Applications for our 2025 Community Grant opportunities are now closed. Congratulations to our 2025 Community Grantees!
2025 Grant Opportunities
Community Culture &
Heritage GRANT
Supports public preservation of local culture, collective memories, and unfolding stories of DC residents
Amount: $10,000
Applications for this opportunity are now closed.
Visions – Projects + Events Grant
Supports nonprofit organizations to create public interpretations of humanities scholarship
Amount: $25,000
Applications for this opportunity are now closed.
DC Oral History Collaborative grants
Supports the collection, archiving, and presentation of oral histories. Three grant opportunities are offered through the DC Oral History Collaborative:
Continuing Oral History Projects: due May 1, 2025
Oral History Interviewing: Closed
Beyond the Archives: Closed
general operating support grant
Supports the general operations of humanities-focused nonprofits with budgets of under $2 million
Amount: $25,000
Applications open March 4, 2025
Due Date: May 1, 2025 at 5:59 pm
These grant opportunities are supported by the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities.
APPLICANT SUPPORT OPPORTUNITIES
GRANT INFO SESSION
An overview of all grant opportunities and general information about our application process and eligibility requirements. These sessions are best for potential applicants who aren’t sure which grant program to apply for and would like information about all our offerings.
Watch a recording of our 2025 Community Grants Info Session with ASL Interpretation.
View the 2025 Community Grants Info Session Slide Deck.
VIRTUAL GRANT APPLICATION WORKSHOPS
These are in-depth sessions delving into a specific grant program’s funding scope, eligibility requirements, application questions, and review criteria. All sessions are available on our grants youtube playlist.
VIRTUAL OFFICE HOURS
Sign up for a 30-minute virtual meeting with one of our Community Grants Managers to ask specific questions about our grant programs and to discuss your proposed project
DRAFT APPLICATION REVIEW
Applicants can request that their draft application be reviewed by one of our Community Grants Managers. To request a draft review, complete the application in our grants portal and click “SAVE.” Send an email to grants@humanitiesdc.org with your request for draft review, including any specific questions you wish us to focus on. Staff can provide feedback about the eligibility of your project and the clarity and completeness of your responses. Note that funding decisions are not made by staff. (Learn more about our grant review process.) Please request feedback on your draft application no later than April 21, 2025 at 5:00 pm.
APPLICANT RESOURCES
HumanitiesDC strives to have a transparent process. We encourage all applicants to reference these regularly updated documents before applying for a grant.
Request for Proposals and Application Questions are found on each grant program page.
GRANTS AT A GLANCE
| GRANT PROGRAM | PROGRAM DESCRIPTION | AWARD AMOUNT & ELIGIBILITY |
CYCLE I OPENS: DECEMBER 10, 2024 DUE: FEBRUARY 18, 2025 at 5:59 pm | ||
| COMMUNITY CULTURE & HERITAGE GRANT | Supports the public preservation of local culture, collective memories of longtime Washingtonians, and capturing unfolding stories of newer residents | $10,000 Open to Individuals, Community Groups, & Nonprofits |
| ORAL HISTORY INTERVIEWING – DC ORAL HISTORY COLLABORATIVE GRANT | Funding supports oral history projects with training from DCOHC | $8,000 Open to Individuals, Community Groups, & Nonprofit Organizations |
BEYOND THE ARCHIVES – DC ORAL HISTORY COLLABORATIVE GRANT | Funding for public humanities projects that utilize existing oral history collections | $12,000 Open to Individuals, Community Groups, & Nonprofit Organizations |
| VISIONS – PROJECTS + EVENTS | Funding supports public interpretations of humanities scholarship such as feature documentaries, festivals, or archives | $25,000 Open to Nonprofit Organizations (Fiscal Sponsors Permitted) |
