Press Release
National Endowment for the Humanities Terminates General Operating Grant for Oklahoma Humanities
OKLAHOMA CITY (April 3, 2025) — At the direction of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), all 56 state, jurisdictional, and territorial, humanities councils, including Oklahoma Humanities, received termination of general operating support grant notices from the National Endowment for the Humanities late last night.
As the nonpartisan, nonprofit state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, Oklahoma Humanities annually receives an appropriation from the federal government. On average, Oklahoma Humanities shepherds more than $250,000 of that funding back into Oklahoma communities by awarding grants to museums, libraries, universities, historical societies, and more.
In 1971, Oklahoma joined five other states in a National Endowment for the Humanities pilot program that established a grassroots network to ensure federal funding reached communities most at need. The pilot was so successful there are now 56 councils across the country. Oklahoma is proud to be one of the first.