Save the NEH and culture in Washington State
June 24, 2025
On April 2, DOGE cancelled or rescinded hundreds of National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) grants contracts nationwide, including those of Humanities Washington. We receive half of our funding from the NEH, meaning that our organization, and our programs like Speakers Bureau and Prime Time Family Reading, are at serious risk.
In total, $10 million in cultural funding in Washington alone vanished suddenly. Affected organizations include museums, tribes, libraries, schools, senior centers, historical societies, lecture programs, and so much more. Cuts to NEH mean people will lose services, jobs, opportunities to connect with their neighbors, and access to literacy programs and free public talks. Small rural communities will be especially hard hit.
In short, this is a crisis for our organization and the people of our state.
In response, we have partially furloughed staff and put some programs on hold, which will allow us to operate until the fall of 2025. A lawsuit has been filed to reclaim the money taken from us by DOGE, and the fate of future funding in 2026 is right now in the hands of Congress. The budget negotiations are ongoing, and we expect decisions to be made over the summer.
You can help in a few ways.
1. Donate to keep our programs thriving around the state. Right now your gift will be doubled thanks to an emergency grant from the Federation of State Humanities Councils with support from the Mellon Foundation.
2. Hire our amazing staff. With the partial furlough, our staff are looking for contract work to help fill the gap in hours.
4. Get ready to advocate. This summer is the most pivotal period in our organization’s 50 year history. When news from Congress’s budgeting process hits, we may ask you to contact your legislators to urge them to support the NEH and Humanities Washington’s work.
No matter your political views or other beliefs, the humanities are the bedrock of a healthy democracy. They preserve and explore our history and help us better understand each other, acting as a bulwark against the rampant polarization affecting American society. The Founders of the United States built our country on the humanities, gleaning lessons from history, philosophy, and literature to create our Constitution. Cutting this cultural funding ignores the foundational role they have played in shaping America’s values since its creation, and puts our freedom to learn and express ourselves at risk. Further, the NEH’s cost to the taxpayer is so small that usaspending.gov lists it as “0.0 percent of the federal budget.”
While our future is uncertain, it’s times like these that have clarified the importance of our work, and we continue to feel the love and support from communities around the state.