(Above: Sacred Harp singing featured in an AHA-funded episode of the Alabama Folklife Association’s podcast series, Alabama Folk.)
The Alabama Humanities Alliance is once again set to offer Major Grants in support of humanities-rich public programming statewide. These grants offer up to $15,000 for eligible projects that bring Alabamians together to explore what makes us human — our shared history, literature, languages, art, archaeology, religion, philosophy, and more.
The timing of these Major Grants is intended to aid Alabama nonprofits, institutions of higher education, and governmental agencies in planning their public programming for 2027. AHA’s next two rounds of Major Grant deadlines are October 1, 2026, and February 1, 2027.
AHA’s updated grant guidelines are available now; AHA’s grant portal for Major Grant applications will open August 10. For full info on AHA grantmaking, visit alabamahumanities.org/grants.
“We are delighted to offer these Major Grants once again to support the many cultural and educational groups that rely on this funding,” says Chuck Holmes, AHA’s executive director. “AHA’s grantmaking is core to who we are and why we exist. This is how we help local communities learn more about the wider world around us, as well as the people, places, and stories that make Alabama home.”
About AHA’s Major Grants
AHA’s Major Grants often fund projects such as traveling exhibitions, oral history projects, lectures and conferences, cultural and literary festivals, teacher workshops, documentary films, and more. Competitive applications all share three essential elements: public participation, strong humanities content, and the direct involvement of humanities scholars.
These grants also often help connect the humanities to the arts, sciences, and beyond. In recent rounds of grantmaking, for instance, AHA has supported:
- A public symposium at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville that explored the relationship between the human condition and artificial intelligence;
- Series of artist interviews and public talks in support of Constructions: Contemporary Fiber, an exhibition at Dothan’s Wiregrass Museum of Art;
- Workshops and discussions exploring the past of the ancient Florence Mound, in order to help determine the best care for the historic site moving forward.
“We’re thankful for the Alabama Humanities grant that allowed us to bring national humanities speakers to our AI Symposium, exposing our community to a broad spectrum of ideas and establishing the U.S. Space & Rocket Center, and Alabama, as a leader in the AI discussion.” -Nancy Noever, U.S. Space & Rocket Center, Huntsville
New guidelines for 2026
Interested applicants are strongly encouraged to read AHA’s updated guidelines in full. Key updates to this year’s guidelines for both Major and Mini Grants include:
- New restrictions on certain costs and activities due to federal and NEH-specific guidelines
- Examples of arts-related programs that could be eligible for humanities funding
- Requirement that all applicants have a unique entity identifier (UEI)
The grant guidelines also feature three new resources for applicants:
- An overview of how AHA reviews and evaluates grant proposals
- A checklist to review before pressing send on an application
- A calendar of all grant deadlines through April 1, 2027
In addition to the revised grant guidelines, applicants also have the opportunity to submit draft applications prior to each grant deadline – for feedback they can apply to their final application. Applicants can also set up a call to talk through eligibility and application questions with AHA’s grants director, Graydon Rust.
Funding history
This marks the first time in nearly a year and a half that AHA has been able to offer Major Grant funding for Alabama’s communities. In the spring of 2025, AHA experienced a disruption of its federal funding due to cuts directed by the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency — revoking funding that Congress had already appropriated for AHA and all other state humanities councils across the nation.
For more than 50 years, AHA has used federal funding to support its grantmaking. The arrangement is part of a longstanding federal-state partnership — created and annually renewed by Congress — that directs funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities to nonprofit and nonpartisan state humanities councils, like AHA. The goal is to empower grantmaking decisions at the state level, closest to the public programming being created by, and for, local communities.
“While our federal funding has yet to be restored to Congressionally directed levels, we are grateful that enough funds have started flowing so that we can again offer these vital grants,” says Holmes. “We know know how much Alabama’s communities rely on us. In a survey of our most recent Major Grant recipients, 90% noted that their work would not be possible without AHA’s support.”
The loss of federal funding also came at a critical time, given 2026 marked America’s 250th anniversary. Individual and institutional donors helped AHA sustain its monthly Mini Grants program (up to $2,500). Throughout 2026, AHA has prioritized funding projects that explore America’s founding history and principles and sparked community conversations on our shared past and future.
Still, the impact on Alabama’s communities is evident in AHA’s year-end 2024 and 2025 grantmaking numbers:
Grants awarded statewide:
- 2024: 65 grants ($381,063)
- 2025: 36 ($87,084)
Community events and public programs funded:
- 2024: 1,790
- 2025: 925
As another AHA grant recipient put it before last year’s pause in Major Grants:
“AHA support is the difference between many good and worthwhile programs happening or not happening in our state.” -Mike Bunn, Historic Blakeley State Park, Spanish Fort
About the Alabama Humanities Alliance
Founded in 1974, the nonprofit and nonpartisan Alabama Humanities Alliance has served as a state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Through AHA’s grantmaking and public programming, we promote lifelong learning, impactful storytelling, and civic engagement. We believe the humanities can bring Alabamians together and help us better understand the communities we call home.
For three decades, the Alabama Humanities Alliance has partnered with the Smithsonian’s Museum on Main Street to bring more than a dozen national exhibits to the state, touring 67 towns – and counting. The Many Voices, One Nation starter kit is an America at 250 project, made possible thanks to our local host partners and many individual and institutional donors, including the Alabama USA Semiquincentennial Commission, Ford Foundation, Wiregrass Foundation, ALA-TOM RC&D Council, and Wiregrass RC&D Council.
“National History Day is always such a rewarding payoff for the students who place at our statewide contest,” says Idrissa N. Snider, Ph.D., AHA’s Alabama History Day coordinator. “This was a sharp, and kind, group of students and they represented our state with pride. We are so grateful to the parents who supported them, and to the brilliant teachers who work with these students on their projects and help prepare them for these competitions.”
Our thanks to AHA’s sponsors, partners, and schools statewide who make Alabama History Day possible, including the State of Alabama and Alabama Commission on Higher Education for their financial support.
“That’s such a great part of this process,” says Ginger Golson, a history teacher at Fairhope High School. “Students like to be able to choose the things that they want to do and the way that they want to do it. And when they’re interested in what they’re studying, they’re more engaged and they produce better work. It gets them engaged in learning on their terms.”
Some projects hit America’s founding history head on, including “Alexander Hamilton: Architect of America”; “Survival and Sovereignty: Alabama Native Americans through Revolution, Reaction, and Reform”; “The American Revolution and the Boston Tea Party.”
And everyone left American Village last week with an inspiring charge, given to them by Col. Alan Miller, the CEO of American Village and a Board member with Alabama Humanities. Miller shared that what students accomplished through Alabama History Day is a beginning, not an end. And they have history itself to inspire them to even greater goals in the future.
Funding for Alabama History Day comes from the State of Alabama through the Alabama Commission on Higher Education. Alabama History Day 2026 was presented in partnership with the American Village Citizenship Trust and the Alabama USA Semiquincentennial Commission.
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