Federal humanities cuts put Iowa's local cultural programs on pause
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Kids participating in a literacy program at the Waterloo library. The program was supposed to expand to central Iowa. Photos: Courtesy of Humanities Iowa
Sudden cuts in federal funding for the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) have left Humanities Iowa scrambling to keep local programs alive.
Why it matters: Humanities Iowa is the state's main distributor of that money.
- The cuts jeopardize nearly $1 million that would have supported everything from rural museum exhibits to family literacy events.
Driving the news: On April 2, Humanities Iowa executive director Heather Plucar received notice that all NEH funding for the state had been terminated.
- 75% of that funding went directly to programming, Plucar says.
How it works: Humanities Iowa distributes federal funds to nonprofits like public libraries, local museums, arts organizations, and cultural festivals that apply for grants.
- Organizations that are awarded grants can receive up to 90% of the requested funds to begin their project, but the last 10% is withheld until the group submits a final report for accountability.
- Some grants, like those for speaker events, are reimbursed after the event takes place.
- Grants require a 1:1 funding match to ensure local groups have some skin in the game, Plucar says.
State of play: Humanities Iowa is now unable to award grants or reimburse projects, forcing it to pause planned programming and locate private donors to cover them instead.
- The organization had planned to launch a literacy program at central Iowa libraries to help families read together at home.
- "It stinks that we're having to fight for funding for things like that," Plucar says.
Zoom in: At the Des Moines Art Center, director Kelly Baum is concerned with cuts to the NEH, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Institute of Museum and Library Services.
- An $11,275 NEH grant was supposed to help fund an exhibit featuring Haitian art in Iowa that opened last week. But because of the funding cuts this month, the center learned it would not be getting reimbursed.
- The center is absorbing that cost and continuing with the exhibit, but it had to cancel other plans, like inviting a lecturer to speak on Haitian art.
What they're saying: Arts and the humanities help bridge "distances and differences" between people and build empathy, Baum says.
- While the art center doesn't rely heavily on federal funding, smaller arts organizations in rural communities will feel the brunt of the cuts, she says.
- "There isn't a lot of us here in Iowa. So really, if you lose one, you've lost a significant percentage from the whole."