What We Can’t Fund
MHC’s grants program is competitive and limited to programs in the humanities. To avoid disappointment, please speak to a MHC staff member and follow all the guidelines in this material so that you are sure that your project fits the guidelines before you start to write.
MHC does not fund:
- Art performances or projects, unless their primary role is to foster analysis or interpretation using humanities disciplines. (The New Century Arts and Humanities Grant Program can accommodate greater emphasis on the arts, but must still include a humanities component - http://mainearts.maine.gov/grant_artsandhumanities.aspx)
- Publications, unless integral to public programs
- Grants to individuals, or to pay students for projects that are being done for academic credit
- Grants primarily for group or individual travel
- Projects designed as fund-raising ventures (MHC-funded projects need not be free, but participation costs should be reasonable for the type of program being presented)
- Projects that engage in advocacy or discriminate against persons or groups
- Capital expenditures, construction or restoration costs (except for Humanities Infrastructure Grants)
- Equipment valued in excess of $100 (except in extraordinary circumstances)
- Normal organizational operating costs, indirect or overhead expenses unrelated to the project
- Projects that have NO connection to Maine.
- Films (except scripting and post production, see above)
If your project does not seem to be a good fit for the Maine Humanities Council, be sure to visit the Maine Philanthropy Center. The Center offers resources for organizations seeking grant support, such as instructional programs on grant writing, as well as the state’s most comprehensive directory of funders. Also feel free to talk to Council staff. Often we are able to help identify alternate funding possibilities.
Updated May 2011
