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The Higher Learning Grants program is a funding initiative from the Mellon Foundation that supports institutions of higher education and scholars working to advance humanistic study, broaden opportunities in the humanities, and deepen public understanding of American history and culture.
Mellon funds academic research, curricular development, extracurricular programming, internships, and community partnerships at a range of institutions including rural universities, tribal colleges, and HBCUs. The Foundation also supports humanities projects beyond campus settings that elevate underrepresented perspectives and expand public appreciation of the liberal arts.
Mellon primarily makes grants through invitations, with staff proactively identifying and cultivating relationships with innovative organizations and scholars before extending funding invitations. Programs include the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship, which creates pathways to the U.S. academy for underrepresented students.
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Higher Learning Grant Programs | Mellon Foundation Institutions of higher education—and the scholars within them—address crucial societal issues, produce new knowledge, and promote the spirit of learning.
Mellon’s work broadens opportunities in the humanities through academic research, curricular development, extracurricular programming, internships, and community partnerships at institutions including rural universities, tribal colleges, HBCUs, and more.
We also fund humanities projects beyond colleges and universities that deepen our understanding of the United States, its cultures, and people, and help ensure the breadth of stories told and studied. Fellowships & Competitions Grantee news Grants database Through grants to eligible recipients, we support: Colleges and universities exploring new directions in humanistic study in a range of learning environments.
Scholars and academic leaders working to deepen our understanding of American history and culture, advance new methods for scholarly interpretation, and elevate underrepresented perspectives in academia. Humanities-focused organizations committed to expanding public understanding and appreciation of the liberal arts.
Our staff seek out and get to know innovative organizations, scholars, and creators before inviting them to submit a proposal for funding. Most Mellon grants are made through these invitations.
Colleges rebrand humanities majors as job-friendly 56 Humanities Councils and How They Are Making an Impact Academics Are Getting Funding to Study Something Completely Different A Q&A with Higher Learning Leadership Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship Program Creating pathways to the US academy and shaping the future of the humanities We partner with institutions that are expanding the definition of education and learning.
Based on current listing details, eligibility includes: Accredited higher education institutions. Applicants should confirm final requirements in the official notice before submission.
Current published award information indicates Varies Always verify allowable costs, matching requirements, and funding caps directly in the sponsor documentation.
The current target date is rolling deadlines or periodic funding windows. Build your timeline backwards from this date to cover registrations, approvals, attachments, and final submission checks.
Federal grant success rates typically range from 10-30%, varying by agency and program. Build a strong proposal with clear objectives, measurable outcomes, and a well-justified budget to improve your chances.
Requirements vary by sponsor, but typically include a project narrative, budget justification, organizational capability statement, and key personnel CVs. Check the official notice for the complete list of required attachments.
Yes — AI tools like Granted can help research funders, draft proposal sections, and check compliance. However, always review and customize AI-generated content to reflect your organization's unique strengths and the specific requirements of the solicitation.
Review timelines vary by funder. Federal agencies typically take 3-6 months from submission to award notification. Foundation grants may be faster, often 1-3 months. Check the program's timeline in the official solicitation for specific dates.
Many federal programs offer multi-year funding or allow competitive renewals. Check the official solicitation for continuation and renewal policies. Non-competing continuation applications are common for multi-year awards.
Past winners and funding trends for this program
The Small Grants for African Heritage Projects is a grant from the Heritage Management Organization (HERITΛGE), supported by the Mellon Foundation, that funds organizations, groups, and individuals working to protect, preserve, and celebrate heritage across Africa. The program prioritizes projects demonstrating sustainability, capacity development, and concrete community impact—such as stabilizing historic buildings, building eco-friendly tourism infrastructure, preserving archaeological sites, or developing community-driven conservation plans. Active countries include Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zimbabwe. Eligible applicants are organizations, groups, and individuals working with heritage in Africa. Awards range from $5,000 to $50,000. The application deadline is April 15, 2026.
