FLATHEAD VALLEY AND ACROSS MONTANA – It’s been a month and a half since Humanities Montana, a non-profit organization that supports humanities programs, events, and projects across Montana, suffered a devastating blow from federal grant cuts, losing approximately 90% of its annual budget. The organization continues to plan for an uncertain future, but its path forward remains unpredictable.
The crisis began in early April when the Donald Trump administration’s “Office of Government Efficiency,” as part of broader budget cuts to the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), ceased providing Humanities Montana with approximately $900,000 in annual grants. This action meant the NEH could no longer continue funding state humanities councils.
Humanities Montana’s origins trace back to 1972 when a Montana delegation met with NEH officials in Washington D.C. to discuss establishing a humanities council for Montana. One of the initial federally funded events, supported by a $155,000 NEH grant, was the "Political Power and Human Values in Montana" conference held in Helena.
Currently, Humanities Montana is planning for two scenarios: one where it continues to receive some form of funding from the NEH, and another where, as Humanities Montana Executive Director Jill Baker put it, it “has to entirely change its business model and become a privately funded non-profit.”
A recent $200,000 donation from the Mellon Foundation will help the organization “bridge the gap,” Baker said. This was part of a total of $15 million distributed to state humanities councils after the funding cuts. Baker stated that this funding will serve as a bridge for Humanities Montana until the uncertainty regarding future funding is resolved. The Mellon Foundation’s donation can be increased to a total of $300,000 if a matching fund of $50,000 is met by December. To date, approximately $3,000 has been raised for the matching fund, though Humanities Montana had already raised $120,000 in April before the Mellon Foundation’s donation was announced.
Nevertheless, Baker noted that the organization still faces an approximately $500,000 deficit in its budget for the current year.
According to Humanities Montana’s 2023 financial report, available on its website, the organization received $817,342 from the NEH in that fiscal year and spent a total of $555,675 through programs ($371,045) and grants ($184,631). Explaining Humanities Montana’s impact, Baker emphasized its importance, particularly in rural areas that lack local arts and humanities organizations or the resources to provide programs.
In the last fiscal year, the non-profit supported over $33,000 in the Flathead Valley region for programs focusing on Montana history, poetry, Salish stories, community dance, and writing. This funding included a $1,910.80 "mini-grant" for a Terran Last Gun exhibition at the Hockaday Museum of Art in Kalispell, a mural demonstration, and a writer’s talk, as well as a $4,174 community project grant for the first annual Northwest Montana Book Festival hosted by the Northwest Montana Historical Museum and the Northwest Montana History Association.
An interactive map on the Humanities Montana website shows that 20 of 491 presentations as part of the 2024 'Speakers in the Schools' program took place in the Kalispell, Columbia Falls, and Whitefish areas. Additionally, 12 of the 'Montana Conversations' events were held in the Flathead region. Humanities Montana describes 'Montana Conversations' as events where “trained facilitators and experts lead workshops and discussions on various topics, including current events, untold histories, Indigenous cultures, and literature.” Both the 'Montana Conversations' and 'Speakers in the Schools' programs were delivered in rural areas more than 60% of the time, according to Humanities Montana's records.
Other key programs of Humanities Montana include supporting the state poet laureate position, and the 'Montana Reads' and 'Montana Writes' programs. These programs invite authors, sponsor workshops, and support libraries, book clubs, writing groups, and schools.
Some programs, like the 'Democracy Project' at Columbia Falls High School Library, have continued to secure funding, Baker said. The 'Democracy Project' is described by Humanities Montana as a six-month, civic engagement-focused "youth-led, non-partisan initiative" that "provides resources for young people to learn their role in a changing democracy while addressing community needs."
Prior to the announcement of the grant cuts, Humanities Montana had been closely monitoring attempts by the new administration to freeze federal spending, and had anticipated some level of funding loss, Baker said.
"We were anticipating cuts," Baker stated. "But we were not anticipating a full cessation of the grant."
Humanities Montana continues to explore legal options and has applied for grant funding for the next fiscal year, despite the future of both the NEH and the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) remaining under threat.
Recently, the Donald Trump presidential administration submitted a budget proposal to Congress requesting the abolishment of the NEH and NEA. These endowments, which have existed since the 1960s, have provided major funding for arts and humanities nationwide. The recent budget proposal is similar to proposals made during Trump’s first term that called for the abolishment of both endowments. As reported by The New York Times in early May, in 2017, bipartisan support in Congress ensured the endowments were maintained, and their budgets actually increased during Trump's first term.
Baker said she believes the way communities engage in humanities-based events and yearn for more is a sign that a lot of support remains for what her organization does in Montana.
"It’s challenging because it’s kind of the intrinsic fabric of a community – bringing people together, having conversations, providing learning opportunities for everyone. So I think when that fabric is tested and goes away, it’s not always recognized, because it’s already integrated into our daily experience, and because Humanities Montana works through partners.”
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