General Grant Information

Public Program Grants

Public program grants may fund activities that explore timeless ideas and bodies of work as well as programs that respond to unexpected local, national, or international events. Grant funds also may be used to retain a humanities scholar as a consultant for a defined period of time to improve the quality of an organization's offerings. Scholars may be engaged to create programs, develop exhibitions, interpret collections, and other similar endeavors. All events funded by a grant from OCH must be open to the public. The fall 2007 and spring 2008 public program grant cycles will fund activities as varied as lectures, reading and discussion groups, public conferences, documentary film or radio work, and discussions before or after literary readings, performances, or films. Grant requests may range from $1,000 to $5,000. The postmark deadline for letters of intent to apply in the fall cycle is August 24, 2007. The postmark deadline for letters of intent to apply in the spring 2008 cycle is April 4, 2008. If you have any questions regarding OCH's public programs, please contact Jennifer Allen at (503) 241-0543 in Portland, (800) 735-0543, or by e-mail.

Public Program Grants guidelines/application

Research Grant Information

Research Grant Application Process

For a number of years OCH awarded two individual Research Grants of $5,000 each to support Oregon scholars for a sustained period of professional research that contributes significantly to one or more disciplines of the humanities and to a broad public discourse in ideas. The research grant program is currently on hiatus while staff and board members conduct a review and restructuring of the program. We hope to announce our plans in late 2007 or early 2008. Please direct any questions regarding OCH's research grant program or the council's other public humanities activities to Director of Programs Jennifer Allen at (503) 241-0543 or by e-mail.

Fall 2007 Public Program Grant Awards

Newport Public Library Foundation, Newport
Newport Reads 2008! Read What Teens are Reading ($2,052)
Thhe library aims to get teens to participate in Newport Reads! and lead community events
Fishtrap, Inc., Enterprise
Wallowa County Reads: River Song(4,000)
Over 1,250 adults and students will read Craig Lesley's River Song; meet the author; attend lectures about the book, salmon fisheries, the Columbia River, Indians and the Chinese Massacre; view photos and films; write short stories; and construct a mural of geography, history, and events in the book
Friends of the St. Helens Public Library, St. Helens
South Columbia County Everybody Reads (3,000)
Rural communities will read The Maltese Falcon. Events include a kick-off with local officials, keynote session by mystery novelist Phillip Margolin, author visits to local schools, library reading groups, and a showing of the 1941 film followed by a discussion of themes and exploration of the book and film connections
Oregon Council of Teachers of English, Portland
Preserving Community History and Culture (5,000)
The Oregon Council of Teachers of English is sponsoring this model project that will convene workshops to document significant community knowledge in two Oregon natural resource towns and serve as a contribution to work of the Oregon Encyclopedia Project
Arts Council of Pendleton, Pendleton
Recording the Lives and Works of Eastern Oregon Artists (2,000)
This project couples an oral historian with teenage filmmakers to study oral history techniques. The teens will digitally record interviews with five working artists in Eastern Oregon. The film will be edited, then premiere at the Pendleton Center for the Arts and be distributed to public libraries and other repositories
Disjecta, Portland
The Portland Documentary and eXperimental Film Festival ($2,500)
The Portland Documentary and eXperimental Film Festival is dedicated to showcasing innovative new works in film and video that go against the current of mainstream entertainment. In addition to diverse programming and unique events, they hope to welcome acclaimed filmmakers Shana Moulton and Travis Wilkerson as featured guests
Reed College, Portland
Working History: Lecture Series by Contemporary Black Artists ($5,000)
This grant will support a series of free public lectures and seminars by leading contemporary African American artists. The lectures will occur in conjunction with the Cooley Gallery exhibition "Working History," an exhibition of the work of African American artists exploring politics and society
Friends of Tryon Creek State Park, Portland
Natural Cycles: Art and Ecology Lecture Series ($2,500)
This request supports a public lecture series linked to the "Natural Cycles: Art in the Forest" exhibition sponsored by the Friends of Tryon Creek State Park. These lectures will explore the connection between nature, science, and art through the eyes of the participating artists
Columbia Gorge Community College, The Dalles
2008 Spring Humanities Series($2,000)
This series will explore the theme of social justice, engaging writers, artists, and human rights defenders to give four public evening presentations preceded by informal writer-to-writer or artist-to-artist chats. The presenters will also meet with relevant college classes to discuss the writing/artistic process
Portland Center Stage, Portland
Ken Kesey & Other Great Notions ($3,500)
In conjunction with its April 2008 premiere of Sometimes a Great Notion, and in partnership with Literary Arts and Ecotrust, PCS will offer a series of free events (including a lecture, a symposium, and a dialogue) focusing on Ken Kesey's considerable footprint on Oregon's landscape of literary and public ideas
Sojourn Theatre, Portland
Throwing Bones ($5,000)
Throwing Bones is a new theater piece exploring issues of health and mortality through multi-cultural perspectives drawn from local and cross-continental research. Why do people take on the impossible? Where does hope find places to take root? Community engagement activities leading up to performances include public panels, workshops, and residencies
Women's Civic Improvement League dba Bend Community Radio, Bend
106.7 KPOV's Citizen Journalist Program ($2,250)
KPOV, a noncommercial community radio station, is requesting funds to develop the curriculum for a Citizen Journalist Program. Once trained, the citizen journalists will provide in-depth coverage of issues and events to the community of Bend via KPOV's airwaves and Internet broadcasts
Deschutes Historical Museum, Bend
Deschutes Historical Museum Author Afternoons ($1,830)
Deschutes Historical Museum's Author Afternoons will expose local audiences, through open dialogue wit published humanities authors, to the range of literary and historical resources available in Oregon that are open for research and contemporary writing and scholarship
Archaeological Legacy Institute, Eugene
Donny George at the TAC Festival 2008 ($3,000)
Donny George, the exiled former Director General of the Iraqi Museums and Chair of the Iraqi State Board of Antiquities and Heritage, will be the keynote speaker at The Archaeology Channel International Film and Video Festival in 2008. The festival celebrates cinema and promotes discussion relating to human cultural heritage