What kinds of organizations does Ohio Humanities Council fund?

The recent grants point to museums, historical societies, churches, arts organizations, broadcasters, universities, and community groups. Examples include Springfield Museum of Art, Allen County Historical Society, Bowling Green State University, Thinktv Network, and East Mount Zion Baptist Church, all funded to support humanities work in Ohio.

What is the typical grant size?

The middle of the distribution is relatively small: p25 is $9,875, median grant size is $12,000, and p75 is $17,500. Recent awards in the list range from under $10,000 up to $24,970.

Does Ohio Humanities Council fund outside Ohio?

Recent grants are entirely Ohio-based. The recipient country distribution is 100% US, and the grants listed go to organizations in Ohio cities such as Columbus, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Springfield, Canton, and Dayton.

Are there grant programs that accept unsolicited applications?

Yes. Active programs that accept unsolicited applications include Spark Grants, Ohio Humanities Film Fellowships at the Wex, Holocaust & Genocide Commission Grants, and one of the America 250-Ohio grant rounds. Ignite Grants also appears as an active program.

What focus areas show up in the grantmaking?

The grant list and active programs show public humanities, storytelling and local history, civic education, documentary film, commemoration, and cultural heritage. Specific program areas include humanities-based community dialogue, Ohio-connected documentary filmmaking, and America 250-Ohio storytelling and education activities.

Ohio Humanities Council

Name: Ohio Humanities Council — grants, 990 financials & funding data
Creator: Kindora

ActiveArts, Culture & Humanities

COLUMBUS, OHWebsite6144617802

About Ohio Humanities Council

Ohio Humanities is a nonprofit organization that shares stories to spark conversations and inspire ideas. We host programs and award grants that support storytellers statewide, from museums to journalists to documentary filmmakers.

Focus Areas

Public humanitiesStorytelling and local historyCivic educationCommunity-based programmingDocumentary film/artsCommemoration and cultural heritage

Who They Fund

residents of OhioOhio cultural institutions (museums, libraries, historical societies)Ohio educational institutions (schools, universities)

Funding Style

statewide funding restriction

About Ohio Humanities Council

A $24,970 grant to Lesbians Benefitting the Arts is the largest award in the recent Ohio Humanities Council record here, and it points to the funder’s core role: supporting humanities work across Ohio through museums, media, historical organizations, and community storytellers. The council’s recent awards consistently go to Ohio-based organizations working on public humanities, local history, civic education, documentary film, and cultural heritage. That pattern shows up in grants to organizations such as East Mount Zion Baptist Church in Cleveland and Springfield Museum of Art in Springfield, both funded to support humanities in the state of Ohio. Other awards reach broadcasters, historical societies, arts groups, and educational institutions, reflecting a grantmaker that moves across different kinds of public-facing humanities work rather than staying in one narrow niche. The council also administers named grant programs tied to Ohio-specific initiatives, including America 250-Ohio, Spark Grants, Ignite Grants, and film fellowships connected to the Wexner Center for the Arts. Across the recent grants list, the emphasis is on projects rooted in Ohio communities and public interpretation of history, ideas, and culture.

What Ohio Humanities Council Funds

Ohio Humanities Council supports a broad set of humanities projects, but its strongest throughline is public interpretation of Ohio stories. In documentary film, it awarded $17,500 to Voyageur Media Group in Cincinnati to support humanities in the state of Ohio, alongside a film fellowship program for independent documentary filmmakers with an Ohio connection. In cultural heritage and history, it gave $20,000 to Allen County Historical Society in Lima and $15,500 to Dennison Railroad Depot Museum in Dennison for humanities support. The council also backs civic and community dialogue work. It awarded $20,000 to The Great Circle Alliance in Columbus and $16,600 to Teaching Cleveland in Chagrin to support humanities in the state of Ohio. Literary and oral-history work appears as well: Literary Cleveland in Cleveland received $16,668, and Marion Voices Folklife & Oral History in Caledonia received $19,500. These grants show a mix of education, public history, and community-based programming.

How Ohio Humanities Council Gives

The typical award size is modest and clustered tightly: p25 is $9,875, median grant size is $12,000, and p75 is $17,500. That places most grants in a small-to-mid range even though the recent list includes larger awards up to $24,970. The council’s pattern is strongly recurring rather than one-off: the same Ohio-wide support language appears across multiple years, and some programs are repeated by design through annual or active grant rounds. The organization itself is a nonprofit humanities council, not a donor-advised fund, and it does not fund individuals. Several active programs accept unsolicited applications, including Spark Grants, Ignite Grants, the Film Fellowships at the Wex, and the Holocaust & Genocide Commission grants.

