North Carolina Humanities has awarded $1.27 million in American Rescue Plan Humanities Grants to 90 North Carolina cultural organizations, including nearly a dozen on the coast.
The 90 grantees represent a broad range of cultural nonprofit organizations and public agencies, including regional museums, local historical societies, community groups and libraries, who will use the funds to support their operational costs and restart or create new humanities programs to reconnect communities.
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“Over the past year we have witnessed how important conversation, empathy, and learning are to our nation and state,” said Sherry Paula Watkins, executive director of North Carolina Humanities, in a release. “As one of the state’s oldest and largest public cultural funders, NC Humanities is honored to support North Carolina’s cultural sector with this latest round of grants. These organizations are at the heart of our communities and the important work they are doing ensures that North Carolinians have access to and benefit from the humanities.”
Funding for North Carolina Humanities American Rescue Plan Humanities Grants was provided to North Carolina Humanities by the National Endowment for the Humanities through the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, or ARP, approved by Congress and signed into law by President Biden in March.
The $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act package included $135 million in supplemental funding for the National Endowment for the Humanities, nearly $51.6 million, or a total of 40%, of which was sent to the state and jurisdictional humanities councils across the nation, including North Carolina Humanities, to distribute to local cultural nonprofits and programming.
American Rescue Plan Humanities Operating Support funding supports staff salaries, rent or utilities, securing and protecting property and collections, and other general operating costs for organizations affected by COVID-19. The following are organizations on the coast that will receive this funding:
- Core Sound Waterfowl Museum and Heritage Center, Harkers Island
- Historical Society of Topsail Island North Carolina, Topsail Beach
- Edenton Historical Commission, Edenton
- Museum of the Albemarle, Elizabeth City
- Outer Banks Conservationists, Manteo
- Climbers Club of New Bern
American Rescue Plan Humanities Project Support funding supports costs directly associated with restarting humanities projects impacted by the pandemic, creating new humanities projects, digitizing humanities resources/collections and making them available online, humanities projects highlighting North Carolina’s COVID-19 experience, and other program services. The following are organizations on the coast that will receive this funding:
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- Arts of the Pamlico, Washington
- First Colony Foundation, Manteo
- Historic Jarvisburg Colored School, Jarvisburg
- Louise Wells Cameron Art Museum, Wilmington
The full list of statewide recipients can be found on the North Carolina Humanities website.
