Spotlight 2023 NOFO.pdf

Notice of Funding Opportunity

Spotlight on Humanities in Higher Education

Funding Opportunity Number: 20231011-ASA-ASB

Funding Opportunity Type: New

Federal Assistance Listing Number: 45.162

Application Deadline: October 18, 2023

Ensure your SAM.gov and Grants.gov registrations and passwords are current.

It may take several weeks to register with SAM.gov and Grants.gov.

NEH will not grant deadline extensions for lack of registration.

Division of Education Programs Email: spotlight@neh.gov Telephone: 202-606-2324 Telecommunications Relay Service: 7-1-1

OMB control number 3136-0134, expiration date October 31, 2024 mailto:spotlight@neh.gov

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Executive Summary The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Division of Education Programs is accepting applications for the Spotlight on Humanities in Higher Education program. This program supports the exploration and development of small projects that would benefit underserved populations through the teaching and study of the humanities at small and medium-sized colleges and universities. NEH invites applications from two- and four-year institutions of higher education, as well as from nonprofit organizations and state, local, or Native American Tribal governments aiming to advance the humanities at these institutions. The program especially aims to benefit community colleges; minority-serving institutions; rural colleges and universities; colleges and universities enrolling a majority of students receiving Pell grants; and institutions that have not received funding from the NEH Division of Education Programs since 2018.

Funding Opportunity Title Spotlight on Humanities in Higher Education Funding Opportunity Number 20231011-ASA-ASB Federal Assistance Listing Number 45.162 Optional Draft Deadline September 6, 2023, 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time Application Deadline October 18, 2023, 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time Anticipated Award Announcement April 2024 Anticipated FY 2024 Funding Approximately $1,000,000 Estimated Number and Type of Awards Approximately 25 grants Award Amounts Exploration: up to $25,000

Development: up to $60,000 Cost Sharing/Match Required No Period of Performance Exploration: up to one year

Development: up to two years

Projects must start between June 1, 2024, and September 1, 2024.

Eligible Applicants • accredited institutions of higher education (public or private)

• nonprofit organizations recognized as tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code

• state or local governments or their agencies

• federally recognized Native American Tribal governments See C. Eligibility Information for additional information.

Program Resource Page https://www.neh.gov/program/spotlight-humanities-higher-education

Pre-Application Webinar A pre-recorded webinar will be available on the program resource page by August 11, 2023.

Live Q&A Session: Thursday, August 24, 2023, at 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Click here to participate or call in (audio only): +1 202-600-8430, meeting code 452 925 151#

Published Modified

August 2, 2023 August 3, 2023 (corrected Q&A link) https://ope.ed.gov/dapip/#/home https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/search-for-tax-exempt-organizations https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/search-for-tax-exempt-organizations https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/search-for-tax-exempt-organizations https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2022/01/28/2022-01789/indian-entities-recognized-by-and-eligible-to-receive-services-from-the-united-states-bureau-of https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2022/01/28/2022-01789/indian-entities-recognized-by-and-eligible-to-receive-services-from-the-united-states-bureau-of https://www.neh.gov/program/spotlight-humanities-higher-education https://www.neh.gov/program/spotlight-humanities-higher-education https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_ZjEyZGI2YTMtMmFjYy00MDE5LWFmY2YtMzk5ZTk3ZTRkOTQ0%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%2293b06459-c77d-44b6-af7f-e813cddcdcc3%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%22f28c01cd-bca1-4980-b35a-b9102b345024%22%7d

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Table of Contents

Executive Summary ................................................................................................ i

Table of Contents ................................................................................................... ii

A. Program Description

1. Purpose

2. Background

B. Federal Award Information

1. Type of Application and Award

2. Summary of Funding

C. Eligibility Information

1. Eligible Applicants

2. Cost Sharing

3. Other Eligibility Information

D. Application and Submission Information

1. Application Package

2. Content and Form of Application Submission

3. Unique Entity Identifier and System for Award Management

4. Submission Dates and Times

5. Intergovernmental Review

6. Funding Restrictions

E. Application Review Information

1. Review Criteria

2. Review and Selection Process

3. Assessment of Risk and Other Pre-Award Activities

4. Anticipated Announcement and Award Dates

F. Federal Award Administration Information

1. Federal Award Notices

2. Administrative and National Policy Requirements

3. Reporting

G. Agency Contacts

H. Other Information

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A. Program Description

1. Purpose The Spotlight on Humanities in Higher Education program supports the exploration and development of small projects that would benefit underserved populations through the teaching and study of the humanities at small and medium-sized colleges and universities. NEH invites applications from two- and four-year institutions of higher education, as well as from nonprofit organizations and state, local, or Native American Tribal governments aiming to advance the humanities at these institutions.

The program supports activities including but not limited to curricular or program development, expert consultations, speakers’ series, student research, creation of teaching resources, and community engagement. Projects may benefit students, faculty, the institution or organization, and/or the community. See the Sample projects section for short examples of potential projects and the program resource page for full sample project narratives from previously funded projects.

The program features a simplified application.

Intended Applicants The Spotlight program aims to support the teaching and study of the humanities at small and medium-sized colleges and universities, as defined below, that meet at least one of the following criteria:

• Community colleges

• Minority-serving institutions (MSIs)

• Rural colleges and universities

• Colleges and universities enrolling a majority (greater than 50%) of students receiving

Pell grants

• Institutions that have not received funding from the NEH Division of Education

Programs since 2018

If your institution is an eligible nonprofit organization or state or local government, your Spotlight project must benefit students and/or faculty at small and medium-sized colleges and universities that meet at least one of the criteria above.

