Recipient: Lincoln Land Community College Foundation – Springfield, IL

Project Description: The Lincoln Land Community College (LLCC) Academy of Lifelong Learning (ALL), in partnership with the Springfield and Central Illinois African-American History Museum (SCIAAHM), aims to expand knowledge about slaves, indentured servants and free Negro leaders in early Illinois, founded as a “free” state.

The project consists of: A. Review Illinois State Archives’ and other resources, seeking facts and narratives and B. Research Priscilla Baltimore, known as “Harriet Tubman of the West,” an Underground Railroad conductor who founded Brooklyn, Illinois. Brooklyn is the oldest town incorporated by African Americans in the United States. It is expected that some new findings will be gained from oral histories that have passed through generations.

Recipient: Paula Pugh Romanaux – Springfield, IL

Project Description: My research focuses on the forgotten Illinois history of 207 pipe organ grants from the Andrew Carnegie Trust, 1901-1919. As a Carnegie Foundation fellow, I propose to make the first known chronology and historical narrative database – pictorial and archival recording.

Andrew Carnegie hoped that the organ would not only be used for religious services but for social, cultural, and educational advancements in each community. Following Carnegie’s vision, this grant would fund five organ concerts on Carnegie instruments and “Informances” (hands-on introduction to the organ with short concert) for elementary and High School students.

Recipient: Galena Jo Daviess County Historical Society & Museum – Galena, IL

Project Description: We propose to create a 50-minute presentation for students in grades 5-8 throughout the Illinois Driftless region. Each presentation would include viewing of the 27-minute Emmy Award-winning documentary, “Mysteries of the Driftless,” followed by a 20-minute program highlighting unique Driftless attributes in the students’ own backyards.

The presentation will foster a sense of awe and appreciation for the prehistoric land they inhabit, and the people who called it home. Teachers resources to encourage further discovery: 6-8 lesson plans for Driftless geology, hydrology, botany, history and archaeology; a list of area geological sites for field trips.

Recipient: Lawrence County Historical Society – Lawrenceville, IL

Project Description: Research from the original court documents and the old 1840s laws document the events leading up to the trial and hanging of the first woman in Illinois (1845). The grant will be used to publish this in a scholarly publication.

We want to learn whether possible defenses such as domestic violence or mental illness could have been used and, if so, might have resulted in a different judgment. Also, we want to determine if possible what effect an all-male jury had on the outcome. This publication will be the basis for a theater production in partnership with the County Arts Council.

Recipient: Fox Tales International – Bishop Hill, IL

Project Description: Exploring a series of Forgotten Illinois stories that shaped both state and federal policies towards American Indians and based on the transcriptions of speeches that Territorial Governor Ninian Edwards and Pottawatomie Chief Gomo delivered at Cahokia, we will create a performance that challenges listeners, launching a conversation encouraging them to formulate their own point of view.

We will present performances all along the Edward’s Trace, including Cahokia, Edwardsville, Springfield, Elkhart, Peoria, and Chillicothe. We will film the program and create interactive lesson plans that bring the humanities to life with curriculum tied to state standards.

Recipient: Fort de Chartres – Prairie Du Rocher, IL

Project Description: Les Amis proposed publication- French Colonial Fort de Chartres, a Journey in Time- is a 38-page line-art publication, by award-winning artist Tom Willcockson, focusing on the region’s little-known history of a colonial stone fort and exploring the complex reality of French colonialism in the 1700s.

In this Illinois Bicentennial year, a review of the region’s mixed historic societies and cultures can resonate, provoking reflection and discussion of cultural traditions through present time. This unique publication will make accessible a long-neglected chapter of the Middle Mississippi Valley to children and adults, at schools, libraries, and to the general public.

Recipient: Antonio Delgado – Chicago, IL

Project Description: A video documentary will be produced for public presentations and various Public Television outlets. It seeks to improve public perceptions of Illinois’ Latino populations by highlighting their historical positive contributions The project director has been researching the proposed history topic for 6 years. He has accumulated a substantial variety of period images that will visually highlight missing pages of American History to the growth and development of Chicago and the State of Illinois.

Recipient: Kaskaskia Cahokia Trail Coalition – Waterloo, IL

Project Description: The Kaskaskia Cahokia Trail Coalition has been working to actively promote, preserve and maintain Illinois’ First Road: The Kaskaskia Cahokia Trail. In 2014 a full color brochure was printed, but quickly flew off the shelves and we would like to print a new booklet form brochure that will give even more information about the history along the trail.

Recipient: Liz Chilsen – Forest Park, IL

Project Description: For Forgotten Illinois I propose to research and create photographs at endangered historic sites in Illinois seeking to answer the core question: “What can these endangered sites tell us about the ever-evolving identity of our state?”

Using as a basis Landmarks Illinois’ 2018 list of Endangered Historic Sites, I will create visual stories and share them via exhibitions, public programs, and online media publications. Carrying out this project, I strive to know these places more deeply, to better understand their contributions to our state’s history and identity, and to share this understanding broadly, engaging new audiences in the dialog.

Recipient: Landmarks Illinois – Chicago, IL

Project Description: Landmarks Illinois will partner with a student intern or intern team to create video content that conveys the relevance of the built environment we have inherited in Illinois.

