LEH Launches Louisiana Culture Care Fund
In an effort to help protect Louisiana’s critical cultural institutions, the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities has launched the Louisiana Culture Care Fund, a new grant program providing emergency relief funding to humanities organizations impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
With funds provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the federal CARES Act, awards will range between $3,000 and $20,000, and applications are open now.
For details on eligibility, application requirements, and to apply, click here. To review a sample application, click here.
About the Louisiana Culture Care Fund
With the passage of the $2.2 trillion CARES Act economic stabilization plan, the NEH received $75 million in emergency funding. Approximately $30 million of the NEH funds were then distributed to the state humanities councils for support of humanities organizations in their home states.
Grants from the Louisiana Culture Care Fund are designated for operational expenses, including but not limited to staff retention (payroll and benefits), rent, mortgage and utilities. Awards will be based on based on the annual operating budget of the applicant organization. A sample application may be found here.
The granting period will run from May 4 through June 30, 2020, or until funds are expended. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, and organizations will receive notification of award or rejection within 10 days of submission.
Who Can Apply
Grants from the Louisiana Culture Care Fund are available to 501(c)(3) non-profit cultural organizations in Louisiana with a strong humanities focus, such as museums, historic sites, and archives, as well as the diverse array of humanities-focused media, festivals, and more.
The NEH defines the humanities as including the fields of history, philosophy, literature, foreign languages, linguistics, comparative religion, ethics, archaeology, jurisprudence, art history, theory and criticism and philosophical and historical approaches to social sciences. For more information about how the humanities are defined, visit. www.neh.gov/about.
For more information about how the humanities are defined, visit www.neh.gov/about.
The LEH especially encourages applications from rural and underserved areas of the state, but applications are welcome regardless of an organization’s size and location.
All Louisiana Culture Care Fund applications will be subject to the same review process based on the following criteria:
- All applicants must submit their federal tax identification/EIN number, DUNS number, and copies of their form 990 and IRS 501(c)(3) determination letter.
- Estimated annual audience
- Record of strong humanities programming
- Organization size
- Geographic location and distribution (rural, underserved areas of Louisiana)
- Preference will be given to organizations who have not received funds from the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) but receipt of PPP funds does not disqualify organizations from applying for support from the Louisiana Culture Care Fund.
For more information about the Louisiana Culture Care Fund, including eligibility requirements, click here or contact LEH Grants Manager Chris Robert at [email protected].
Additional Resources
Ineligible organizations are encouraged to apply directly to the NEH through NEH CARES: Cultural Organizations, a fund created with the remaining 60 percent of the CARES ACT funds made available to the NEH.
Organizations with a strong arts focus are encouraged to contact the Louisiana Division of the Arts for grants provided through the National Endowment for the Arts.
Nonprofit organizations may also be eligible to apply for a Small Business Administration loan to cover operating expenses through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).