CYCLE II OPENS: MARCH 4, 2025 DUE: MAY 1, 2025 at 5:59PM | ||
| GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT | Supports the general operations of humanities non-profits to strengthen the overall humanities landscape in Washington, DC | $25,000 Open to Humanities-focused nonprofits with annual budgets of less than $2 million |
| CONTINUING ORAL HISTORY PROJECTS – DC ORAL HISTORY GRANTS | Funding supports the continuation of oral history projects conducted by recent DCOHC grantees | $8,000 Open to Individuals, Community Groups, & Nonprofit Organizations |
Who We Are Funding
| Organization or Individual Name | Grant Program | Project Title | Amount Awarded | Project type | Grantee Location |
| Eileen Dougherty | Beyond the Archives – DCOHC | Voices of Resilience | $12,000.00 | Documentary Film | Ward 6 |
| Center for Innovations in Community Safety, Georgetown University | Beyond the Archives – DCOHC | Youth for Tomorrow – Shaping Our Community Narratives Through Storytelling | $11,997.00 | Curriculum and multimedia | Ward 6 |
| Jack Hochman | Beyond the Archives – DCOHC | Nuevas Voces: A Bilingual Study of D.C. Latino Immigrants | $12,000.00 | Multimedia, including short videos or podcasts | Ward 6 |
| Saaret Yoseph | Beyond the Archives – DCOHC | JOURNEY(S) Tour Continued | $12,000.00 | Documentary Film and Event Series | Ward 5 |
| Sami Miranda | Beyond the Archives – DCOHC | May There Always Be Words Between Us | $12,000.00 | Documentary Film | Ward 4 |
| 826DC, Inc. | Community Culture & Heritage Grant | Youth Voices Festival: Showcasing Youth Stories in DC | $10,000.00 | Festival | Ward 1 |
| Alliance to Preserve the Civil War Defenses of Washington | Community Culture & Heritage Grant | Civil War Defenses of Washington curriculum | $10,000.00 | Curriculum | Ward 4 |
| Carletta Hurt | Community Culture & Heritage Grant | Brumsic Brandon: A Legacy in Art and Community | $10,000.00 | Documentary Film | Ward 4 |
| Gabrielle Newell | Community Culture & Heritage Grant | Courageous Celebration: Untold Histories of Mutual Aid and Community Celebration in Washington DC | $10,000.00 | Event Series | Ward 1 |
| Jeronique Bartley | Community Culture & Heritage Grant | The Great 8 Fashion Tour: East of The River | $10,000.00 | Documentary Film and Event series | Ward 4 |
| Joel J Gwadz | Community Culture & Heritage Grant | Gwadzilla Podcast and DC Messenger Photo Book | $10,000.00 | Podcast and publication | Ward 4 |
| Kelly King | Community Culture & Heritage Grant | I, Too, Am America: An Intergenerational Spoken Word Poetry Writing Workshop | $10,000.00 | Event and workshop | Ward 5 |
| Many Languages One Voice | Community Culture & Heritage Grant | Migrations: The Narrative Pull of the American Dream | $10,000.00 | Other | Ward 1 |
| Marquett Milton | Community Culture & Heritage Grant | U Street Time Travel | $10,000.00 | Guided tour | Ward 1 |
| Paul Laurence Dunbar High School Alumni Federation | Community Culture & Heritage Grant | “Voices of Justice” Oral History Project | $10,000.00 | Documentary Film and event | Ward 5 |
| The Dap Acknowledgement Project, Inc. | Community Culture & Heritage Grant | Sunset at the Anacostia Arts Center | $10,000.00 | Event series | Ward 3 |
| Tracy Chiles McGhee | Community Culture & Heritage Grant | Salon Redux: In the Spirit of Georgia Douglas Johnson | $10,000.00 | Event series | Ward 7 |
| Valeria Massarelli | Community Culture & Heritage Grant | District of Pupusas | $10,000.00 | Documentary Film | Ward 2 |
| Adrienne Gaither | Oral History Interviewing – DCOHC | Constellations of Memory an Oral History of STARS | $8,000.00 | Oral History Project | Ward 5 |
| Allegra Hatem | Oral History Interviewing – DCOHC | The 1966 Free DC Campaign & Other Movements for DC Autonomy | $13,000.00 | Oral History Project | Ward 6 |
| Christ House | Oral History Interviewing – DCOHC | Healing & Hope: The Christ House Oral History Project | $8,000.00 | Oral History Project | Ward 1 |
