North Carolina Humanities has awarded a total of $58,209 in Small Project Grants to support 14 North Carolina-based public humanities projects that will promote engagement with North Carolina’s histories, stories, and cultures.
Funded projects will commence in the coming months, with many already set to occur before the end of the year. Among the funded projects are a documentary film about the experiences of Global War On Terror veterans, a conference aimed at elevating underrepresented voices in Appalachia, and a video series for elementary school students about Scottish heritage and how it has contributed to North Carolina’s overall cultural fabric.
NC Humanities annually provides Small Project Grants of up to $5,000 twice a year to nonprofit organizations that use the humanities (literature, history, philosophy, etc.) to raise questions, encourage conversation, contextualize experiences, and connect people across differences in their local communities. NC Humanities offers other humanities project grants of varying funding amounts throughout the year. In 2024, NC Humanities awarded over $482,000 in grant funding to nonprofits across the state.
Funding for North Carolina’s cultural sector is essential for meeting the growing needs of our communities and connecting stories from the past and present, while thinking towards the future. NC Humanities is proud to be one of the largest and oldest cultural funding organizations in the state. NC Humanities helps nonprofits enhance their projects and reach more individuals so that they can deliver greater value to those they serve and continue to develop robust, community-based programs that connect North Carolinians.
Grant information and applications for 2025 will be announced later this year. To learn more about NC Humanities’ grants, eligibility, and deadlines, visit https://nchumanities.org/grants.
The following organizations received a Small Project Grant from North Carolina Humanities as of September 2024.
Alliance for Historic Hillsborough (Hillsborough)
Telling the Full Story Community Conversation Series + More
Grant Award: $4,950
This project seeks to bring the histories and experiences of African American and Indigenous residents to light, primarily relying on these people to share their thoughts through oral histories. A learning and conversational series, a collaborative public lecture with other local organizations, and the documentation of oral histories with elders in the community will provide a deeper educational experience and offer attendees the opportunity to share and reflect on their own experiences.
Appalachian State University (Boone)
Bridging the Divide between Classical Music and Folk Traditions: Béla Bartók’s Legacy
Grant Award: $5,000
High Country Humanities will design and deliver high-impact humanities programming on Béla Bartók (1881–1945), the Hungarian composer who helped bridge the divide between classical and folk music. A vocal opponent of the distinction between “high” and “low” cultures in Nazi-occupied Europe, Bartók was exiled to the United States during World War II. He spent his final summer in North Carolina, where he composed his famous “Asheville Concerto” in 1945. Celebrating the eightieth anniversary of this piece, humanities experts will offer free public talks, discussions, and guided listening workshops to make classical music more accessible and relevant to broad audiences in rural North Carolina.
Campaign for Southern Equality (Asheville)
Trans Kids, Our Kids: Companion Materials & Discussion Series
Grant Award: $5,000
A 2021 survey by the Trevor Project found that 46% of LGBTQ+ youth in North Carolina seriously considered suicide in the past year; 74% experienced anxiety; and 77% have experienced discrimination based on their sexual orientation/gender identity. This project aims to address these challenges through the creation of supplemental materials and a community conversation series based on the book Trans Kids, Our Kids: Stories and Resources from the Frontlines of the Movement for Transgender Youth. Trans Kids, Our Kids features the voices of 50+ trans youth and the adults who support them, including their families, as well as doctors, lawyers, advocates, and faith leaders from 19 different states. This grant will help support the creation of a reading guide for high school youth as well as a series of community conversations hosted with LGBTQ+ youth organizations in North Carolina that will be grounded in the text. These activities will leverage real-life stories to foster critical reflection and understanding for the human condition—while challenging assumptions about gender, identity, and societal norms.
Carolina Migrant Network (Charlotte)
Latin American History Through Cinema
Grant Award: $3,500
Utilizing popular Latin American cinema, this community class will offer Latinx individuals, either immigrants or US-born, an opportunity to understand their stories and their communities’ growth in the US. The class will engage critically in discussions to explore how cinema produces and circulates different versions of Latin American history. The class will use films about key moments and central figures of recent and twentieth-century Latin America history. Films will be treated as cultural constructions, and by analyzing them, participants will gain insight into the context of production and the historical events depicted.
Central Carolina Community College (CCCC) Foundation (Sanford)
Academic and Cultural Enrichment Series (ACES) at CCCC: “The Ongoing Fight for Freedom” Presentation
Grant Award: $500
The ACES program at CCCC creates a lifelong learning environment where students and community members can experience artistic and cultural events together, resulting in conversation and more well-rounded people. This grant will support bringing the presentation, “The Ongoing Fight for Freedom: Stories of NC Black Veterans,” to the community. It is a one-man presentation and performance elevating Black freedom fighters and veterans with North Carolina connections – known and unknown, on and off the traditional battlefield – who have engaged in over 400 years of a struggle for freedom, liberty, and equality. Their sacrifices, resistance, and resilience have contributed to American democracy, even as they were denied the full rights of citizens. Through listening to their stories in this production, audiences will gain a deeper understanding of our nation’s history and will have the opportunity to engage in dialogue across racial and cultural issues and to celebrate black veterans.
Clay County Historical & Arts Council (Hayesville)
Equipment for Old Jail Museum Video Series
Grant Award: $2,000
This project will help preserve the history of the area through a series of created videos featuring members of the community who have experiences related to the exhibits in the museum. Exhibits such as the first telephone system in Clay County will be videoed with two grandchildren of the person who owned and operated it in the early 1930’s. These videos will be kept as a record for the present generation and those who follow. This grant will help with the purchase of upgraded video equipment to better capture these stories.
