided funding to Connecticut Humanities to deliver “…grants and support services for institutions in the humanities, including but not limited to libraries, museums and historical and cultural societies and associations.”

CT Humanities offers a wide variety of grant lines to support strong humanities projects and the institutions that offer them. See the chart below to learn more about what grant line is the best fit for your organization’s needs. To view CT Humanities’ funding priorities, click here. For information on the grant application process, click here.

Which grant line is right for your project?

For mobile users, download a PDF of this chart here.

Grant Line Sample Types of Projects Award Size Project Duration Matching Requirements Application Deadlines Earliest Start Date for Project
Quick Grants
  • Exhibitions
  • Discussion-based public programs
  • Local history tours
  • Community reading projects
 $250-$4,999 9 months Minimum 1:1 match (can be any combination of external, grantee cash, or in-kind contributions) First Friday of August, October, December, February, April, June

*Note: This schedule may change in 2023-2024

 Month after deadline
Planning Grants
  • Research and planning for exhibitions
  • Planning for public programs
  • Planning for interpretive digital media projects
 $5,000-$25,000 18 months Minimum 1:1 match (can be any combination of external, grantee cash, or in-kind contributions) First Friday of November, April January 1 / July 1
Implementation Grants
  • Exhibitions
  • Public programs
  • Interpretive digital media projects
 $5,000-$35,000 24 months
  • Minimum 1:1 match
  • 25% of minimum match required must be from external funds for requests under $25,000
  • 50% of minimum match required must be from external funds for requests between $25,000-$35,000
 First Friday of November, April January 1 / July 1
Capacity Grants
  • Strategic planning
  • Audience assessments
  • Technology assessments and planning
  • Other types of consultant-led assessments and plans
 $1,500-$9,999 12 months Minimum 1:1 match (can be any combination of external, grantee cash, or in-kind contributions) First Friday of November, April January 1 / July 1
CT Cultural Fund Operating Support Grants
  • General operating support
 $5,000-$250,000 (subject to change in FY23) 12 months N/A First Friday of November End of December

What are Sponsorships?

Sponsorships Sample Types of Sponsored Projects Award Size Project Duration Matching Requirements Application Deadlines Earliest Start Date for Project
Sponsorships
  • Humanities events with large audiences
  • Humanities events run by emerging or diverse organizations
  • Access for humanities events, such as making conferences free or low cost to attend
 Up to $2,000 (requests for higher sponsorship amounts must be approved by CTH Staff before applying) 12 months N/A First Friday of January, March, May, July, September, November

*Note: This schedule may change in 2023-2024

 Two months after deadline

What are Partnerships?

Grant Line Sample Types of Projects Award Size Project Duration Matching Requirements Application Deadlines Earliest Start Date for Project
Partnership Grants
  • Projects with strategic statewide, regional, or national impact in the humanities for the public
 Up to $100,000 per year 12 months or 24 months No match requirement (though a 1:1 match is strongly recommended) October 7, 2022

(Must email CTH Grants staff by September 15, 2022)

 November 1, 2022

Ethical Standards

CTH staff, review panelists, and board members adhere to applicable guidelines on ethical and confidentiality standards. They abstain from commenting or voting on a request for funding if they have:

  • Any recent financial or governance relationship with the applicant organization or any person connected with the proposal.
  • Played or will play a meaningful role in the development or execution of the project.

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