| Eboni-Rose Thompson | Oral History Interviewing – DCOHC | Beyond the Diploma: Education, Career Pathways, and Economic Inequality | $8,000.00 | Oral History Project | Ward 7 |
| Gran Varones, sponsored by Advocates for Youth | Oral History Interviewing – DCOHC | Blessed are those who Remember: Black, Latinx, and Queer DC Spaces | $8,000.00 | Oral History Project | Ward 6 |
| Kai Walther | Oral History Interviewing – DCOHC | Unsanctioned: Gay Cruising and Culture in Washington, DC | $4,612.50 | Oral History Project | Ward 1 |
| Khadijah Wilson | Oral History Interviewing – DCOHC | Beyond The Case Files | $8,000.00 | Oral History Project | Ward 8 |
| Latin American Youth Center | Oral History Interviewing – DCOHC | LAYC Oral History Project | $8,000.00 | Oral History Project | Ward 1 |
| Linda Kuo | Oral History Interviewing – DCOHC | An Oral History of the Asian/Pacific Islander Domestic Violence Resource Project | $8,000.00 | Oral History Project | Ward 1 |
| Opportunities for Deserving Children | Oral History Interviewing – DCOHC | Safe Havens Lost: The Evolution of DC Youth Centers and Their Role in Violence Prevention | $8,000.00 | Oral History Project | Ward 8 |
| The Giveland Foundation | Oral History Interviewing – DCOHC | UNIFEST ORAL HISTORIES | $8,000.00 | Oral History Project | Ward 8 |
| Yao Tyus | Oral History Interviewing – DCOHC | Washington, DC’s Pan-African Oral History Project | $13,000.00 | Oral History Project | Ward 5 |
| Yuki Kato | Oral History Interviewing – DCOHC | Local Food Provisioning in DC’s Black and Immigrant Communities | $8,000.00 | Oral History Project | Ward 6 |
| African American Civil War Memorial Freedom Foundation | Visions – Projects & Events Grant | Learning from the Past: Educating Through the Story of Camp Barker Contraband Camp | $25,000.00 | Event and exhibit | Ward 1 |
| American Poetry Museum | Visions – Projects & Events Grant | The Jim Crow Drowning of Kenneth Carroll | $25,000.00 | Documentary Film | Ward 4 |
| American University | Visions – Projects & Events Grant | Community Voice Lab Documentary Series for DC Public Television | $25,000.00 | Documentary Film;Event;Multimedia, including short videos or podcasts | Ward 3 |
| Building Bridges Across the River | Visions – Projects & Events Grant | 11th Annual Anacostia River Festival | $25,000.00 | Festival | Ward 8 |
| CapitalBop, Inc. | Visions – Projects & Events Grant | Documenting the DC jazz scene’s next generation | $25,000.00 | Research/Publication | Ward 1 |
| DC Zinefest | Visions – Projects & Events Grant | DC Zinefest | $7,387.00 | Festival | Ward 4 |
| Eden Raskin Jenkins, sponsored by Women in Film and Video | Visions – Projects & Events Grant | NOTES OF A CITIZEN: The Marcus Raskin Story | $25,000.00 | Documentary Film | Ward 2 |
| Empower DC | Visions – Projects & Events Grant | Barry Farm: Uplifting a Living History, Ensuring a Just Future | $25,000.00 | Event and exhibit | Ward 1 |
| Esther Productions Inc | Visions – Projects & Events Grant | The Poetry & Folklore of Sterling Brown: A Historical Examination & Celebration of a Cultural Legend | $25,000.00 | Event series | Ward 3 |
| Home Rule Music and FIlm Preservation Foundation | Visions – Projects & Events Grant | Home Rule Music Festival | $25,000.00 | Festival | Ward 4 |
| KAMA DC | Visions – Projects & Events Grant | D.C. Immigration Film Fest | $25,000.00 | Festival | Ward 1 |
| Life Pieces To Masterpieces | Visions – Projects & Events Grant | Color Me Community: A Humanities-Based Conversation Series on Race, Identity, and Belonging | $25,000.00 | Gathering;Multimedia, including short videos or podcasts;Other | Ward 7 |
| Malkia K. Lydia, sponsored by Old Naval Hospital Foundation – Hill Center | Visions – Projects & Events Grant | Reunion Choir Feature Documentary & Screening Tour | $25,000.00 | Festival | Ward 6/Ward 4 |
| Mariessa Terrell, sponsored by High Tea Society | Visions – Projects & Events Grant | 2025 Fashion Intel Event | $25,000.00 | Documentary Film | Ward 5 |
