Humanities for All is a grant program that supports locally-initiated public humanities projects. This program responds to the needs and interests of Californians, encourages greater public participation in humanities programming, particularly by new and/or underserved audiences. It aims to promote understanding and empathy among all our state’s peoples in order to cultivate a thriving democracy.
*Starting in May 2024, we’re making some updates to the Quick Grants program! Read more about them here.
Application Opens | Application Notification | Grant Period |
Starting May 1, 2024, Applications may be submitted at any time. |
You will receive a notification within 8-10 weeks. (This means applications should be submitted at least 8 weeks in advance of your program start date.) |
Twelve months from award date |
Quick Grants
Quick Grants (between $1,000 and $5,000) are awarded on a rolling basis to small-scale public humanities programs and projects which take place within one year from the award date. Projects should be grounded in the humanities, show potential to provide impactful humanities learning experiences for participants and audiences, and demonstrate capacity for successful implementation. Starting May 1, 2024, applications are accepted on an ongoing basis, subject to availability of funding.
Appropriate formats include virtual and in-person community dialogues, reading and film discussion groups, oral history workshops, non-fiction workshops, speaker series, and many more activities based in humanities disciplines. We accept applications from California-based nonprofit organizations with annual operating budgets of $500,000 or under. Note: A cash or in-kind match of the award is NOT required.
See a list of recently supported Quick Grants
Accepted on a rolling basis (starting May 1, 2024), subject to availability of funding.
For more information, contact Program Officer Lucena Lau Valle at lvalle@calhum.org.
- Online Application *live on May 1, 2024
- Quick Grant Guidelines *will be posted by May 1, 2024
- Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) *will be posted by May 1, 2024
- Sample Proposals (Download Prior Rounds) *will be posted by May 1, 2024
- Current grantees, please use the Grant Portal button at top of the page.
Join our next Humanities for All Quick Grants informational session!
Quick Grant collage image credits: Hi Desert Queer & Trans Oral History Project, Joshua Tree, courtesy of T. Hammidi; Speaker at Black Joy: Poetry With Young Black Men event in Oakland, courtesy of Chapter 510; An anti-Columbus protest at the San Ysidro-Tijuana border, October 10, 1992. Photo by UCSD student Gene Chavira, an editor of the campus Chicana/o newspaper Voz Fronteriza. Submitted by Adolfo Guzman for Memorias en Movimiento: The Forgotten Revolutionaries of the 1990s San Diego Chicana/o Student Movement; dancers from Invertigo Dance Company, courtesy of the SOL project, Culver City.