Organization: WISCONSIN HUMANITIES COUNCIL INC
Mission: THE WISCONSIN HUMANITIES COUNCIL AWARDS GRANTS TO SUPPORT PROGRAMS IN LIBRARIES, MUSEUMS, UNIVERSITIES, HISTORICAL SOCIETIES, SCHOOLS, AND OTHER NONPROFIT SETTINGS THROUGHOUT THE STATE. THE WISCONSIN HUMANITIES COUNCIL ALSO CREATES PROGRAMS, PARTNERSHIPS, AND PUBLICATIONS TO FULFILL ITS MISSION. THESE PROGRAMS INCLUDE THE WORKING LIVES PROJECT AND A PERIODIC PUBLICATION CALLED "ON."
Activities: WHC GRANT PROGRAM - SUPPORT FOR PUBLIC HUMANITIES PROGRAMS THAT ENCOURAGE PARTICIPANTS TO CONVERSE, CONNECT, AND REFLECT UPON OUR WORLD. FROM COMMUNITY DISCUSSION PROGRAMS TO MEDIA PROJECTS, FROM MUSEUM EXHIBITIONS TO PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR EDUCATORS, WHC GRANTS STRENGTHEN COMMUNITIES AND ENRICH THE CULTURAL LIFE OF THE STATE. FOR THIS TAX YEAR, 43 NEW GRANTS WERE AWARDED. THERE WERE APPROXIMATELY 250 GRANT RELATED EVENTS FUNDED, WITH A TOTAL ATTENDANCE OF MORE THAN 20,000 PEOPLE THIS PAST YEAR. MANY GRANT RECIPIENTS POSTPONED PUBLIC PROGRAMS DUE TO THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC AND ARE NOW PLANNING TO HOST DELAYED EVENTS IN 2021.IN ADDITION, WITH FUNDING PROVIDED BY THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE HUMANITIES AS PART OF THE CORONAVIRUS AID, RELIEF AND ECONOMIC SECURITY (CARES) ACT ECONOMIC STABILIZATION PLAN, THE WHC PROVIDED RAPID-RESPONSE FUNDING TO NONPROFIT HUMANITIES AND CULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS THAT PROVIDE HUMANITIES PROGRAMMING AS A SIGNIFICANT PART OF THEIR MISSION, WHO WERE FACING FINANCIAL HARDSHIP RESULTING FROM THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC IN 2020. 92 GRANTS, TOTALING $548,267 WERE AWARDED TO NONPROFIT HUMANITIES AND CULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS FOR THEIR GENERAL OPERATING EXPENSES.
LOVE WISCONSIN PROJECT - THE WHC HAS TAKEN ON PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITY FOR ADMINISTERING THE "LOVE WISCONSIN" PROJECT, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE LOVE WISCONSIN ORGANIZATION. THIS PROJECT "CELEBRATES THE HUMANITY IN EACH OF OUR STORIES" VIA A DIGITAL STORYTELLING PROJECT FOCUSED PRIMARILY ON FACEBOOK, USING THE FACEBOOK GROUPS PLATFORM. THIS PLATFORM HAS CREATED AN ONLINE COMMUNITY THAT STRIVES TO BRING ABOUT A MORE CONNECTED, COMPASSIONATE, AND ENGAGED WISCONSIN. THIS PAST YEAR, 38 STORIES HAVE BEEN SHARED, RESULTING IN NUMEROUS DIGITAL CONVERSATIONS INVOLVING 11,297,027 PARTICIPANTS, WITH TOTAL DIGITAL ENGAGEMENTS SURPASSING 276,000.
IMMIGRATION: JOURNEYS TO WISCONSIN FROM SOUTH OF THE BORDER PROJECT - PROGRAMMING INCLUDES A TRAVELLING EXHIBIT SHOWCASING THE STORIES OF PEOPLE WHO HAVE IMMIGRATED TO WISCONSIN FROM COLOMBIA, HONDURAS, MEXICO AND URUGUAY, AND A WEBSITE DEDICATED TO THE PROGRAM. IN 2021, INTIMATE VIRTUAL SMALL GROUP CONVERSATIONS ARE PLANNED TO DISCUSS THE ISSUES OF IMMIGRATION AND IMMIGRANT EXPERIENCES. DUE TO THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC, MANY OF THE SITES PLANNING ON HOSTING THE TRAVELLING EXHIBIT IN 2020 HAD TO CANCEL OR POSTPONE PROGRAMMING UNTIL LATER IN 2021. 2,481 VISITORS VIEWED CONTENT ON THE IMMIGRATION WEBSITE, AND OVER 2,000 PEOPLE VIEWED THE TRAVELLING EXHIBIT AT THREE HOST SITES.
NTEE category: Arts, Culture & Humanities
Secondary category: Philanthropy, Voluntarism & Grantmaking Foundations