The Maine Humanities Council focuses on distributing funding to nonprofit organizations for programs and projects that highlight the humanities, with a special emphasis on ensuring these opportunities reach communities traditionally under-resourced in these areas. Their mission underlines the importance of broad public outreach and inclusive practices in humanities programming.
The Arts and Humanities Grants program is designed to support organizations in Maine that seek to share the state’s stories, cultural expressions, and the lived experiences of its communities and people. This initiative is a collaborative effort between the Maine Humanities Council and the Maine Arts Commission. It aims to back innovative community projects that incorporate both arts and humanities elements. Eligible projects may vary broadly in form, including exhibitions, performances, discussions, and multimedia productions, provided they invite participants to deepen their understanding of cultural work and its contexts. The program particularly values projects that demonstrate an ethic of nonjudgmental discussion, a balance of perspectives, and involvement in critical yet celebratory inquiry. Projects that deal with significant issues are encouraged to offer a variety of viewpoints and informed opinions in alignment with MHC’s non-partisan mission. Grants offered by this program can go up to $1,000, with evaluation based on the proposed project’s humanities content, goals, impact, design, outreach, engagement, and budgeting.