A private foundation will help a North Carolina nonprofit that lost federal funding last month.
The Trump Administration, through Elon Musk's DOGE cost-cutting entity, rescinded grants to state and territorial humanities councils offered by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). The endowment laid off 80% of its staff.
North Carolina Humanities, based in Charlotte, receives about $1.6 million from the NEH each year. Executive Director Sherry Paula Watkins said the loss of funding would affect programs such as its North Carolina Reads statewide book club, fellowships, reading programs, and cultural festivals.
While North Carolina Humanities scrambled to react, the Mellon Foundation has stepped in to help. It's offering $15 million in "emergency funding" to humanities councils in all 50 states, U.S. territories, and Washington, D.C.
"This is a financial crisis, and we're so thankful for the Mellon funding that is bridging the gap," Watkins said. "And we are asking for other supporters right now to donate to us as we navigate through this uncertainty."
The Mellon Foundation will give North Carolina Humanities $200,000 and will offer another $50,000 if it matches that amount through fundraising. In the meantime, Watkins said she's lobbying the state's congressional delegation to restore NEH funding in the next federal budget.
"Our Federation of State Humanities Councils is already advocating in Congress for FY (financial year) 26 and asking for funds to be designated for all humanities councils across the country," she said. "So, we have hope for that, as well as raising financial support from private philanthropy and individual donors who believe in our programs."
Meanwhile, a number of organizations have filed a lawsuit that challenges DOGE's actions at the NEH. The suit argues the cuts mean NEH is now "a shell of the agency that Congress established and consistently funded."
