Florida Humanities Council Inc

OPPORTUNITIES FOR FLORIDIANS TO EXPLORE THE HERITAGE, TRADITIONS, AND STORIES OF OUR STATE

GRANT MAKING: SINCE 1973, FLORIDA HUMANITIES HAS AWARDED MORE THAN $20 MILLION IN FUNDING FOR THE DEVELOPMENT AND PRESENTATION OF HUMANITIES-RICH CULTURAL RESOURCES AND PUBLIC PROGRAMS STATEWIDE. THESE PROJECTS HELP PRESERVE FLORIDA'S RICH HISTORY AND HERITAGE, PROMOTE CIVIC ENGAGEMENT AND COMMUNITY DIALOGUE, AND PROVIDE OPPORTUNITIES FOR REFLECTING ON THE FUTURE OF OUR STATE. OUR GRANT MAKING PROGRAM PRIMARILY RESPONDS TO COMMUNITY INTERESTS AND INITIATIVES, WITH PREFERENCE GIVEN TO PROJECTS THAT ADDRESS IMPORTANT PUBLIC ISSUES, REACH UNDERSERVED AUDIENCES, CREATE RESOURCES FOR COMMUNITIES AND CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS, AND/OR REACH A BROAD PUBLIC AUDIENCE.(CONTINUED ON SCHEDULE O)IN FY22, $550,000 IN FUNDING WAS AWARDED TO 54 NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS THROUGH FLORIDA HUMANITIES' THREE PRIMARY COMPETITIVE GRANT PROGRAMS. THESE AWARDS INCLUDED 32 COMMUNITY PROJECT GRANTS FOR LOCALLY INITIATED PUBLIC HUMANITIES PROJECTS; 6 BROADCASTING HOPE PUBLIC MEDIA GRANTS TO SUPPORT AUDIO, DIGITAL, FILM AND OTHER MEDIA PROJECTS DEVELOPED BY PUBLIC RADIO AND TELEVISION STATIONS; AND 16 HUMANITIES IN ACADEMIA GRANTS AWARDED TO COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES TO DEVELOP PROGRAMMING ABOUT FLORIDA HISTORY, HERITAGE, AND CULTURE FOR AUDIENCES BOTH WITHIN AND BEYOND THE CAMPUS COMMUNITY.AS PART OF THE AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN PASSED BY CONGRESS IN MARCH 2021, FLORIDA HUMANITIES ALSO RECEIVED FUNDING FROM THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE HUMANITIES TO PROVIDE EMERGENCY OPERATING SUPPORT GRANTS TO HUMANITIES-BASED ORGANIZATIONS THAT CONTINUED TO BE IMPACTED BY THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC. A TOTAL OF 129 ORGANIZATIONS STATEWIDE RECEIVED $1,878,000 IN FUNDING THROUGH THIS SPECIAL INITIATIVE GRANT PROGRAM.

