The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Division of Lifelong Learning is accepting applications for the Media Projects Program.
Donor Name: National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH)
State: All States
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 06/25/2026
Size of the Grant: $500,000 to $1 million
Grant Duration: Less than 1 Year
Details:
The Media Projects program supports the development, production, and distribution of radio programs, podcasts, and documentary films that engage general audiences with humanities ideas in creative and appealing ways. Projects must be grounded in humanities scholarship and incorporate an approach that is thoughtful, balanced, and analytical. Proposals must demonstrate the potential to attract a broad general audience and should be intended for national or regional distribution. Film projects may be stand-alone documentaries that are at least a broadcast hour in length, or a limited series of programs with episodes of any length. Radio and podcast projects may be single programs, a limited series, or segments within an ongoing program. Projects may include supplementary components such as discussion programs or websites.
Funding Categories
Media Projects offers two levels of funding: Development and Production.
The goal of Development awards is to enable film producers to collaborate with scholars to develop humanities content and other program elements. Development awards may support activities such as:
- meetings with scholars
- preliminary interviews
- preparation of detailed program treatments or scripts
- production of a work-in-progress or trailer
- creation of partnerships for outreach activities and public engagement
- archival and other scholarly research
Production awards must result in the production and distribution of a radio program, podcast, or a documentary film. Production awards may support activities such as:
- archival research and rights clearances
- meetings with scholars
- additional script development
- production (including filming, recording, and editing) and distribution
- development of related resources that explore the humanities content and themes central to the project (e.g., websites and curriculum materials)
- outreach and public engagement
Funding Information
- You may request up to $75,000 for Development of a film project, up to $350,000 for Production of radio and podcast projects, and up to $700,000 for Production of a documentary film, inclusive of both direct and indirect costs.
- NEH anticipates awarding approximately $6,000,000 in total funding to an estimated 15 recipients.
Project Period
Your project must start between March 1, 2027, and September 1, 2027.
Eligibility Criteria
To be eligible to apply, your organization must be established in the United States or its jurisdictions as one of the following:
- a nonprofit organization recognized as tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code
- an accredited institution of higher education (public or nonprofit)
- a state or local government or one of their agencies
- a federally recognized Native American Tribal government
For more information, visit Grants.gov.
