Connecticut Humanities Suspends Re-Grant Program

Middletown, Conn. — Connecticut Humanities, the state’s nonprofit affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), has announced the suspension of its Connecticut Humanities Fund grant program, a direct result of a line-item veto of the organization’s $1.7 million state appropriation in June 2016. The state funding accounted for about two-thirds of Connecticut Humanities’ budget, leaving the organization with a dramatically smaller budget for FY 2016-17, which began July 1.

Since 1995, the Connecticut Humanities Fund, created by the state legislature, has supported programming and hundreds of organizations statewide by awarding more than $17 million in competitive grants. More than 500 nonprofit organizations and all of the state’s 169 municipalities, mostly libraries, have been eligible to apply for Connecticut Humanities grants.

“Suspension of this grant program is devastating to hundreds of museums, historical societies, community groups, and libraries that bring quality programming to the public,” said Douglas Fisher, executive director of Connecticut Humanities. “Without these grants, many organizations will be unable to plan and schedule exhibitions, community conversations, author talks, and other humanities-rich, local programs.”

Connecticut Humanities’ diminished resources also means elimination of its financial support for Connecticut History Day, which serves more than 5,000 students in grades 6 through 12, and for Connecticut Explored, the state’s a quarterly heritage magazine. The budget cut also means a large reduction in the support provided to the 260-member Connecticut League of History Organizations, which serves nonprofit historical societies and other heritage groups.

Long-standing Connecticut Humanities programs such as the Book Voyagers reading program for youth and the new Teach It resource website will also suffer. If other funding sources are not identified, three-fourths of the Book Voyagers programs planned over the next year are now off; and further development to the Teach It website, which supports the state Department of Education’s social studies framework, is suspended.

State funding cuts notwithstanding, Connecticut Humanities is moving forward to:

· expand communications on its websites and social media channels to promote remaining events and advocate for the humanities;

· enhance content on ConnecticutHistory.org;

· further develop the new ctcenterforthebook.org website;

· administer Connecticut’s Poetry Out Loud program, in conjunction with the Connecticut Office of the Arts;

· pilot a new Connecticut Conversations program; and

· continue its support for organizations taking part in StEPs-CT, a program that helps local museums and historical societies build professionalism and ensure their programs and collections are vibrant community resources.

“While Connecticut Humanities will continue its work thanks to the support of the NEH and other generous funders and individuals, state funding is vital to many long-standing grant programs and partnerships developed over the past two decades,” Fisher said. “This state investment has made Connecticut a national model for cultural and historical enrichment, adding immeasurably to its quality of life and making the state an attractive place for people and business.”

Organizations and individuals who would like to see grants and programs supported by Connecticut Humanities continue should contact their state lawmakers and the governor and make their views known, Fisher said. For more information on how to support the effort to restore the Connecticut Humanities Fund, visit http://www.cthumanities.org.