Opportunity Information: Apply for 20210518 CHA
The Infrastructure and Capacity Building Challenge Grants program is a discretionary grant opportunity offered by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) through its Office of Challenge Grants. It is designed to strengthen the long-term foundation that institutions rely on to support humanities work, with a particular emphasis on durable improvements that will keep benefiting both the applicant organization and the broader humanities community well beyond the grant period. The opportunity is listed under NEH’s humanities funding category (CFDA 45.130) and was created on March 4, 2021, with an original application deadline of May 18, 2021.
This program supports two main types of projects. The first is Capital Projects, which fund physical infrastructure tied directly to humanities activities. These projects may involve the design, purchase, construction, restoration, or renovation of facilities used for humanities programming, research, preservation, teaching, exhibitions, public engagement, or related activities. The second track is Digital Infrastructure, which focuses on the ongoing health of established digital humanities resources rather than launching brand-new platforms. These projects support the maintenance, modernization, and long-term sustainability of existing digital scholarly projects and platforms, helping ensure that valuable digital collections, tools, publications, or research environments remain functional, secure, and accessible over time.
Across both tracks, NEH’s central requirement is that proposed expenditures clearly demonstrate long-term benefits. In practice, that means applicants need to show that what they are building, renovating, or upgrading will have lasting value to their institution’s capacity to carry out humanities work, and that the improvements will contribute in a meaningful way to the humanities more broadly. The emphasis is on infrastructure and capacity, so proposals should connect the requested investments to sustained humanities impact rather than short-lived or purely operational needs.
Eligible applicants cover a wide range of public and private entities that commonly serve as stewards of humanities resources and programming. Eligible organizations include state, county, and city or township governments; special district governments; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; federally recognized Native American tribal governments; and nonprofit organizations with 501(c)(3) status (excluding institutions of higher education in that nonprofit category). This breadth reflects the program’s focus on strengthening the institutions that preserve, interpret, and share humanities knowledge in many different settings.
The award ceiling for this opportunity is $750,000, and NEH anticipated making about 15 awards under the competition described. The funding instrument is a grant, and the opportunity number is 20210518 CHA. Overall, the program is aimed at helping humanities organizations make substantial, future-oriented investments in either physical spaces or mature digital platforms, with a clear expectation that the results will be sustainable and broadly beneficial.Apply for 20210518 CHA
- The National Endowment for the Humanities in the humanities (see cultural affairs in cfda) sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Infrastructure and Capacity Building Challenge Grants" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 45.130.
- This funding opportunity was created on Mar 04, 2021.
- Applicants must submit their applications by May 18, 2021. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $750,000.00 in funding.
- The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 15 candidate(s).
- Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education.
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Applicants who have applied for this opportunity (20210518 CHA) also looked into and applied for these:
| Funding Opportunity |
|---|
| Digital Projects for the Public Apply for 20210609 MD MN MT Funding Number: 20210609 MD MN MT Agency: National Endowment for the Humanities Category: Humanities (see Cultural Affairs in CFDA) Funding Amount: $400,000 |
| 2021 Alumni Engagement Innovation Fund (AEIF 2021) Apply for PAS BUD FY21 NOFO AEIF21 Funding Number: PAS BUD FY21 NOFO AEIF21 Agency: Department of State, U.S. Mission to Hungary Category: Humanities (see Cultural Affairs in CFDA) Funding Amount: $25,000 |
| Humanities Collections and Reference Resources Apply for 20210715 PW Funding Number: 20210715 PW Agency: National Endowment for the Humanities Category: Humanities (see Cultural Affairs in CFDA) Funding Amount: $350,000 |
| American Rescue Plan: Humanities Organizations Apply for 20210514 ARPO Funding Number: 20210514 ARPO Agency: National Endowment for the Humanities Category: Humanities (see Cultural Affairs in CFDA) Funding Amount: $500,000 |
| American Rescue Plan: Humanities Grantmaking Apply for 20210513 ARPG Funding Number: 20210513 ARPG Agency: National Endowment for the Humanities Category: Humanities (see Cultural Affairs in CFDA) Funding Amount: $5,000,000 |
| NEH/AHRC New Directions for Digital Scholarship in Cultural Institutions Apply for 20210708 HND Funding Number: 20210708 HND Agency: National Endowment for the Humanities Category: Humanities (see Cultural Affairs in CFDA) Funding Amount: $150,000 |
| Short Documentaries Apply for 20210811 TT Funding Number: 20210811 TT Agency: National Endowment for the Humanities Category: Humanities (see Cultural Affairs in CFDA) Funding Amount: $300,000 |
| Media Projects Apply for 20210811 TD TR Funding Number: 20210811 TD TR Agency: National Endowment for the Humanities Category: Humanities (see Cultural Affairs in CFDA) Funding Amount: $1,000,000 |
| Public Humanities Projects Apply for 20210811 BP BR GE GG GI Funding Number: 20210811 BP BR GE GG GI Agency: National Endowment for the Humanities Category: Humanities (see Cultural Affairs in CFDA) Funding Amount: $1,000,000 |
| Fellowship Programs at Independent Research Institutions Apply for 20210811 RA Funding Number: 20210811 RA Agency: National Endowment for the Humanities Category: Humanities (see Cultural Affairs in CFDA) Funding Amount: $565,000 |
| Capacity Building for Suicide Prevention Apply for DOS KAZ ALM PAS 21 008 Funding Number: DOS KAZ ALM PAS 21 008 Agency: Department of State, U.S. Mission to Kazakhstan Category: Humanities (see Cultural Affairs in CFDA) Funding Amount: $50,000 |
| Alumni Events Apply for PAS CHISINAU FY21 11 Funding Number: PAS CHISINAU FY21 11 Agency: Department of State, U.S. Mission to Moldova Category: Humanities (see Cultural Affairs in CFDA) Funding Amount: $35,000 |
| Public Engagement with Historical Records Apply for ENGAGEMENT 202110 Funding Number: ENGAGEMENT 202110 Agency: National Archives and Records Administration Category: Humanities (see Cultural Affairs in CFDA) Funding Amount: $150,000 |
| Access to Historical Records: Archival Projects Apply for ARCHIVAL 202110 Funding Number: ARCHIVAL 202110 Agency: National Archives and Records Administration Category: Humanities (see Cultural Affairs in CFDA) Funding Amount: $150,000 |
| Archaeological and Ethnographic Field Research Apply for 20210929 RFW Funding Number: 20210929 RFW Agency: National Endowment for the Humanities Category: Humanities (see Cultural Affairs in CFDA) Funding Amount: $150,000 |
| Dynamic Language Infrastructure – Documenting Endangered Languages Fellowships Apply for 20210915 FN Funding Number: 20210915 FN Agency: National Endowment for the Humanities Category: Humanities (see Cultural Affairs in CFDA) Funding Amount: $60,000 |
| Humanities Connections Apply for 20210914 AKA AKB Funding Number: 20210914 AKA AKB Agency: National Endowment for the Humanities Category: Humanities (see Cultural Affairs in CFDA) Funding Amount: $150,000 |
| Dialogues on the Experience of War Apply for 20211014 AV Funding Number: 20211014 AV Agency: National Endowment for the Humanities Category: Humanities (see Cultural Affairs in CFDA) Funding Amount: $100,000 |
| Theater Directors’ Exchange on Musical Theater Production Apply for STX100 2021 5 Funding Number: STX100 2021 5 Agency: Department of State, U.S. Mission to Turkmenistan Category: Humanities (see Cultural Affairs in CFDA) Funding Amount: $55,000 |
| Training and Equipping Museum Experts to Create a Digital Inventory and Electronic Database Apply for STX100 2021 7 Funding Number: STX100 2021 7 Agency: Department of State, U.S. Mission to Turkmenistan Category: Humanities (see Cultural Affairs in CFDA) Funding Amount: $40,000 |
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