PUBLIC PROGRAMMING: EACH YEAR HUNDREDS OF FREE PUBLIC HUMANITIES PROGRAMS ARE FUNDED AND/OR CREATED BY FLORIDA HUMANITIES THAT EXAMINE A VARIETY OF FLORIDA TOPICS. HOSTED BY MUSEUMS, PUBLIC LIBRARIES, HISTORICAL SOCIETIES, COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES AND OTHER NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS, THESE PROGRAMS HELP FLORIDIANS LEARN MORE ABOUT THE RICHLY DIVERSE STATE IN WHICH WE LIVE.(CONTINUED ON SCHEDULE O)THESE PROGRAMS INCLUDE:SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION EXHIBITIONS - MUSEUM ON MAIN STREET IS A PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM THAT BRINGS SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION EXHIBITIONS TO SMALL TOWNS ACROSS THE STATE. THESE HIGH-QUALITY TRAVELING EXHIBITIONS ARE DESIGNED TO BRING REVITALIZED ATTENTION TO UNDERSERVED AND RURAL COMMUNITIES AND SERVE AS A LAUNCHING POINT FOR STORYTELLING AND LOCAL PRIDE. DURING FY22, FIVE VENUES HOSTED "WATER/WAYS," AN EXHIBITION EXPLORING THE ENVIRONMENTAL, HISTORICAL, AND CULTURAL IMPORTANCE OF THE WORLD'S MOST ESSENTIAL RESOURCE.FLORIDA TALKS - FLORIDA HUMANITIES' SPEAKERS DIRECTORY INCLUDES EXPERT HISTORIANS, STORYTELLERS, RESEARCHERS, AND AUTHORS WHO DELIVER THOUGHT-PROVOKING PROGRAMS ON A WIDE VARIETY OF SUBJECTS RELATED TO FLORIDA. IN FY22, 92 FLORIDA TALKS PROGRAMS WERE HOSTED EITHER VIRTUALLY OR IN-PERSON WITH MORE THAN 3,200 ATTENDEES STATEWIDE.FAMILY LITERACY PROGRAMS - FLORIDA HUMANITIES ANNUALLY SUPPORTS LITERACY PROGRAMS FOR FAMILIES IN PUBLIC LIBRARIES INCLUDING PRIMETIME FAMILY READING TIME AND ENGLISH FOR FAMILIES. BOTH PROGRAMS ARE DESIGNED TO IMPROVE THE LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY OF INDIVIDUALS WHOSE NATIVE LANGUAGE IS NOT ENGLISH BY PROVIDING ESSENTIAL READING STRATEGIES FOR CHILDREN AS WELL AS DEVELOPING ADULTS' BASIC LANGUAGE SKILLS. IN FY22, SEVEN PUBLIC LIBRARIES HOSTED 122 FAMILY LITERACY PROGRAMS ATTENDED BY OVER 1,500 ADULTS AND CHILDREN.FLORIDA STORIES WALKING TOUR APP - OUR FREE DOWNLOADABLE WALKING TOUR APP ALLOWS USERS TO DELVE BEHIND THE SCENES OF FLORIDA TOWNS WITH AN EMPHASIS ON LOCAL HISTORY, CULTURE, AND ARCHITECTURE. CONNECTED VIA A STATEWIDE PLATFORM, THE TOURS CREATE SUSTAINABLE CULTURAL TOURISM PRODUCTS THAT INCREASE KNOWLEDGE AND APPRECIATION OF LOCAL HISTORY. THE APP HOSTS A TOTAL OF 36 TOURS AND WAS DOWNLOADED MORE THAN 9,000 TIMES IN 2022.CENTER FOR THE BOOK IN FY22, ADDITIONAL PUBLIC PROGRAM FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES WERE OFFERED IN ASSOCIATION WITH OUR NEW LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CENTER FOR THE BOOK PROGRAM. THESE INCLUDED BOOK FESTIVAL GRANTS OF UP TO $10,000 TO SUPPORT PUBLIC EVENTS THAT CELEBRATE READING AND ENCOURAGE THOUGHTFUL INTERACTIONS BETWEEN AUTHORS AND READERS. FOUR BOOK FESTIVAL GRANTS WERE AWARDED IN FY22. WE ALSO LAUNCHED A NEW FUNDING OPPORTUNITY FOR RECIPIENTS OF NEA "BIG READ" GRANTS WHICH PROVIDED SUPPLEMENTAL SUPPORT FOR EXPANDED PUBLIC PROGRAMMING. THREE "BIG READ" GRANTS WERE MADE IN FY22.

FORUM AND PROGRAM COMMUNICATIONS - THROUGH ITS INSIGHTFUL PERSPECTIVES ON FLORIDA, FLORIDA HUMANITIES' FORUM MAGAZINE PROVIDES READERS WITH ENGAGING AND COLORFUL STORIES ABOUT THE PEOPLE AND PLACES THAT DEFINE OUR STATE. FLORIDA HUMANITIES PUBLISHES THREE ISSUES OF FORUM ANNUALLY. IN FY22, FORUM RECEIVED 16 FLORIDA MAGAZINE ASSOCIATION AWARDS INCLUDING "BEST OVERALL: WRITING."(CONTINUED ON SCHEDULE O)DIGITAL ARCHIVE - IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE POYNTER LIBRARY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA, FLORIDA HUMANITIES CREATED AND MAINTAINS AN ARCHIVE OF OVER 170 VIDEOS EITHER PRODUCED OR FUNDED BY FLORIDA HUMANITIES ON VARIOUS TOPICS RELATED TO FLORIDA HISTORY, HERITAGE, AND CULTURE AS WELL AS OVER 70 BACK ISSUES OF FORUM MAGAZINE. THE ARCHIVED CONTENT IS PART OF THE DIGITAL COMMONS NETWORK THAT EXTENDS ACCESS TO OUR MATERIALS TO HUNDREDS OF COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES WORLDWIDE.FLORIDA HUMANITIES ALSO PROVIDES VARIOUS DIGITAL RESOURCES THROUGH ITS WEBSITE INCLUDING RADIO PROGRAMS, PODCASTS, PHOTOS ARCHIVES AND BLOGS. THESE ARE MARKETED FOR PUBLIC USE AND PROVIDES A WIDE ARRAY OF HISTORICAL TOPICS.