Planning Grants ($5,000) are awarded to projects in the research and design phase. This grant is suited for applicants planning projects in the fields of middle grades education (ages 10-14, grades 6-8), with emphasis on civics and humanities themes.
Donor Name: California Humanities
State: California
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 02/01/2023
Size of the Grant: $5,000
Grant Duration: 12 months
Details:
Civics + Humanities Middle Grades Grants is a new pilot program that offers $5,000-$15,000 grants to support civics and humanities education for California’s middle grades-aged youth (grades 6-8 or ages 10-14) in school and out-of-school settings.
Middle school students are at an age defined by issues of identity, community, and belonging. They believe the synergy of civics and humanities education can offer a path to engage middle schoolers. By inviting youth to address issues in their lives and communities, they aim to help students develop agency, responsibility and to exercise autonomy over their education.
Over the past few years, California Humanities met with leaders in the field of education to discuss ways to better infuse the humanities into California grade school education. These specialists identified middle school as a flashpoint to amplify and expand civics and humanities education.
In this first year of the grant program, they look forward to meeting their grant applicants and learning about the variety of civic and humanities projects offered in California. They will host virtual meetings of Civics + Humanities Middle Grades grantees to facilitate peer-to-peer conversation and learning. Over time, they hope these meetings will bolster connections and camaraderie in the growing area of youth civics and humanities education.
Funding Information
Awardees receive $5,000.
Eligible Civics + Humanities Projects
- Civics Education: The study of civics—inclusive of but much more broadly writ than traditional academic study of governmental structures and voting—can include community engagement, neighborhood volunteering, a connection to and concern for the commonweal, engagement in public institutions like libraries, ideas and experiences of citizenship, social justice, cultural study, and intergenerational connections and transfer of knowledge. Civics at the middle grades level will expose youth to discussion of hard topics, engage in respectful debate, recognize bias, build empathy, and develop understanding of other views, as well as boost their capacity to establish and express their own. Here, the idea of student agency—both as a learner and a citizen—is continually emphasized.
- Humanities Education: Humanities invite us to examine the essential question of what it means to be human. They encompass a wide range of activities that enable us to understand, explore, and communicate about human experience, including such common or “everyday” activities as reading, conversation, and reflection. In academic settings, the humanities most frequently find application in the disciplines of history, literature, linguistics, art history and criticism, philosophy, folklore, cultural studies, religious studies, ethics, jurisprudence, and the interpretive social sciences, although they can be applied to any field (e.g., history of medicine, philosophy of science, business ethics, cultural implications of technology, etc.). The humanities are well-suited for building higher order thinking skills, such as metacognition, analysis, critical thinking, and learning to learn. To middle grades students, the humanities offer opportunity for increased rigor in work, giving kids in this age range room to flex their developing emotional and academic capacity.
- Equity: California Humanities believes equity should be at the heart of the humanities. Their state’s variety of cultures, languages, and opinions yields a nearly infinite variety of possibilities for civic and humanities engagement. In recognition of their state’s demographic and geographic diversity, Civics + Humanities Middle Grades Grants support projects that represent the full diversity of California.
Eligibility Criteria
- Applications are accepted from California-based nonprofit organizations, schools, libraries, and public agencies with 501c3 status.
- California Humanities accepts applications from California-based non-profit organizations with federally recognized tax-exempt status or state/municipal public agencies such as schools, arts councils, colleges and universities, tribal governments, or libraries.
- Individuals and organizations lacking tax exempt status may not apply directly for funding but can apply under the auspices of a fiscal sponsor or in partnership with a California non-profit organization.
- Eligible applicant organizations and project directors must:
- Be in good standing with California Humanities (e.g., without unfulfilled reporting requirements) if a previous grant recipient.
- Not have an open grant or application under consideration or submit more than one application per California Humanities deadline, unless acting as a California Humanities-approved, multi-application fiscal sponsor or a college, university, public library system, or arts council.
Project Requirements
All Planning projects should:
- Conduct research and planning to explore opportunities for civic and humanities education
- Focus in a non-partisan way on subjects and issues relevant and meaningful to middle grades students
- Actively involve at least one humanities advisor or culture bearer as an integral member of the project team
- Humanities are central and not tangential to the project
- Complete project within twelve-month grant period.
For more information, visit California Humanities.
