Double Your Impact: Federation of State Humanities Councils, with Support from the Mellon Foundation, Offers $50,000 Challenge Grant for USVI humanities programs
As the official designated humanities council for the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Community Foundation of the Virgin Islands (CFVI) announced that all donations made to its Humanities Council of the Virgin Islands (HCVI) by Dec. 31, 2025 will be matched in a $50,000 challenge grant to support humanities programs across the territory.
Earlier this year, the Federation of State Humanities Councils, with generous support from the Mellon Foundation, awarded one-time, unrestricted $200,000 grants to each of the 56 state and territorial humanities councils throughout the United States, including HCVI. This emergency funding was granted after $65 million in federal support for state humanities councils was eliminated as a result of cuts to the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH).
The challenge grant, in which all donations made to HCVI will be matched up to $50,000, provides the opportunity for an additional $100,000 to be put toward humanities work in the territory. Members of the public may donate by visiting this link.
“These generous awards from the Mellon Foundation are stabilizing important work – the humanities are the heartbeat of the Virgin Islands, preserving our stories, celebrating our diverse cultures and inspiring new generations,” said Dee Baecher-Brown, president of CFVI. “The funding we received earlier this year has provided vital support in critical moment, but it doesn’t fill the gap that the NEH funding once delivered. To fulfill the challenge grant, we are calling on our supporters with the chance to double the impact of your dollar. Your $25 becomes $50, your $100 becomes $200, and our ability to support humanities programs, events and resources across the islands becomes two-fold.”
About the Federation of State Humanities Councils
Founded in 1977, the Federation of State Humanities Councils (Federation) is the membership organization of the 56 state and jurisdictional humanities councils. The Federation supports, connects, and amplifies the work and voices of our members, demonstrating councils’ value for communities and their collective impact on civic health and cultural vibrancy. The Federation envisions a fully resourced, inclusive, and thriving humanities council network.
About The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation is the nation’s largest supporter of the arts and humanities. Since 1969, the Foundation has been guided by its core belief that the humanities and arts are essential to human understanding. We believe that the arts and humanities are where we express our complex humanity, and that everyone deserves the beauty and empowerment that can be found there. Through our grants, we seek to build just communities enriched by meaning and guided by critical thinking, where ideas and imagination can thrive.