Financial Snapshot

Annual Giving

$213K

Total Assets

$1.6M

Total Revenue

$2M

Total Expenses

$1.9M

Typical Grant Size

Most grants fall between $10K and $18K, with a median of $12K.

25th Percentile

$10K

Median

$12K

75th Percentile

$18K

Geographic Reach

Local1 state funded

Funding intensity

Low

High

Headquarters

Leadership

REBECCA BROWN ASMO

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Recipient	Location	Amount	Year	Purpose
CANTON MUSEUM OF ART	CANTON, OH	$17,500	2025	TO SUPPORT HUMANITIES IN THE STATE OF OHIO
VOYAGEUR MEDIA GROUP	CINCINNATI, OH	$17,500	2025	TO SUPPORT HUMANITIES IN THE STATE OF OHIO
SOUTHERN OHIO FOLKLIFE	PORTSMOUTH, OH	$17,500	2025	TO SUPPORT HUMANITIES IN THE STATE OF OHIO
NATIONAL UNDERGROUND RAILROAD FREEDOM CENTER	CINCINNATI, OH	$17,500	2025	TO SUPPORT HUMANITIES IN THE STATE OF OHIO
CORPORATION FOR FINDLAY MARKET	CINCINNATI, OH	$15,000	2025	TO SUPPORT HUMANITIES IN THE STATE OF OHIO
ROBERT O'NEAL MULTICULTURAL ARTS CENTER	CINCINNATI, OH	$15,000	2025	TO SUPPORT HUMANITIES IN THE STATE OF OHIO
URBAN APPALACHIAN COMMUNITY COALITION	CINCINNATI, OH	$15,000	2025	TO SUPPORT HUMANITIES IN THE STATE OF OHIO
COLUMBUS METROPOLITAN LIBRARY	COLUMBUS, OH	$15,000	2025	TO SUPPORT HUMANITIES IN THE STATE OF OHIO
MANDEL JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER	BEACHWOOD, OH	$15,000	2025	TO SUPPORT HUMANITIES IN THE STATE OF OHIO
DECORATIVE ARTS CENTER OF OHIO	LANCASTER, OH	$15,000	2025	TO SUPPORT HUMANITIES IN THE STATE OF OHIO
TOLEDO OPERA ASSOCIATION	TOLEDO, OH	$15,000	2025	TO SUPPORT HUMANITIES IN THE STATE OF OHIO
GREATER CLEVELAND URBAN FILM FOUNDATION	CLEVELAND, OH	$15,000	2025	TO SUPPORT HUMANITIES IN THE STATE OF OHIO
FORT RECOVERY HISTORICAL SOCIETY	FORT RECOVERY, OH	$12,500	2025	TO SUPPORT HUMANITIES IN THE STATE OF OHIO
THE CLEVELAND ORCHESTRA	CLEVELAND, OH	$10,000	2025	TO SUPPORT HUMANITIES IN THE STATE OF OHIO
LESBIANS BENEFITTING THE ARTS	COLUMBUS, OH	$24,970	2024	TO SUPPORT HUMANITIES IN THE STATE OF OHIO
DECORATIVE ARTS CENTER OF OHIO	LANCASTER, OH	$20,000	2024	TO SUPPORT HUMANITIES IN THE STATE OF OHIO
ALLEN COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY	LIMA, OH	$20,000	2024	TO SUPPORT HUMANITIES IN THE STATE OF OHIO
THINKTV NETWORK	DAYTON, OH	$20,000	2024	TO SUPPORT HUMANITIES IN THE STATE OF OHIO
LADD INC	CINCINNATI, OH	$20,000	2024	TO SUPPORT HUMANITIES IN THE STATE OF OHIO
SPRINGFIELD MUSEUM OF ART	SPRINGFIELD, OH	$20,000	2024	TO SUPPORT HUMANITIES IN THE STATE OF OHIO
AKRON CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL	AKRON, OH	$20,000	2024	TO SUPPORT HUMANITIES IN THE STATE OF OHIO
BOWLING GREEN STATE UNIVERSITY	BOWLING GREEN, OH	$20,000	2024	TO SUPPORT HUMANITIES IN THE STATE OF OHIO
THE GREAT CIRCLE ALLIANCE	COLUMBUS, OH	$19,789	2024	TO SUPPORT HUMANITIES IN THE STATE OF OHIO
