The federal Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) this week ordered the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) to make steep reductions in its staffing and budget, including its grantmaking to states.
Alabama Humanities Alliance (AHA), an NEH affiliate, said it was suspending its grantmaking due to the cuts. The decision includes a pause in AHA's monthly mini-grants, its spring round of major grants, and its annual media grants, which were planned for the summer.
DOGE is an initiative of the Trump administration led by Elon Musk to reduce federal spending waste, fraud and abuse.
The AHA funded an event celebrating LGBTQ+ history at the Alabama Department of Archives and History in 2023 that drew the ire of some state Republican lawmakers. Multiple bills have been filed, but none have passed into law to change the governance of the Alabama Department of Archives and History after the event was held.
AHA will also halt further bookings of its "popular Road Scholars Speakers Bureau, which provides scholars and storytellers who give presentations at libraries, historical societies, and senior citizen centers across the state," the organization said in a statement.
"The potential gutting of a federal agency might feel far away from many of us here in Alabama," said Chuck Holmes, executive director of the AHA. "But what's at stake is very much of local concern — hundreds of thousands of dollars each year for local nonprofits to serve people in towns and cities across Alabama. These AHA grants are decided here in Alabama — not Washington, D.C. — and they support programming that enriches local communities."
The grant cuts to states by NEH are due to DOGE wanting to claw back $175 million in grant money that hasn't been disbursed yet.
A "Notice of Grant Termination" that was sent to a state humanities council and obtained by NPR stated, "Your grant no longer effectuates the agency's needs and priorities and conditions of the Grant Agreement and is subject to termination."
The letter continues, "Your grant's immediate termination is necessary to safeguard the interests of the federal government, including its fiscal priorities."
Holmes told NPR that AHA received $1.2 million in federal funds last fiscal year. Federal funds make up about 65% of AHA's budget.
Holmes said in a statement on Wednesday, "Ultimately, what these proposed cuts threaten is our ability to inspire a lifelong love of learning here in Alabama.
"And when we lose that, we lose much more than funding. We lose our ability to understand each other. We miss opportunities to strengthen our communities, as well as our economy. And we fail to make Alabama an ever more vibrant place to live, to work, and to visit."
The AHA was founded in 1974.
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