Friends of Weymouth (Southern Pines)
“Better Than They Found It” and “The Carpenters: A Weymouth Family” Tours, 2025
Grant Award: $5,000
Home to the North Carolina Literary Hall of Fame and as the former residence of author James Boyd, the Weymouth Center for the Arts & Humanities honors North Carolina writers and the Boyd family legacy. This grant will support the development of docent-led and self-guided tours to explore these legacies. The tours will illuminate the Boyd’s roles in literature, conservation, journalism, and equestrian culture, using artifacts like their antique silver service and personal items to connect visitors to this rich history. Additionally, a tour for third-grade students, aligned with North Carolina’s social studies curriculum, will offer students an interactive way to engage with local history and see how the Boyd’s work shaped their community.
Preservation Zebulon (Zebulon)
Zebulon Historic Homes Tour 2025
Grant Award: $4,859
To capture, retain, and highlight its rural history, this grant will support the Historic Homes Tour, scheduled for April 12, 2025. The tour will take place in a newly established historic district of Zebulon and will help transferees buying these homes and area residents engage more with the history and identity of Zebulon. Grant funding will also support the creation of printed materials including a 12-page brochure describing each historic house on tour with a photo, description of the architectural style, information on early owners, and a map of the tour area. To further tell the story of Zebulon’s creation and history, the tour will also include information about the former Wakelon school site, which taught White students, and the Shepherd school, which was for Black students in Zebulon. Preservation Zebulon launched its Historic Homes Tour in 2022 with support from NC Humanities.
Show N Tell Ministries (Garner)
Invisible Warriors
Grant Award: $5,000
This grant will support the creation of a documentary film about the experiences of Global War On Terror veterans. The film is designed to support veterans seeking assistance, or veterans who could benefit from assistance, with Post-Trauma Stress Disorder (PTSD) and other disorders. The film will show real people talking about real problems and encouraging their comrades to be brave enough to seek help. The film will also help the public to gain insight on how they can play a role in the well-being of our military veterans. The film will be screened at local churches, community centers, museums, and on local television stations. It will be broadcast statewide on Memorial Day on PBS-North Carolina.
Southern Highland Craft Guild (Asheville)
Making and Thinking 2025: Building Community
Grant Award: $4,000
This grant will support the second annual Making and Thinking Conference in 2025. The conference aims to expand public consciousness about craft artists and processes both past and future, and to challenge regional stereotypes by elevating underrepresented voices in Appalachian and American History. The conference will include presentations and demonstrations by a diverse selection of PhD candidates, professors, emerging scholars, artists, and musicians.
The Royal City Collaboration Corp (Matthews)
Connected Conversations: Art, Technology, and Cultural Identity
Grant Award: $5,000
This four-part lecture series will explore how technological advances shape our cultural heritage, artistic expression, and social connections. By focusing on digital tools and new media, the project aims to increase awareness of how technology influences culture while fostering meaningful discussions. The series will be accessible to all, with a special emphasis on engaging BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color) individuals and low-income residents, ensuring that underserved communities are at the heart of this cultural dialogue.
The Scottish Cultural Outreach Foundation (Swansboro)
Scotland in Our Backyard
Grant Award: $3,500
This project aims to uplift Scottish heritage and its rich traditions that have contributed to North Carolina’s overall cultural fabric. This grant will support the creation of six YouTube videos designed for elementary school students and their educators. These videos will explore a diverse array of Scottish cultural expressions, including the Scots Gaelic language, traditional music, dance, and folklore. By showcasing the intricate relationship between these elements, the project will highlight the significance of cultural preservation and its role in maintaining cultural identity and storytelling.
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Chapel Hill)
Odysseys of Wisdom: Bridging Generations through Homer’s Epic
Grant Award: $4,900
This project addresses the challenge of fostering intergenerational dialogue and community engagement using Homer’s Odyssey as a focal point. It will create a shared space for individuals from diverse age groups to explore timeless themes including heroism, justice, fate, and the nature of the human condition, and their relevance for contemporary life. A series of community-based activities, including lectures, reading groups, and a dramatic reading event followed by humanistic discussion, will allow participants to explore the text and bring their personal life experiences to the discussions.
Western Carolina University (Cullowhee)
Stranger No More: George Masa and His Art
Grant Award: $5,000
Western Carolina University’s (WCU) Mountain Heritage Center’s (MHC) upcoming exhibition will introduce the life and photography of George Masa to a new generation. Displays will include Masa’s camera and tripod, and photographic prints. WCU students and Masa scholars will work with MHC staff to generate a community-curated narrative. To date, there has never been an exhibition of this scale for George Masa. The timing of the exhibition aligns with the release of new scholarship about Masa’s unique voice including the NC Humanities-support documentary A Life Reimagined: The George Masa Story. MHC will coordinate screenings of the documentary, panel discussions, and hikes to popular Masa photograph locations to reinforce Masa’s enduring impact on tourism, conservation, and recreation.
Note: Project descriptions are shortened for length and clarity and reflect the project’s proposed activity at time of grant submission.
About North Carolina Humanities: Through public humanities programs and grantmaking, North Carolina Humanities connects North Carolinians with cultural experiences that spur dialogue, deepen human connections, and inspire community. North Carolina Humanities is a statewide nonprofit and affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. To learn more, visit www.nchumanities.org.