| Mosaic Theater Company of DC | Visions – Projects & Events Grant | YOUNG JOHN LEWIS Education and Engagement Programming | $25,000.00 | Event series | Ward 6 |
| One World Education | Visions – Projects & Events Grant | Expanding Afterschool Programs for Underserved Communities | $25,000.00 | Event;Other | Ward 3 |
| Shout Mouse Press | Visions – Projects & Events Grant | Queer Youth Voices Anthology Project: “The Light Looks Like Me: Words on Love from Queer Youth” | $25,000.00 | Event;Gathering;Multimedia, including short videos or podcasts | Ward 2 |
| Sky Sitney, sponsored by Women in Film and Video | Visions – Projects & Events Grant | DC/DOX Film Festival 2025 | $25,000.00 | Festival | Ward 2 |
| Story District | Visions – Projects & Events Grant | Black Journalists: Stories Behind the Headlines | $25,000.00 | Festival | Ward 2 |
| Washington, DC International Film Festival | Visions – Projects & Events Grant | Washington, DC International Film Festival (Filmfest DC) | $25,000.00 | Festival | Ward 1 |
| Young Playwrights’ Theater | Visions – Projects & Events Grant | Silence is Violence | $25,000.00 | Event series | Ward 4 |
| Archaeology in the Community | General Operating Support | Archaeology Education for the District | $25,000.00 | General Operating Support | Ward 5 |
| Asian American LEAD | General Operating Support | Exploring AAPI Culture and History Through the Arts | $25,000.00 | General Operating Support | Ward 3 |
| ASIAN PACIFIC AMERICAN FILM INC | General Operating Support | Asian Pacific American Film Application 2025 | $25,000.00 | General Operating Support | Ward 2 |
| DC Archives Foundation | General Operating Support | General Operating Support for the DC Archives Foundation | $25,000.00 | General Operating Support | Ward 2 |
| DC Theater Arts | General Operating Support | DC Theater Arts: Building a Sustainable Future | $25,000.00 | General Operating Support | Ward 3 |
| LearnServe International | General Operating Support | Bridging Identity, Culture, and Action: Empowering DC Youth-Led Social Innovation | $25,000.00 | General Operating Support | Ward 2 |
| More Than Our Crimes | General Operating Support | More Than Our Crimes | $25,000.00 | General Operating Support | Ward 6 |
| Museum of the Palestinian People | General Operating Support | General Operating Support to sustain and grow the Museum of the Palestinian People | $25,000.00 | General Operating Support | Ward 2 |
| Reach Incorporated | General Operating Support | Reach Incorporated’s General Operating Grant | $25,000.00 | General Operating Support | Ward 8 |
| So others ascend righteously (SOAR) | General Operating Support | SOAR Community Wellness Workshops and Retreats | $25,000.00 | General Operating Support | Ward 4 |
| Turning the Page | General Operating Support | Turning the Page: Engaging Families through Books, Authors and Museums | $25,000.00 | General Operating Support | Ward 2 |
| Urban Adventure Squad/Urban Learning and Teaching Center | General Operating Support | Outdoor Learning in DC Public Schools | $25,000.00 | General Operating Support | Ward 2 |
| Charvis V. Campbell | Continuing Oral History Projects – DCOHC Grant | Oral History Project — Jazz at Westminster: The Lived Experiences of D.C.’s Musicians Part 2 | $8,000.00 | Oral History | Ward 4 |
| Cleveland & Woodley Park Village | Continuing Oral History Projects – DCOHC Grant | We Are Your Neighbors | $8,000.00 | Oral History | Ward 3 |
| DC Music Summit | Continuing Oral History Projects – DCOHC Grant | You Gotta Leave DC to Get Love: Why the DC Music Scene Needs Sustainable Infrastructure | $13,000.00 | Oral History | Ward 1 |
| Friends of Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens | Continuing Oral History Projects – DCOHC Grant | “Flowers, Families & Futures” Honoring the past, uplifting the next generation. | $13,000.00 | Oral History | Ward 7 |
| The Dap Acknowledgement Project, Inc. | Continuing Oral History Projects – DCOHC Grant | 91 We in a Dope Jam | $6,100.00 | Oral History | Ward 5 |
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