The project will acknowledge the milestone of Illinois’ Bicentennial and focus on our state’s Underground Railroad sites, about which many people are unaware. This is an opportunity to elucidate a piece of forgotten Illinois history for current residents and future generations, and illustrate why historic preservation matters. This adds to a growing library of digital content we can promote on social media to expand the base of people saving places for people.

Recipient: Illinois College – Jacksonville, IL

Project Description: Illinois College and the Jacksonville Public Library are bringing Colson Whitehead, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning book “The Underground Railroad,” to Jacksonville in September.

Grant funding (Artistic Interpretation Activity) is requested to produce a companion play portraying the involvement of IC and some Jacksonville residents in abolitionist activities and the Underground Railroad. Post-show discussions will help connect historical events to lingering racism today. IC is committed to five October-November performances, pending a grant award. This will help students and the public understand that forgotten Illinoisans, here, risked everything for freedom and justice.

Recipient: Village of Elkhart – Elkhart, IL

Project Description: This project will engage people to learn about and appreciate the Village of Elkhart’s rich history through conversation and the artistic interpretation of five window display panels at our Village Hall, each with descriptive panels below each window, supplemented by educational information (accessible online and printed).

These interactive components will create the opportunity for villagers, educators and visitors to gain a deeper understanding of the connections between the people, contributions and historic incidents that influenced the identity of our Illinois village and begin conversations about our current and future history-in-the-making.

We are no longer accepting proposals for this Community Grants program category.

We are no longer accepting proposals for this Community Grants program category.

Evaluation is important to us, and we are eager to see how grant applicants define success and plan to measure progress toward it. We ask grant applicants to describe in precise terms the desired outcome of a project, how they will know if it was successful, and how it will serve their organization. Illinois Humanities is working with humanities scholar Danielle Allen at Harvard’s Humanities and Liberal Arts Assessment Lab on evaluation and assessment with grantees. This opportunity means that grantees that are interested will be eligible for consulting on their evaluation work.

Why does Illinois Humanities have a grantmaking program?

Illinois Humanities has been making grants since its inception in 1974. In the past 44 years, Illinois Humanities has made nearly 2,800 grants for a total of $17 million. We are proud to have helped support dozens of documentary films, conferences, exhibits, training programs, oral history projects, and scores of other activities. We are firm believers in the many organizations and individuals throughout the state of Illinois that value the humanities, culture, and dialogue as community-building activities, and wish to help them to fulfill their missions, carry out high-quality programming, and grow their organizations. We are indebted to the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Illinois General Assembly for the support that allows this grantmaking program to exist.

What is your definition of the humanities?

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.

We value traditional humanities disciplines, such as art history, literature, history, and philosophy. However, our emphasis on the public humanities 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 thirst for staying engaged. Take a look at our focus areas, for instance – Arts, Business, Media & Journalism, and Public Policy – where the disciplines at the heart of programming may or may not fall under the traditional humanities categories. Rather than being defined by rigid disciplinary boundaries, it is the humanistic lens, which emphasizes curiosity, questioning, and dialogue, that matters.

Does your organization have a working definition of the public humanities? Share it with us – we’re eager to explore how others are addressing this complex question.

With the changes in your grantmaking guidelines, are there things you used to fund that you are no longer funding?

More than anything, we have added several categories. We’ve kept the planning grants (now called Vision) and the Project grants (now called Action) and added the two new categories of Multiplier Grants (our biggest grant category, for collaborations) and Illinois Speaks Micro-Grants (to help spark public dialogue at the community level throughout the state).

The two categories we have dropped are General Operating grants and Media Projects. We believe our budget is too small to make much of a difference from the standpoint of general operating support – though we may revisit this later. Media projects continue to be a primary focus of our work and our grantmaking program. Documentary film, storytelling, oral history, journalism, and other forms of media are the lifeblood of much humanities work. We’ve taken away ‘media’ as a category, but hope to continue to see great media initiatives in other categories. We just aren’t treating them with their own category at this time. View a sampling of film projects funded by Illinois Humanities.

How has the process changed?

Plenty has changed. We’ve gone digital. We’ve reduced the number of deadlines from four to three. We’re paying out all grant awards in a single payment. Also, with the Vision, Action, or Multiplier (VAM) Grants, we’re requesting Letters of Inquiry (LOI’s) first, and then with a select group of applicants moving on to a Full Proposal. It is worth noting that if we ask for a Full Proposal, the turnaround time will be very short.

Can an organization have more than one active grant with Illinois Humanities at a time?

In general, Illinois Humanities will have one open grant with any single entity at a given time. There are two exceptions to this rule: If your organization acts as fiscal agent for another, you can still have a project grant that is funded by Illinois Humanities. The other exception is that a single group can have a VAM Grant but also receive support to host Illinois Speaks conversations.

Who can apply?

Nonprofit organizations can apply for Illinois Humanities grants. This includes 501c3 organizations and nonprofits under state law, as well as libraries, schools, faith-based organizations and universities. We do not accept grant applications from individuals or for-profit companies. If you are unsure about whether you can apply, reach out to us.