SAVE COLORADO HUMANITIES–CALL TO ACTION!

Big news: We’ve received a $50,000 challenge grant from the Mellon Foundation! The grant is only fully awarded if we can match it with donations from our community, so please join us in our mission to make the humanities accessible to everyone. This does not replace the hundreds of thousands we lost in federal funding, but it is a powerful step forward. Together, we can protect access to books, cultural traditions, artistic expression, and community building—things we can never take for granted.

Join us in making the humanities accessible to everyone!

The humanities in Colorado–and in our country–are under attack. On April 2nd, Colorado Humanities–and all 56 state and jurisdictional humanities councils–received letters telling us that our federal funding has been terminated, effective immediately.

Colorado Humanities is at imminent risk of closure due to the Department of Governmental Efficiency’s (DOGE) elimination of our funding. This is part of a sweeping effort to dismantle the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), the federal agency that funds all 56 state and jurisdictional humanities councils. 

The implications are staggering and threaten Colorado Humanities’ ability to serve communities statewide, ending programs essential to our state’s cultural infrastructure. Every year, we reach 300,000 Coloradans and work with over 120 program partners to deliver nearly 300 free public humanities programs across every region of our state, rural and urban. 

These free public programs are at risk:

• Our state’s cherished annual Colorado Book Awards and Colorado State Poet Laureate
• Author Talks at libraries, schools, bookstores, museums, and cultural centers statewide
• Educational resources for K-12 teachers and students
• Support for documentary films, like our Emmy-winning The Five States of Colorado
• Trainings and facilitations of Community Conversations on challenging topics
• Local living history festivals (Chautauqua) and our Black History Live Tour
• Youth programs in history
• Smithsonian exhibits for museums in small and rural towns across our state

TAKE ACTION NOW to save Colorado Humanities:

Step 1. Contact your U.S. Senators and Representatives and urge them to oppose gutting the NEH. Phone calls are especially appreciated. (Script specific to Colorado under Advocacy Resources below)

Step 2. Donate today to help us persevere. We can’t do this without you!

Step 3. Spread the word to mobilize your networks. (Social media post under Advocacy Resources below)

This is not just a funding crisis. It is a crisis for our democracy. The humanities encompass our most cherished traditions, the free exchange of ideas, our shared histories, and our dreams for the future. We hold steadfast to the bipartisan belief that sparked the creation of the NEH: that “the humanities are not merely our, but the world’s best hope.” 

Thank you for joining us in defending the humanities.

Margaret A. Coval, Executive Director, and Debra Kalish, Board Chair

Advocacy Resources

Call/Letter Script to U.S. Representatives

Hi, my name is [Your Name], and I’m a constituent from [City/Town, CO].

I’m [calling/writing] to express my strong opposition to the Department of Government Efficiency’s recent actions to terminate NEH grants, including funding for CO Humanities. This unprecedented and damaging move threatens critical community programs and cultural organizations across Colorado.

The NEH has brought over $15 million to our state in the last five years, supporting education, local history, youth programs, civic engagement, and cultural and economic development. Defunding the NEH undermines our communities, our classrooms, and our shared values.

I urge [Senator/Representative Name] to take action to protect the NEH and to stand against these harmful cuts.

Thank you.

[Your name and address]

Sample Social Media Post

🚨 Colorado Humanities just had its National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) grant terminated as part of a sweeping DOGE effort to dismantle the NEH and public funding for the humanities nationwide. This puts us at an imminent risk of closure and threatens libraries, museums, youth programs, classrooms, and communities across CO.

[Personal statement on why the humanities matter to you.]

✅ Take action now: https://coloradohumanities.org/

#SaveCOHumanities #ProtectNEH

Download the social media graphic

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