Last week, Humanities New York (HNY) received notice that funding allocated to us by Congress and disbursed by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) was cancelled, effectively immediately.
The news arrived just days after the NEH first informed the 56 state and jurisdictional councils it oversees that the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) was planning an attack with the aim of dismantlement.
At HNY, we’re in close contact with peer councils to monitor the situation and take coordinated action against DOGE’s plans. But in the interim, we’re forced to make difficult decisions.
The loss of NEH funding affects our ability to award grants and even to issue payments owed to grantees. It portends a bleak future for Humanities New York and the state’s cultural sector.
Recent threats highlight the necessity of humanities programs at this historical moment. We need your help to continue our mission of bringing New Yorkers together to promote understanding and dialogue.
Join the bipartisan, nationwide effort to save the humanities.
Make your support of HNY, the NEH, and the future of humanities in the U.S. known by taking the following actions, today:
1. Send an email to senators and representatives with a pre-written and formatted federal action alert.
2. Contact state and local elected officials with a separate, ready–made local action alert.
3. Call the offices of lawmakers. The resources linked above include phone numbers. Click the button below for a sample script prepared by the National Humanities Alliance.
4. Make a donation. Without federal funding, we’re reliant on individual and institutional contributions to cover day–to–day expenses. Your gift is lifeline to HNY during this difficult period.
Why support the NEH and HNY?
Left: Ken Burns during the Making of “The Brooklyn Bridge” in 1977. The HNY–funded film was Burn’s first feature–length documentary. CREDIT: Ken Burns/Florentine Films. Right: The Museum of the Moving Image’s Program X: A Workshop for new Americans in Queens.
Humanities New York is the only organization of its kind in the state. For 50 years, we have backed projects that bring people together by virtue of their shared humanity. HNY–funded work by luminaries such as James Baldwin, Eileen Myles, and Ken Burns (to name but a few notable alumni) transcends time and geography.
In 2024, HNY awarded grants to 126 tax–exempt organizations and students across all 10 regions of NYS. Original and grant–supported programs brought people from all walks of life together for engagements as creative, diverse, and exciting as the humanities writ-large.
As the Federation of State Humanities Councils puts it in their official action notice:
