It has now been one year since humanities councils woke up to an email telling them that their operating grants had been terminated by NEH with no opportunity for appeal.
This report is a summary of actions the Federation and the council community have taken in the last year and the multiple strategies the Federation is pursuing to fight for councils during this crisis.
Exciting New Council Programming
But first, some good news. In addition to statewide reads, veterans’ programs, childhood literacy workshops, small town museum exhibitions, and all the other incredible work councils are doing with limited resources…
By the People: Conversations Beyond 250 is a national initiative developed by the Federation and the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage. Fifty-one participating humanities councils are putting on public programs exploring cultural and creative expressions in their states and territories. Events have already started and will run through August. See a full list of council programs and events at statehumanities.org/bythepeople and visit the Smithsonian’s StoryMap to see council events alongside other 2026 Smithsonian Folklife Festival events happening around the country.
This collaboration allowed the Federation to convene council executive directors and program managers in DC this past November for a special day of By the People planning, the first time we’d been able to gather council staff in-person since the cuts.
Emergency/Bridge Funding
Within a month of the funding cut last April, the Federation received $15 million in emergency funding for councils from the Mellon Foundation. Each council received $200,000 in unrestricted funds immediately, with an additional $50,000 in matching funds. The matching funds helped councils ramp up their own emergency fundraising. To date, councils have used the match fund to raise over $1.9 million in individual donations. The balance of the Mellon funds is being used for capacity-building grants and services to support councils.
The outpouring of donor support for councils and the Federation has been inspiring, buying councils invaluable time to pivot and adapt.
Advocacy
In January 2025, anticipating attempts to defund councils, the Federation quickly ramped up our long-standing advocacy efforts, building on decades of relationship-building in Congress. In January 2026, after months of advocacy work, Congress passed a bill with level funding for the National Endowment for the Humanities and humanities councils.
This was an encouraging development, but the crisis is not over. Humanities councils have not received any federal funding since summer 2025, and there is no guarantee they will see their full Congressional appropriation in 2026.
We remain in constant communication with our allies in Congress to thwart attempts to keep councils from receiving their full appropriation.
Legal Strategy
Even if councils receive their full FY2026 appropriation, they will still be starting from reduced capacity, with over half of their 2025 funding still held back.
In May 2025, the Federation and Oregon Humanities jointly filed a lawsuit in federal district court against NEH and DOGE contesting the termination of councils’ 2025 grants. After a preliminary injunction win in August, our case is making its way through the courts, with filings this spring and more news likely this June.
Where We Go Next
In March, the Federation convened staff and board members from 39 councils in DC for an extremely productive Humanities on the Hill advocacy day (over 150 visits logged). We’ll be back on the Hill on April 9 for a Congressional briefing for legislative staffers focused on councils’ 250th activities.
We’re also hard at work on a November 2026 convening, where council staff can gather, reflect, be in solidarity with one another, and plan for the future.
