Infrastructure and Capacity Building Challenge Grants | 20180315 CHA

Opportunity Information: Apply for 20180315 CHA

The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Infrastructure and Capacity Building Challenge Grants program is designed to help humanities organizations build long-term strength rather than cover short-term operating gaps. The core purpose is to improve an institution's ability to sustain and grow its humanities work by funding infrastructure and capacity-building efforts that expand preservation, access, and institutional support for humanities resources and activities. In practice, the program encourages applicants to think strategically about what investments will leave their organization stronger years from now, whether that means better stewardship of collections, improved public access to materials, or a more durable financial foundation for humanities programming.

A key feature of this opportunity is its "challenge grant" structure, which requires the applicant to raise matching funds and demonstrate broad institutional and community commitment. The grant is meant to help organizations generate lasting support, including through spend-down funds that produce expendable earnings that can be used to support ongoing humanities activities over time. NEH emphasizes that the combined federal and nonfederal funds should enhance the humanities in a durable way and should not simply replace money the institution is already spending. Instead, proposals are expected to reflect careful planning that strengthens and enriches humanities work, with a clear explanation of how the investment will produce long-term benefits.

Eligible projects include a range of concrete capacity-building activities tied to humanities materials and infrastructure. This includes documenting cultural heritage materials that are lost or imperiled, preserving and conserving humanities collections, and sustaining digital scholarly infrastructure that supports research and access. The program also allows capital expenditures that directly support humanities work, such as purchasing equipment and software, or designing, purchasing, constructing, restoring, or renovating facilities needed for humanities activities and collections sharing. These kinds of investments are framed as beneficial not only to the applicant institution but also to the broader humanities ecosystem because they improve preservation, access, and the ability to share resources over the long term.

The opportunity is open to a broad set of applicants, including public and private institutions of higher education, nonprofits with 501(c)(3) status (other than higher education institutions), county and city or township governments, special district governments, and federally recognized Native American tribal governments. NEH also welcomes applications from museums, public libraries, research institutions, historical societies and historic sites, scholarly associations, and state humanities councils. Collaborative projects involving multiple organizations are allowed, but one organization must serve as the lead agent and be the official applicant of record, taking responsibility for managing the award and meeting program requirements.

In terms of funding details, this is a discretionary grant program in the humanities (CFDA 45.130) administered by NEH. The listed award ceiling is $750,000. Grantees are permitted to use up to 10 percent of the total project funds (counting both federal dollars and matching funds together) to cover fundraising costs directly connected to meeting the challenge requirement. Overall, the program is oriented toward projects that can credibly show durable outcomes, whether the costs are ongoing or one-time, as long as the applicant can demonstrate that the impact will strengthen humanities capacity well beyond the life of the grant.

• The National Endowment for the Humanities in the humanities sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Infrastructure and Capacity Building Challenge Grants" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 45.130.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2018-01-16.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2018-03-15. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $750,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education.

Apply for 20180315 CHA

[Watch] Creating a grant proposal using the step-by-step wizard inside the applicant portal: