Wisconsin Humanities: More than $367,000 in Recovery Funds Awarded to 47 Nonprofits

MADISON, WI, December 6, 2021 – Across Wisconsin, 47 nonprofit organizations including libraries, civic and cultural groups, and historical societies, were awarded Wisconsin Humanities Recovery Grants to help the state prevent, prepare for, respond to, and recover from the pandemic.  The awards represent the final round of grants made by Wisconsin Humanities with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. More than $422,000 in Recovery Grant funds were previously awarded to 52 organizations. 

“We received 123 applications demonstrating more than $1.7 million in need,” said Dena Wortzel, Executive Director of Wisconsin Humanities. “We weighed factors including need, location, strength of their public humanities work, the audience served, and how they would address the impacts of the pandemic.  For this final recovery grant round, we made special efforts to reach organizations that connect with underserved audiences.” 

Funds awarded will help organizations with everything from salary support and utility bills to strategic planning and cultural programming, and improving public access to communities’ history through digitization. “Clearly, a great deal of need remains for these cultural organizations,” says Wortzel. “We know our grants help them maintain their operations and find ways to bring educational and cultural programs back to their communities as we emerge from the pandemic.” None of the ARP funds were used to cover the cost of administering this special grant program. 

The following organizations were awarded grants in this final round: