• Applications for Envisioning Justice Action Grants will be accepted May 29 – August 15 (5 PM Central). Applicants will be notified within 6 weeks.
• Non-profit organizations can apply for grants up to $15,000. Individuals can apply for grants up to $5,000. No matching funds are required.
• Accessibility Fund: Applicants also can choose to request an additional stipend of $100 for services such as American Sign Language interpretation or captioning to help make events more accessible to everyone.

• Applicants for this category include, but are not limited to, humanists, artists, humanities or arts organizations, policymakers, organizers, journalists, social-service agencies, support-service providers who work with currently and formerly incarcerated individuals, youth media groups, and others.
• Organizations must be a non-profit organization with either 501(c)3 status or designated by the State of Illinois. Individuals are also eligible to apply. For-profit groups are not eligible.
• Priority will be given to: Initiatives that are regional or statewide in scope, or that focus on communities that are a) the site of a prison or jail, b) include communities that are experiencing significant incarceration, and/or c) that have experienced significant demographic change as a result of the criminal justice system.
• All selected grantees will be asked to report to Illinois Humanities on grant-funded activities; provide text, photos, audio, and/or  video reporting; let Illinois Humanities know of grant-funded events at least a week in advance; be willing to participate in a survey during the grant period; and to work with Illinois Humanities on evaluation, if requested.

• The application deadline is 5 PM (Central) on August 15.
• Preview application as a PDF. This PDF is for preview purposes only, please apply using the application link below.
• Apply HERE.

• Applications for Envisioning Justice Place-Based Grants will be accepted May 29 – October 15 (5 PM Central). Applicants will be notified within 6 weeks.
• Non-profit organizations can apply for grants up to $2,500. No matching funds are required.
• Accessibility Fund: Applicants also can choose to request an additional stipend of $100 for services such as American Sign Language interpretation or captioning to help make events more accessible to everyone.

• The grants will be only be awarded to organizations from or working with communities from the following areas: East St. Louis, Decatur, Carbondale, Pontiac, Galesburg, and Urbana-Champaign.
• Applicants for this category include, but are not limited to, humanities, arts, and cultural organizations, community-based organizations, social-service agencies, support-service providers who work with currently and formerly incarcerated individuals, youth media groups, and others.
• Organizations must be a non-profit organization with either 501(c)3 status or designated by the State of Illinois. Individuals and for-profit groups are not eligible to apply.
• Illinois Humanities asks that all grantees let us know event dates in advance (so that we can help promote them), and document their work through text, photography, audio, video, or other media so that we can feature your work on our website and in social media.

• The application deadline is 5 PM (Central) on October 15.
• Preview application as a PDF. This PDF is for preview purposes only, please apply using the application link below.
• Apply HERE.

• Applications for Envisioning Justice Justice Dialogue Grants will be accepted May 29 – October 15 (5 PM Central). Applicants will be notified within 4 weeks (proposed events should not take place until 1 month after deadline).
• Non-profit organizations can apply for grants up to $500 for a single dialogue or $1000 for a series of two dialogues. No matching funds are required.
• Funds can go toward venue costs, flyers and other outreach, speaker’s honoraria, a facilitator, or other event-related expenses.
• Dialogues can use archival material, photography, a film, storytelling, or other materials to help spark or tee-up conversation, however, a community-based discussion needs to be at the center of the program. We’d love to see creative ideas!
• Accessibility Fund: Applicants also can choose to request an additional stipend of $100 for features such as American Sign Language interpretation or captioning to help make events more accessible to everyone.

• The grants will only be awarded to organizations from or working with communities from the following areas: East St. Louis, Decatur, Carbondale, Pontiac, Galesburg, and Urbana-Champaign.
• Applicants for this category include, but are not limited to, humanities, arts, and cultural organizations, libraries, schools, community-based organizations, social-service agencies, support-service providers who work with currently and formerly incarcerated individuals, youth media groups, and others.
• Organizations must be a non-profit organization with either 501(c)3 status or designated by the State of Illinois. Individuals and for-profit groups are not eligible to apply.
• All selected grantees will be asked to let Illinois Humanities know event dates in advance (so that we can help promote them), and document their work through text, photography, audio, video, or other media so that we can feature your work on our website and in social media.

• The application deadline is 5 PM (Central) on October 15.
• Preview application as a PDF. This PDF is for preview purposes only, please apply using the application link below.
• Apply HERE.

The process is relatively straightforward. Simply submit an application using the form for the Envisioning Justice grant category you are interested in applying for. You will be asked to describes who you are, what you plan to do, how you plan to carry it out, and how support from Illinois Humanities would help make it possible. We encourage you to contact us with questions or ideas well before the stated grant deadlines.

Illinois Humanities is flexible about this. In general, Illinois Humanities grants are paid out in one payment, and are active for one year. However, we are happy to discuss possibilities with you if an extension is required.

These are one-time grants. Illinois Humanities intends to offer Envisioning Justice grants again in 2021, and applicants are welcome to submit additional or repeat proposals again at that time.

Yes, you can apply to more than one category, however, you will only be awarded one grant. Also, please be sure to pay attention to the geographic requirements for the Envisioning Justice Place-Based Grants and Justice Dialogue Grants. However, organizations from the specific communities for these grants are encouraged to apply for Envisioning Justice Action Grants for larger projects requiring more than $2,500 in funding support.

Illinois Humanities is overseeing this grants program, and an advisory committee consisting of staff and outside advisors from across Illinois has been assembled to assess grant applications.

The humanities are the examination of what it means to be human through the interpretation and discussion of all forms of thought, interest and expression. While we value traditional humanities disciplines, such as art history, literature, languages, law, history, and philosophy, our emphasis is on the public humanities, which means that we look at the humanities as more than an academic discipline.

For us, the public humanities are a mode of inquiry and conversation that aims to engage, support, or challenge the ideals, beliefs, tensions, and prejudices of the communities in which we live. We believe that important thought can happen outside of the academy – in neighborhood institutions, schools, churches, and at kitchen tables across the country. We are especially interested in instances of the public humanities that promote civic engagement – in raising critical issues facing everyday people and conducted with the hope of increasing their desire for staying engaged. Rather than being defined by rigid disciplinary boundaries, it is the humanistic lens, which emphasizes curiosity, questioning, and dialogue, that matters most to us.