10 JULY 17-23, 2025 westword.com WESTWORD | MUSIC | CAFE | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | NEWS | LETTERS | CONTENTS | Oh, the Humanities COLORADO ORGANIZATIONS FIGHT TO SURVIVE IN THE WAKE OF LOST NEH FUNDING UNDER THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION. BY KRISTEN FIORE Humanities encompass our traditions, our exchange of ideas, our shared histories and how those things are passed on to future gener- ations, says Maggie Coval, executive director of Colorado Humanities. “We fi rmly believe that humanities belong to everyone,” she adds, “and everyone should have the ability to participate in what the humanities bring to democratic society and the richness in life overall.” Unfortunately, participating in “demo- cratic society” itself is getting more diffi cult by the day. The National Endowment for the Hu- manities, which was established with the Na- tional Endowment for the Arts and passed by Congress in 1965, has been providing federal grants for humanities projects in Colorado for nearly sixty years and operating grants for Colorado Humanities since its founding in 1974, two years after Congress amended the statute to create state humanities councils. Instead of receiving promised funds this year, though, many NEA and NEH grant win- ners received a vague email announcing that their funding would be rescinded as the fed- eral agencies switch gears un- der the Trump administration. Unlike NEA grants, most NEH funding is paid out through multi-year grants, and the di- rective rescinded funds for projects in fi scal years 2021- 2025. As a result, large chunks of the more than $11 million that would have been awarded to Colorado Humanities and other state organizations, such as universities and museums, suddenly disappeared. In an April 24 announcement, the NEH noted that future funds would be “awarded to projects that do not promote extreme ideologies based upon race or gender, and that help to instill an understanding of the founding principles and ideals that make America an exceptional country.” The release added that NEH “has can- celled awards that are at variance with agency priorities, including but not limited to those on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and environmental justice.” NEH’s new focus, it noted, is on projects “on the na- tion’s semiquincentennial and U.S. history,” such as the “A More Perfect Union” initiative meant to promote “a deeper understanding of America’s history” and “knowledge of the nation’s core principles of government.” Though some Colorado organizations had received part of their promised NEH funding before the April announcement, many are now scrambling for new fi nancing and other ways to stay afl oat. “It’s devastating to our organization,” Coval says. “We’re in danger of closing. We’re facing the possibility of zero funding from NEH next year if we look at the president’s 2026 budget goals.” In the wake of the cutbacks, Westword checked in with Colorado Humanities and other organizations around the state on the status of their NEH funding and their plans for an uncertain future. Colorado Humanities Unlike Colorado Creative Industries, Colo- rado Humanities is not a state agency, but a nonprofit whose mission is to promote humanities education through community- based history, book and literacy programs. “Colorado Humanities has never received a Colorado state appropriation,” Coval notes. In recent years, the organization’s annual operat- ing grant from NEH has been around $1 mil- lion, which accounts for most of its $1.5 million annual budget. “Like other nonprofi ts, we seek foundation and other grants for programs and solicit funds from individuals through annual fundraising campaigns,” Coval explains. “In addition to cash, we receive about $700,000 in in-kind donations annually.” On the night of April 2, Coval received an email and an attached letter from act- ing NEH chair Michael McDonald saying that Colorado Humanities’ grant had been terminated. “It stated reasons that were a little confusing,” Coval says. “It stated the reason that our grant no longer effectuated the agency’s needs and priorities, and that NEH has reasonable cause to terminate the grant in light of NEH repurposing its fund- ing and allocations with a new direction to further the president’s agenda.” The letter referred to the president or- dering the elimination of all non-statutorily required activities and functions. “However, the humanities councils are in statute,” Coval notes. “So it’s not even in line with what the administration’s claiming to do.” Colorado Humanities had already re- ceived about 30 percent of the funds it was anticipating for the year. “We lost 70 percent of the NEH funds, and the lack of those funds limits our ability to raise other funds, because a lot of the funding was done on a matching basis,” Coval explains. As a result, Colorado Hu- manities programs like the Colorado Book Awards, State Poet Laureate, Smithsonian exhibits and Chautauqua living history festivals are at risk. Meanwhile, efforts like the Museum on Main Street tours, author talks, facilitator trainings and conversations, and Motheread/Fatheread family literacy programs have been paused altogether. The Colorado Book Awards, an annual event cel- ebrating the accomplishments of the state’s authors, editors, illustrators and photographers, has been turned into a fundraiser with a silent auction and sponsorships set for Saturday, July 26 at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House Studio Loft. The event webpage notes that this year’s event is “more than a celebration — it’s a call to ac- tion. Due to the loss of our federal funding, Colorado Humanities is seeking community support to keep our programming strong and preserve the Colorado Center for the Book.” The campaign is part of Colorado Hu- manities’ new business plan, which aims to diversify the organization’s funding. “Even though things are uncertain, we’re very opti- mistic,” Coval says. “I think if we can bridge this time period and start implementing our new plans, there will still be a Colorado Humanities, it just may have support from different sources.” The Federation of State Humanities Councils, with support from the Mellon Foundation, granted $200,000 to every state council, which came with a $50,000 match challenge to help each council leverage local donations. “The federation sought those funds on our behalf to help stabilize the councils as we go through this period of transition and to help us keep our staff and resources,” Coval says. Colorado residents can support Colorado Humanities with a direct donation, by lead- ing mini-campaigns, or by contacting their congressional representatives. “Demand funding for the NEH and state councils to be reinstated and for it to continue gener- ously into the future,” Coval says. “It’s still Congress that holds the purse strings for the humanities and everything else that’s federally funded. The more contact we can make with the members of Congress, the more likely we’ll have some positive action.” Center for Engaged Humanities The Center for Engaged Humanities at Colo- rado State University was going to receive a $500,000 capital challenge grant from the NEH to help build out the Joe Blake Center for Engaged Humanities. According to Greg Dickinson, director of the center, CSU received an email in April saying that the award had been terminated. The grant was to match money CSU raised for the building 3:1. “We have raised enough to request $200,000 of the $500,000,” Dick- inson says. “We are requesting the $200,000 and have not yet received any funds.” Without the CULTURE continued on page 12 KEEP UP ON DENVER ARTS AND CULTURE AT WESTWORD.COM/ARTS Denver Art Museum was to receive a $73,595 NEH grant for the planning of a 2027 exhibition. DENVER ART MUSEUM People at Poudre River Whitewater Park. PHOTO BY MICHAEL ROBERTS
