Capacity Grants

Connecticut Humanities Fund Capacity Grants support Connecticut organizations that bring the humanities to the public. The program is administered by Connecticut Humanities and is designed to strengthen organizations that present and interpret humanities content for public audiences. Capacity Grants help eligible organizations think strategically, better understand their audiences, become better stewards of their assets and operations, and plan for a more sustainable and financially secure future. Funding priority is given to organizations that demonstrate how they currently present and interpret the humanities to the public and explain how the proposed project will strengthen and improve their ability to do so moving forward. Funded capacity-building activities may include board assessments and training, staff training and professional development, strategic planning, marketing assessments and planning, audience assessments, Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility assessments, planning, and training, financial assessments and planning, fundraising assessments and planning, collections and archival assessments, planning, and digitization, object preservation and conservation, interpretive assessments and planning, and technology assessments, planning, and upgrades. Priority projects include significant humanities expertise and content, explore topics in an inclusive and accessible manner, and strengthen areas such as K-12 learning, civic and community learning, community collaboration, organizational capacity and resiliency, or continued access to project content and resources. Connecticut-focused projects and projects that help audiences understand community issues, current events, or relationships between the past and present are encouraged. Awards may not exceed 20000, and every Capacity Grant project period lasts 12 months beginning on the date the Connecticut Humanities Board of Directors votes to adjudicate awards. Eligible expenses include staff salaries and wages for work directly related to the project, consultant and outside professional fees, project-related travel, photocopying of worksheets and handouts, and purchases or licensing fees for equipment, software, and materials directly related to project activities. Technical assistance from consultants may not exceed 10000 of the total request. Capacity Grants require a dollar-for-dollar match. The match may include qualifying in-kind contributions, applicant cash contributions, and external cash contributions specifically supporting the project. State of Connecticut funding cannot be used as match. Excluded costs and activities include advocacy for a particular political, philosophical, religious, or ideological viewpoint, artistic product creation, construction and renovation, book publication, endowments, individual fellowships, artifact acquisition, capital improvements and equipment, debt service, fundraising and social-event costs, food and catering, retroactive expenses, undocumented expenses, indirect costs and overhead, and specified honoraria or professional fees. Eligible applicants include Connecticut 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations that have been incorporated in Connecticut for at least one year and are governed by a board of directors that meets regularly, Connecticut cities or municipalities, and Connecticut-based federally or State recognized tribes. Applicants must regularly provide significant programming or services to the public, including open hours and special events, or function as a professional service organization supporting humanities program providers. They must also comply with all terms and conditions of previous Connecticut Humanities grants. For-profit organizations, individuals, Connecticut state agencies, including state universities, state parks, and historic sites, and organizations that are not compliant with previous Connecticut Humanities grant requirements are ineligible. An organization may have only one Capacity Grant open at a time and may submit only one Capacity Grant application at each application deadline. Applications must be submitted through the Connecticut Humanities online grant portal. Applicants are highly encouraged to contact Grants staff at grants@cthumanities.org before applying to discuss their project ideas, particularly if they are first-time applicants. Optional draft reviews must be requested by email no later than two weeks before the application deadline after the applicant saves the draft in the grant portal. Required application attachments include resumes or CVs of up to three pages for consultants and lead staff, a consultant proposal or invoice when applicable, letters of commitment from key partners and collaborators when applicable, a project budget using the required Connecticut Humanities Budget Form, the applicant's current board list with names and contact information in PDF format, and current-year and previous-year operating budgets. Applications can be disqualified for applicant ineligibility, failure to submit the final report for an existing open Capacity Grant by the deadline, projects unrelated to the humanities, incomplete applications, failure to use the required budget form, insufficient eligible expenses or matching funds as specified in the guidelines, or late or unsubmitted draft applications. No application edits may be made after the deadline. Applicants experiencing technical submission problems must contact Connecticut Humanities Grants Staff by phone or email within 12 hours after the deadline. Grants containing excluded expenses may have those expenses removed from the award, while insufficient matching funds may result in a reduced award. Capacity Grant applications are accepted twice each year. The fiscal year application deadlines are November 1, 2026 and May 1, 2027, with applications due by 11:59 PM. Applications submitted for the November deadline receive award notification by the first business day of February 2027, while applications submitted for the May deadline receive notification by the first business day of July 2027. Each grant period lasts 12 months. The program contact for application consultation, optional draft review, and grant questions is grants@cthumanities.org. The general Connecticut Humanities telephone number provided is 860-785-9640. The guidelines are effective July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027.

Demonstrate how the organization currently presents and interprets the humanities to the public and how the project will strengthen that capacity. Align the project with stated humanities, inclusion, education, civic learning, collaboration, resiliency, or access priorities where applicable. Ensure the budget contains sufficient eligible expenses and the required dollar-for-dollar match. Use the required CTH Budget Form and submit a complete application rather than leaving it in draft mode. Contact Grants staff early because consultation and draft review depend on staff availability.