Program Grants

Program Grants is a grant from the New Mexico Humanities Council that funds publicly accessible humanities projects throughout New Mexico. The subaward program provides financial resources to humanities-focused nonprofits, tribal governments, and governmental institutions to support projects rooted in storytelling, culture, language, ethics, and community heritage.

Funded projects involve scholars, community elders, tradition bearers, and local historians in program design and execution. Awards range from $2,000 to $10,000. Eligible applicants include nonprofits, museums, and educational institutions in New Mexico.

Note: the program was on pause as of early 2026 during an organizational transition.

GRANTS - New Mexico Humanities Council Previously paused subawards have been able to resume following changes in available funding. REVIEW A LIST OF PREVIOUSLY FUNDED PROJECTS Seeking to provide funding support to use storytelling as a catalyst to build bridges of understanding. AFROMUNDO FESTIVAL SCHOLAR ELSA BEATRIZ VASQUEZ The Council’s grant program remains on pause at this time as we work through our current transition.

It is our desire at the New Mexico Humanities Council (NMHC) to strengthen communities throughout the state by supporting the meaningful work being done by organizations like yours. Our subaward grant program provides financial resources to humanities-focused nonprofit organizations, tribal governments and governmental institutions.

Subaward grants are pass-through awards managed by NMHC, therefore other pass-through agencies may not apply. These federal funds come from the National Endowment for the Humanities and therefore reporting must adhere to federal guidelines. However, our team is here to support you every step of the way.

The subaward program is designed to support publicly accessible humanities projects throughout the state that foster dialogue, encourage inquiry and foster connection. The projects we fund take many different forms, but all funded programs have the following characteristics in common. Projects are rooted in the humanities.

We seek to partner with organizations with programming that help us reflect on the human condition, our lived experiences, and the ties that unite us through culture, language, ethics, the environment and tradition. The programs within projects are shaped through the participation of scholars, community elders, tradition bearers and local historians.

These individuals are an integral part of programs from the conception through the final execution of the program. Before you get started, we encourage you to arrange a consultation with NMHC staff to make sure your proposed project aligns with grant guidelines, our mission and funding limitations. Consultations are required for both new and returning organizations before starting an application.

While we are unable to fund performance art or the creation of other art forms, we are able to support educational talks and materials which help facilitate dialogue linked to such art forms. A few examples of the format of programs we fund include: oral history projects, interpretive site tours, panel discussions, film discussions, interpretive exhibits paired with a lecture series, reading discussions and more.

All grant applications and subaward grant reports are managed through the Foundant Grants Management Portal. If you have questions along the way, please reach out to NMHC’s grants management team. Check out our staff directory for contact information .

Below are more specifics about the types of projects that are funded, eligibility requirements, grant guidelines / project planning requirements, the pre-application process and more.

AfroMundo Festival, led by AfroMundo Ernie Mills Project led by NM In-Depth AfroMundo Festival, led by AfroMundo Women Make Movies led by Sierra County Arts Council CELEBRATE AND EXPLORE CULTURAL HISTORIES YEAR-ROUND Humanities subaward grants seek to uplift the voices of all New Mexicans.

We encourage applicants to select presenters who have a direct relationship to the content being presented to enable the narrative to be shared with greater authenticity. For these reasons, project scholars are not limited to individuals rooted in academia. Instead, it’s encouraged to select community elders, tribal leaders, tradition bearers and community historians with lived experiences to lead conversations as scholars.

With the participation of these individuals it becomes possible to ensure the origins of traditions, culture and oral histories are not forgotten and ensure history is no longer told from a primarily colonial lens.