The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Office of Challenge Grants is accepting applications for the Infrastructure and Capacity Building Challenge Grants program. Capital Projects support the design, purchase, construction, restoration, or renovation of facilities for humanities activities. Digital Infrastructure projects support the maintenance, modernization, and sustainability of existing digital scholarly projects and platforms. For both Capital Projects and Digital Infrastructure, expenditures must be shown to bring long-term benefits to the institution and to the humanities more broadly.

The purpose of the Challenge Grants program is to strengthen the institutional base of the humanities by enabling infrastructure development and capacity building. Awards aim to help institutions secure long-term support for their core activities and expand efforts to preserve and create access to outstanding humanities materials. 

The program funds two distinct types of projects, each with its own Notice of Funding Opportunity:

• Capital Projects supports the design, purchase, construction, restoration, or renovation of facilities for humanities activities.  This includes the purchase and installation of related moveable and permanently affixed equipment for exhibiting, maintaining, monitoring, and protecting collections (whether on exhibit or in storage), and for critical building systems, such as electrical, heating ventilation and air conditioning, security, life safety, lighting, utilities, telecommunications, and energy management.  
• Digital Infrastructure supports the maintenance, modernization, and sustainability of existing digital scholarly projects and platforms.

Funding Information                                 

• Maximum award amount: $750,000
• Period of performance: Up to five years.

Eligibility Criteria

• Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized)
• State governments
• Special district governments
• Private institutions of higher education
• City or township governments
• Public and State controlled institutions of higher education
• Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education
• County governments

For more information, visit Grants.gov.