In a major policy update announced on April 24, 2025, the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) revealed significant changes to its funding priorities and operational practices in line with recent executive orders from the Trump administration.
If your institution relies on NEH support for exhibitions, research, or programming, you’ll need to take note.
NEH will now prioritize projects that:
- Promote humanities learning grounded in traditional American history.
- Are related to the U.S. 250th anniversary and American exceptionalism.
- Align with its statutory responsibility that “funding should contribute to public support and confidence in the use of taxpayer funds.”
The agency emphasized that grants will continue to be awarded based on intellectual merit and open competition. However, projects must avoid political, religious, or ideological advocacy (per longstanding agency policy) and cannot prioritize some groups at the expense of others.
NEH is canceling previously awarded grants that conflict with the new priorities. Specifically, projects focused on DEI initiatives, environmental justice activities, and gender ideology promotion may no longer be eligible for funding.
You’ll find that Notices of Funding Opportunities (NOFOs) now include language restricting such projects, having been adjusted to comply with multiple recent executive orders.
Humanities projects on topics like women’s suffrage or conservation history remain eligible (to a degree?), provided they align with the new standards. Here’s how the NEH addresses it:
Does the addition of the new guidance on gender ideology and environmental justice mean that NEH will not fund projects on, for example, the suffragist movement or a history of conservation policies in the United States?
No, not necessarily. The restrictions only apply to the categories mentioned in the relevant Executive Orders. We encourage you to read the relevant Executive Orders and consider whether your project’s topic — jointly with its goals, methodology, activities, and intended audience — seems allowable.
Additional points
- Applications will still undergo independent peer review, with final funding decisions made by the NEH Chairman based on merit and compliance with executive orders.
- Partnerships with Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) remain encouraged.
- Projects on world history and cultures can still receive funding, depending on the program, although the current focus is the U.S. semiquincentennial.
For full details and FAQs, read the official NEH announcement here.