Enhancing Young Adults’ Economic Mobility through Social Capital RFP is sponsored by Richard King Mellon Foundation Dtd 01-01-47. A competitive Request for Proposals (RFP) to incorporate findings and practices from social-capital research into youth-serving programs. The goal is to identify factors limiting class-crossing social connections and prototype interventions to bolster long-term upward economic mobility for young people ages 0-24 from low-income households. Geographic focus: Allegheny and Westmoreland counties, PA Focus areas: Economic Mobility, Social Capital, Youth Development, Educational Attainment
RFP: Enhancing Young Adults' Economic Mobility through Social Capital is a grant from The Richard King Mellon Foundation that funds programs improving economic mobility for children and young adults (birth to age 24) from low-income households in Allegheny and Westmoreland counties, Pennsylvania. The program focuses on building social capital — the relationships and networks that help young people achieve educational and career success — with a particular emphasis on improving outcomes for Black men and boys and creating cross-class social connections. Eligible organizations must demonstrate a sustainable approach to improving the economic position of individuals, families, and communities. Grants range from $150,000 to $500,000. The application window extends through November 2028.
Improving Undergraduate STEM Education: Education & Human Resources (IUSE: EHR) Program is sponsored by National Science Foundation (NSF). This program promotes novel, creative, and transformative approaches to generating and using new knowledge about STEM teaching and learning to improve STEM education for undergraduate students. It supports projects that bring recent advances in STEM knowledge into undergraduate education, adapt, improve, and incorporate evidence-based practices, and lay the groundwork for institutional improvement in STEM education. Professional development for instructors to ensure adoption of new and effective pedagogical techniques is a potential topic of interest.
The National Leadership Grants for Libraries Program (NLG-L) supports projects that address critical needs of the library and archives fields and have the potential to advance practice and strengthen library and archival services for the American public. Successful proposals will generate results such as new models, tools, research findings, services, practices, and/or alliances that can be widely used, adapted, scaled, or replicated to extend and leverage the benefits of federal investment. Applications to IMLS should both advance knowledge and understanding and ensure that the federal investment made generates benefits to society. Specifically, the goals for this program are to generate projects of far-reaching impact that: • Build the workforce and institutional capacity for managing the national information infrastructure and serving the information and education needs of the public. • Build the capacity of libraries and archives to lead and contribute to efforts that improve community well-being and strengthen civic engagement. • Improve the ability of libraries and archives to provide broad access to and use of information and collections with emphasis on collaboration to avoid duplication and maximize reach. • Strengthen the ability of libraries to provide services to affected communities in the event of an emergency or disaster. • Strengthen the ability of libraries, archives, and museums to work collaboratively for the benefit of the communities they serve. Throughout its work, IMLS places importance on diversity, equity, and inclusion. This may be reflected in an IMLS-funded project in a wide range of ways, including efforts to serve individuals of diverse geographic, cultural, and socioeconomic backgrounds; individuals with disabilities; individuals with limited functional literacy or information skills; individuals having difficulty using a library or museum; and underserved urban and rural communities, including children from families with incomes below the poverty line. Application Process: The application process for the NLG-L program has two phases; applicants must begin by applying for Phase I. For Phase I, all applicants must submit Preliminary Proposals by the September 20th deadline listed for this Notice of Funding Opportunity. For Phase II, only selected applicants will be invited to submit Full Proposals, and only those Invited Full Proposals will be considered for funding. Invited Full Proposals will be due March 20, 2024. Funding Opportunity Number: NLG-LIBRARIES-FY24. Assistance Listing: 45.312. Funding Instrument: G. Category: AR,HU. Award Amount: $50K – $1M per award.
The California Department of Education (CDE) Early Education Division is making approximately .7 million available to expand California State Preschool Program (CSPP) services statewide, appropriated under the 2021 Budget Act. Eligible applicants are local educational agencies (LEAs), including school districts, county offices of education, community college districts, and direct-funded charter schools—both current CSPP contractors and new applicants. Funding supports full-day/full-year or part-day/part-year preschool services for income-eligible children beginning in FY 2024–25. Awards are allocated by county based on Local Planning Council priority areas and application scores, with redistribution provisions if county allocations are underutilized.