NATIONAL FIRST LADIES' LIBRARY & EDUCATION RESEARCH	CANTON, OH	$17,500	2024	TO SUPPORT HUMANITIES IN THE STATE OF OHIO
KING STUDIOS LLC	CINCINNATI, OH	$17,500	2024	TO SUPPORT HUMANITIES IN THE STATE OF OHIO
TEACHING CLEVELAND	CHAGRIN, OH	$16,600	2024	TO SUPPORT HUMANITIES IN THE STATE OF OHIO
URSULINE COLLEGE	PEPPER PIKE, OH	$15,301	2024	TO SUPPORT HUMANITIES IN THE STATE OF OHIO
MT ZION BAPTIST CHURCH PRESERVATION SOCIETY	ATHENS, OH	$15,000	2024	TO SUPPORT HUMANITIES IN THE STATE OF OHIO
ZYGOTE PRESS	CLEVELAND, OH	$15,000	2024	TO SUPPORT HUMANITIES IN THE STATE OF OHIO
MANDEL JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER	BEACHWOOD, OH	$15,000	2024	TO SUPPORT HUMANITIES IN THE STATE OF OHIO
THE LGBTQ LEGACY PROJECT	CLEVELAND, OH	$12,000	2024	TO SUPPORT HUMANITIES IN THE STATE OF OHIO
MARION VOICES FOLKLIFE ORAL HISTORY	CALEDONIA, OH	$12,000	2024	TO SUPPORT HUMANITIES IN THE STATE OF OHIO
OPERA PROJECT COLUMBUS	COLUMBUS, OH	$11,000	2024	TO SUPPORT HUMANITIES IN THE STATE OF OHIO
WE AMPLIFY VOICES	COLUMBUS, OH	$9,500	2024	TO SUPPORT HUMANITIES IN THE STATE OF OHIO
TRUMBULL COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY	WARREN, OH	$20,000	2023	SUPPORT HUMANITIES IN THE STATE OF OHIO
WE AMPLIFY VOICES	COLUMBUS, OH	$20,000	2023	SUPPORT HUMANITIES IN THE STATE OF OHIO
EAST MOUNT ZION BAPTIST CHURCH	CLEVELAND, OH	$20,000	2023	SUPPORT HUMANITIES IN THE STATE OF OHIO
HOLOCAUST AND HUMANITY CENTER	CINCINNATI, OH	$19,940	2023	SUPPORT HUMANITIES IN THE STATE OF OHIO
MIDSTORY	TOLDEO, OH	$19,800	2023	SUPPORT HUMANITIES IN THE STATE OF OHIO
MARION VOICES FOLKLIFE & ORAL HISTORY	CALEDONIA, OH	$19,500	2023	SUPPORT HUMANITIES IN THE STATE OF OHIO
ATHENS COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY & MUSEUM	ATHENS, OH	$19,425	2023	SUPPORT HUMANITIES IN THE STATE OF OHIO
CINCINNATI ARTS MUSEUM	CINCINNATI, OH	$19,274	2023	SUPPORT HUMANITIES IN THE STATE OF OHIO
LITERARY CLEVELAND	CLEVELAND, OH	$16,668	2023	SUPPORT HUMANITIES IN THE STATE OF OHIO
LIT YOUNGSTOWN	YOUNGSTOWN, OH	$16,113	2023	SUPPORT HUMANITIES IN THE STATE OF OHIO
JOHN P PARKER HISTORICAL SOCIETY	RIPLEY, OH	$16,000	2023	SUPPORT HUMANITIES IN THE STATE OF OHIO
OHIO HILL COUNTY HERITAGE AREA	SHAWNEE, OH	$16,000	2023	SUPPORT HUMANITIES IN THE STATE OF OHIO
DENNISON RAILROAD DEPOT MUSEUM	DENNISON, OH	$15,500	2023	SUPPORT HUMANITIES IN THE STATE OF OHIO
MANDEL JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER	BEACHWOOD, OH	$15,000	2023	SUPPORT HUMANITIES IN THE STATE OF OHIO
WEXNER CENTER FOR THE ARTS	COLUMBUS, OH	$15,000	2023	SUPPORT HUMANITIES IN THE STATE OF OHIO
MALTZ MUSEUM OF JEWISH HERITAGE	BEACHWOOD, OH	$15,000	2023	SUPPORT HUMANITIES IN THE STATE OF OHIO

Recipient

Location

Amount

Year

Purpose

CANTON MUSEUM OF ART

CANTON, OH

$17,500

2025