Major Grants is sponsored by South Carolina Humanities. Supports large-scale public humanities programs such as festivals, exhibits, and lecture series that explore South Carolina's history and culture.

Skip to content Important Update The grants program has always been the foundation of our public support of the humanities. We have funded a variety of projects, from major documentaries broadcast on national public television to small-scale genealogies and oral histories at the local level. South Carolina Humanities awarded its first grant in the spring of 1973 and recently has awarded approximately $200,000 a year in grant monies.

Major Grants are for public humanities programs that are large in scale. As of April 2025, Major Grants are suspended until further notice. Mini Grants are to support public humanities programs of modest cost.

As of April 2025, Mini Grants are suspended until further notice. Planning Grants are awarded to support preliminary work in designing a project. As of April 2025, Planning Grants are suspended until further notice.

Fast Track Literary Grants Fast Track Literary Grants are intended to support new or existing public literary programs such as (but not limited to) writers series, festivals, workshops, or writer’s residencies at schools. As of April 2025, Fast Track Litereary Grants are suspended until further notice.

SC Humanities will offer an annual scholarship for one undergraduate and one graduate student who have declared a major or are enrolled in a Master’s degree program in the humanities. SC Humanities’ Access Grants are intended to support making public humanities programs and collections more accessible to diverse public audiences. Awards are currently $2,000 or less.

As of February 2025, Access Grants are suspended until further notice. "For a long time, we have never had a civil rights museum. It was with the great assistance of this agency to really help a young museum like ours move a step forward."

South Carolina Humanities makes connections and offers technical assistance to prospective grantees every day. We frequently provide advice, referrals and mentoring (at no charge). The goal of the grants program is to build communities, increase the cultural capacity of local institutions and provide local economic impact.

I applied for a grant through South Carolina Humanities and it just laid the building blocks for everything I was able to do moving forward. The South Carolina Humanities grants program reaches every corner of the Palmetto State. View a list of projects supported by SC Humanities since 2007.

Frequently Asked Questions Any non-profit, governmental, or educational organization may apply for funding through SC Humanities. Previous applicants have included local libraries, museums, schools, churches, civic groups, and historical and arts councils. Do you offer grants to individuals?

Do you fund operational expenses for organizations? SC Humanities does not fund costs for administration. However, program costs (telephone, mail, promotion, etc.) are allowable.

Do we have to use your application or may we submit a generic proposal? You must use our application format. Generic proposal formats or applications for other organizations will not be accepted.

Complete the appropriate application and submit it to SC Humanities staff. Organizations are encouraged to consider submitting drafts for staff review prior to final submission. Is a match required for grants?

Yes. SC Humanities requires a 1:1 match. Match may be divided between cash and in-kind services, as long as the total at least equals the grant award.

What qualifies as "in-kind services"? If it is donated, it can count as “in-kind services”. Examples would include: volunteer time, project administration, or donations of good or services.

If I receive one grant from SC Humanities, am I eligible to receive another one? Yes. SC Humanities does not prohibit previous recipients from applying for additional funding.

However, repetitive projects are discouraged. Applications from the same sponsor for programs of similar content, staff, format, and audience will not normally be funded more than twice. Theresa J.

Wallace (T. J.) For more information about the South Carolina Humanities grants program, contact T.

J. Wallace at [email protected] or 803-771-2477.