and AHC’s General Grants
AHC Encourages We the People Proposals!
As America moves into the twenty-first century, it is all the more urgent for Americans to study American institutions, culture, and history. To help Americans continue to make sense of their history and of the world around them, AHC is collaborating with NEH to launch the We the People initiative in Arizona.
AHC invites grant proposals for upcoming grant rounds that explore significant events and themes in American history and culture, advance knowledge of the principles that define America, and increase the public's knowledge and appreciation of American history. Projects may combine a variety of programming formats, and should reach as broad an audience as possible.
Project topics may include:
- Constitutional Values/Civil Rights
- Ethnic Diversity
- Religious Tolerance
- Western Expansion
- Immigration Experiences
Project formats may include:
- Reading or film discussion series
- Lectures
- Temporary exhibitions
- Publications
- Media programs
- Teacher institutes
- Web sites
- Cultural heritage tourism projects
Grant proposals should demonstrate how the project:
- Is grounded in the humanities
- Explores significant events and/or themes in American history and culture
- Has broad appeal and effectively engages its target audience
To apply for the upcoming AHC grant round, first read AHC’s General Grants Guidelines. Use the guidelines to develop your Intent to Apply Form and submit it by the next Intent deadline. We the People proposals will be evaluated through AHC's established review process along with other applications in the submitted round.
Sample Projects
A historical society works with historians to create a Web site that provides thematic connections among historic markers found on roads and highways. Visitors to the Web site can learn how a particular marker fits into a larger historical context. They can also use the Web site to assemble an itinerary that allows them to follow an episode in American history from marker to marker.
The staff from four historic sites works with scholars to craft an overarching narrative incorporating the events associated with each site. The staff at each site develop interpretive programs, tours, and educational brochures that tell the overarching story and the role of their site in it. The four sites jointly develop marketing materials for attracting local residents and encouraging travelers to visit all four sites.
A historical society engages five groups of teenagers from diverse communities in producing a documentary video based on interviews with Native American seniors who served in the military during World War II. The teens work closely with two historians and a documentary filmmaker. They examine the connections between memory and history, investigate the wartime experiences of Native Americans, and learn how scholars and filmmakers research and understand the past. The documentary video is used as a springboard for public discussions at a variety of venues, including senior centers, historical societies, and libraries.
A public library and a museum create a series of intergenerational reading and discussion programs for recent immigrants and their children, exploring the immigrant encounter with America. Reading selections include diaries, historical newspaper accounts, poetry, fiction, and transcriptions of oral histories. The project team develops scholars' guides and lists of readings that can serve as models for other organizations developing similar collaborative projects.
For more information on the NEH national initiative, go to www.neh.gov.
