NEH webinar and upcoming funding opportunities

March 16, 2026

The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) recently hosted a webinar that discussed their purpose, some funding priorities and grant writing tips. For more information, please see the webinar recording and audio transcript.

For 2026, unless specified otherwise in the NOFO/program, the NEH will prioritize projects that research American history and the culture and Western civilization. Competitive applications will focus on topics in American history, culture, and government in any period from the Colonial Era to the present, or topics in Western civilization from antiquity to the present.

Highlighted upcoming funding opportunities are listed below:

Individual Programs (due 04/22/2026)
  1. Fellowships: This program aims to support research and writing towards a book or articles, for scholars or general readers
    1. Duration: 6 to 12 months (full-time and continuous)
    2. Stipend: $5,000 per month. Maximum award for 12 months: $60,000
  2. Public Scholars: This program aims to support research and writing leading to well-researched nonfiction books in the humanities written for the broad public. Applicants must have published a previous book.
    1. Duration: 6 to 12 months (full-time equivalent)
    2. Can be full-time or part-time or some combination, but must be continuous
    3. Stipend: $5,000 per month. Maximum award for 12 months: $60,000

Within the individual programs, the activities that are fundable include humanities research, travel to archives, writing, and the production of print and digital products (i.e. monographs, peer-reviewed articles, books, etc.). Please see the program specific NOFO and program announcements for as full list of funding restrictions.

Organization Programs:
  1. Collections Stewardship (due 05/11/2026): This program aims to fund projects preserve and make available physical and digital collections important for research, teaching, and public engagement in the humanities.
    1. Duration: up to three years
    2. Maximum award amount: $350,000 for one organization, $500,000 for a consortium
    3. This program will have an additional application deadline on 12/15/2026 
  2. Landmarks for American History and Culture (due 6/25/2026, anticipated): This program aims to bring audiences of K-12 of college/university educators together for placed-based study of American history and culture.
    1. The project must include study at historic sites
    2. Maximum award amount: $190,000
    3. Duration: 15 months 3.
  3. Media Projects (due 06/25/2026, anticipated): This program aims to support the development and production of humanities-based media projects by media professionals
    1. Maximum award amount: Development - $75,000; Production - $700,000 (film) / $350,000 (radio and podcasts)
    2. Duration: Development – 6-12 months; Production – 1-3 years
    3. Humanities scholars and scholarship must be central
    4. Media Projects will not support any fictional film/audio projects, recordings of lectures or stage productions, or productions intended primarily for students in a formal learning environment.