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Our Impact

Graduates of the Odyssey Project class of 2022. (Photo by Danielle Elisse Campbell)

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For nearly 50 years, Illinois Humanities has worked throughout the state to make the public humanities accessible to all.

In 2022, Illinois Humanities presented free programs that reached more than 16,600 participants across Illinois and beyond. We awarded 183 grants to support small, community-based arts and culture organizations, and provided free college-credit-bearing courses in the humanities to 83 income-eligible adults. 

Meet Our Grantee Partners

Each year, Illinois Humanities partners with individuals and organizations across the state to support humanities and arts programs. These partners are at the forefront of the public humanities in their communities, creating space for residents to gather, connect, learn, and grow.

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Recent Grantee Partners

Action, General Operating, Multiplier, and Vision Grants (FY2024)

  • D-Composed, Cook County, $4,000
  • Dream Seeding, Inc., St. Clair County, $4,000
  • Governors State University, Will County, $4,000
  • Madison County Historical Society, Madison County, $2,700) 
  • Paramount Arts Centre, Kane County, $2,100
  • Peoria Historical Society, Peoria County, $4,100
  • Raices Chicago Story Coalition, Cook County, $2,000
  • Ten Thirty-One Pictures Foundation, Woodford County, $4,250
  • Umuwi Ethnic Studies, Cook County, $4,250
  • Public Media Institute, Cook County, $10,250
  • Illinois Association of Museums, Cook County, $10,000
  • Community Food Navigator, Cook County, $10,100
  • South Asia Institute, Cook County, $10,250
  • University of Illinois Springfield History Department, Sangamon County, $10,250
  • ¡Anímate! Studio, Cook County, $4,250 
  • Howard Brown Health, Cook County, $4,250
  • Narratives QC, Rock Island County, $4,100
  • Parole Illinois, Cook County, $4,000
  • Johnson County Genealogical & Historical Society, Johnson County, $4,150
  • Dwight Historical Society, Livingston County, $4,000
  • The Hub-Arts and Cultural Center, Schuyler County, $2,000
  • Kuumba Lynx, Cook County, $4,000
  • Coalition for a Better Chinese American Community, Cook County, $4,250
  • Elmhurst Art Museum, DuPage County, $4,250
  • Gilloury Institute DBA Silk Road Cultural Center, Cook County, $4,100
  • DeKalb County History Center, DeKalb County, $4,100
  • American Indian Association of Illinois, Cook County, $10,000
  • Bronzeville / Black Chicagoan Historical Society, Cook County, $10,000
  • Center for Native Futures, Cook County, $10,000
  • Clinton County Historical Society, Clinton County, $10,000
  • Guild Literary Complex, Cook County, $10,000
  • Heterodyne Broadcasting, Jackson County, $10,000
  • Honey Pot Performance, Cook County, $10,000
  • Lucky Jefferson, Cook County, $10,000
  • Metro East Literacy Project, St. Clair County, $10,000
  • National Cambodian Heritage Museum & Killing Fields Memorial, Cook County, $10,000
  • Red Line Service, Cook County, $10,000
  • South Macon Public Library, Macon County, $10,000
  • The RealiTea ProjecT, Cumberland County, $10,000
  • Western Illinois Museum, McDonough County, $10,000

Activate History Microgrants (FY2024)

  • Anderson Taylor, Henry County, $700 
  • Maroa-Forsyth School Archives, Macon County, $750  
  • New Salem Baptist District Association, St. Clair County, $1,000
  • About Face Theatre Collective, Cook County, $1,000  
  • Annie Share and Sivan Spector, Cook County, $1,000
  • Chicago Black Artist Union, Cook County, $1,000  
  • Jefferson Mok, Cook County, $850 
  • Patric Gregory McCoy, Cook County, $850
  • The World Music Foundation, Cook County, $850
  • Ana Croegaert, Cook County, $1,000
  • Black & Brown Femme Films (BBFF), Will County, $1,000
  • Black Cornerstones Project, Cook County, $1,000
  • City of Macomb Illinois, McDonough County, $750
  • The Hub-Arts and Cultural Center, Schuyler County, $750
  • Jacqueline E. Luciano, Cook County, $1,000
  • Peoria Historical Society, Peoria County, $750
  • Theodore Williams, Cook County, $750
  • Winnebago Community Historical Society (WCHS), Winnebago County, $750

Envisioning Justice Grants (FY2024)

  • Chicago Torture Justice Center, Cook County, $10,000
  • Chicago Books to Women in Prison, Cook County, $10,000
  • ConTextos, Cook County, $10,000
  • Stomping Grounds Literary Arts Initiative, Cook County, $10,000
  • Free Root Operation, Cook County, $10,000
  • Storycatchers Theatre, Cook County, $10,000
  • Recipe for Change, Cook County, $10,000
  • Galesburg Public Library, Knox County, $7,500
  • Dominican University, Cook County, $10,000
  • Beyond the Walls: The Movement, Jackson, $5,000
  • Mud Theatre Project, Cook County, $5,000
  • Chicago 400 Alliance, Cook County, $10,000
  • Dan Protess, Cook County, $5,000
  • Ruth L. Poor, DuPage County, $5000
  • Melissa Amelia Pavlik, Cook County, $5000
  • Sonja Henderson (Mother's Healing Circle), Cook County, $5,000
  • Geneseo Public Library District, Henry County, $5,000
  • Knox College, Knox County, $5000
  • Urbana Champaign Independent Media Center, Champaign County, $10,000

Our Grantee Partners

Our Impact

For nearly 50 years, Illinois Humanities has worked throughout the state to make the public humanities accessible to all. Through grants, partnerships, and public programs, we have worked with groups of all sizes, disciplines, and stages of development to increase their local and statewide impact and support the state’s cultural ecosystem.

Explore the map to discover our vast network of grantee partners across the state and connect with a public humanities organization near you. Below, see a snapshot of how Illinois Humanities grants and programs provide free and transformative humanities experiences for all Illinoisans. 

16,600

Illinoisans served in 76 counties through grants and public programming

85

income-eligible adults were provided free college credit courses in the humanities

183

grants awarded to small, community-based arts and culture organizations

$ 2.4 M

in total COVID-19 relief funding provided in 78 counties and every congressional district