National Endowment for the Humanities: Media Projects – Development Grants

Media Projects Development Grants support film, television, and radio projects for general audiences that encourage active engagement with humanities ideas in creative and appealing ways. All projects must be grounded in humanities scholarship in disciplines such as history, art history, film studies, literature, drama, religious studies, philosophy, or anthropology. Projects must also demonstrate an approach that is thoughtful, balanced, and analytical (rather than celebratory). The approach to the subject matter must go beyond the mere presentation of factual information to explore its larger significance and stimulate critical thinking. Projects must demonstrate the potential to attract a broad general audience.

Development grants enable media producers to collaborate with scholars to develop humanities content and to prepare programs for production. Grants should result in a script or treatment and should also yield a detailed plan for outreach and public engagement. To be ready to apply for a Development grant, an organization must already have settled on a subject, an approach, and a project team. Development grants may be used for:

• Meeting with scholars
• Research and preliminary interview (including scholarly research and development of humanities themes)
• Preparation of program treatments and/or scripts
• Production of a work-in-progress or trailer
• Creation of partnerships for outreach activities and public engagement

Amount: Awards typically range from $40,000 to $75,000.

Eligibility: Any U.S. nonprofit organization with IRS tax-exempt status is eligible, as are state and local governmental agencies and federally recognized Indian tribal governments. Independent producers who wish to apply for NEH funding must seek an eligible organization to sponsor the project and submit the application to NEH.

Link: http://www.neh.gov/grants/public/media-projects-development-grants

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