In Attachment 2: Organizational profile you will describe the undergraduate enrollment at the colleges and universities involved in the project. If possible, provide 1) undergraduate enrollment numbers to establish that each institution is small or medium sized (for two-year institutions: below 5,000 undergraduate students; for four-year institutions: below 10,000 undergraduate students); and 2) evidence that each institution meets at least one of the relevant criteria above. If you are an eligible nonprofit organization or state or local government, provide evidence that your project is limited to supporting those colleges and universities that meet the two prior requirements. See the attachment description for guidance on completing this profile, including how to determine an institution’s size, MSI status, rural designation, percentage of Pell grants, and prior NEH funding.

Reviewers will assess your project’s fit with the Spotlight program through the review criterion designated as “Institutional context.”

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Project activities The Spotlight on Humanities in Higher Education program supports exploration and development activities such as:

• Curriculum and program creation engaging outside consultants to assess humanities needs and create strategies to meet them creating student internship programs or student bridge programs creating a course or set of courses (for example, general education, honors, or capstone courses) creating teaching or professional development materials (course modules, readers, primary document collections, digital collections, etc.)

creating materials and practices for distance learning

• Student enrichment supporting faculty to guide student research exploring opportunities for hands-on, place-based, or experiential learning projects exploring, developing, and/or implementing a campus-wide or community program such as a “common read” developing humanities-based student mentorship programs

• Professional development creating shared reading programs focused on humanities teaching or curricula organizing guest speakers’ seminars or hosting guest speakers in the humanities for faculty

• Collaboration introducing faculty and/or students from partner institutions to humanities teaching practices at the host institution or organization working with academic departments, institutions, or nonprofit organizations to create shared resources researching, organizing, and developing convenings, such as symposia and conferences

• Community engagement partnering with museums, libraries, or other nonprofit organizations to enhance the teaching and study of the humanities producing humanities programming, such as public lectures or symposia, for students and community members

• Workforce preparation aligning humanities teaching with students’ career or professional development needs creating humanities-related experiential learning opportunities

Your project must focus on the humanities, including projects that engage with writing and composition, foreign languages, workforce development, and/or programs of study that lie outside traditional humanities disciplines.

See D6. Funding Restrictions for unallowable activities.

See E1. Review Criteria for the standards NEH will use to evaluate applications under this notice.

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Funding categories You may request support at one of two levels: Exploration or Development. You should apply for the level appropriate to your project. You are not required to receive an Exploration award prior to applying at the Development level.

Exploration Exploration projects are up to $25,000 and have a period of performance of up to one year.

They support administrators, faculty, community members, and/or humanities nonprofit organizations in planning for a project that would significantly enrich humanities teaching and learning at colleges or universities.

The outcome of an Exploration award should be a coherent plan for developing a curriculum, initiative, community or faculty partnership, or teaching resource that improves student understanding of the humanities.

Development Development projects are up to $60,000 and have a period of performance of up to two years.

They support divisions, departments, programs, and/or humanities nonprofit organizations in advancing a single, well-defined project (or one stage of a larger project) that would significantly enrich humanities teaching and learning at colleges and universities.

The outcome of a Development award should be a curriculum, initiative, community or faculty partnership, or teaching resource that improves student understanding of the humanities, with significant progress towards implementation.

Sample projects

• A small community college with a significant Hispanic and nontraditional student population could use an Exploration-level award to convene a group of business and community leaders to identify ways to connect the college’s humanities classes to the community’s needs. Outcomes could include plans for students to study the history of the oldest buildings in town and conferences on the cultural and religious heritage of new immigrant populations.

• A medium-sized liberal arts college could use an Exploration-level award to determine how best to provide research opportunities for its advanced undergraduates, most of whom receive Pell grants and are first-generation college students. Humanities faculty would convene monthly to brainstorm ideas. They would learn about similar programs from colleagues in STEM fields; meet with representatives from the campus library; and discuss with the career services office how students might leverage research experience on their résumés. Outcomes could include an assignment framework that faculty in different disciplines could adapt and preliminary steps towards an interdisciplinary capstone course.

• A nonprofit educational organization could use a Development-level award to hold a three-day workshop addressing the needs of humanities teachers at Indigenous-serving institutions. Participants would include faculty from several Tribal Colleges and Universities, and a community college and a small public college with significant Indigenous student populations. The workshop would help faculty recognize how their institutions might more meaningfully connect their research and teaching to the histories and traditions of local communities, where most students seek employment.

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Outcomes could include plans for the organization to sponsor collaborative public presentations about Native traditions and cultures and the integration of community outreach assignments into humanities courses at three of the institutions.

• A Historically Black College wishing to improve its outreach to K-12 teachers in the surrounding area could use a Development-level award to organize humanities-based curricular workshops for in-service teachers. Led by humanities faculty, the workshops would introduce experienced teachers to new texts and approaches in the teaching of literature, history, and philosophy. The award could help build relationships between humanities departments and the education school and establish a foundation for future partnerships.

• A small rural, regional college could use a Development-level award to create an open-access reader of primary documents for use in state history classes. Faculty would draw on archives in the state capital and their campus libraries. Grant funds would support faculty time, image acquisition, and a technology platform to host the finished product.

Classes on the college’s campus and in high schools across the state could use the reader.

2. Background

NEH offers this funding opportunity under the authority of 20 U.S.C. § 956. Awards are subject to 2 CFR Part 200 Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards, and the General Terms and Conditions for Awards to Organizations (for grants and cooperative agreements issued January 1, 2022 or later).

Under Section 3(a) of the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965, as amended, “The term ‘humanities’ includes, but is not limited to, the study of the following:

language, both modern and classical; linguistics; literature; history; jurisprudence; philosophy;

archaeology; comparative religion; ethics; the history, criticism and theory of the arts; those aspects of the social sciences which have humanistic content and employ humanistic methods;

and the study and application of the humanities to the human environment with particular attention to reflecting our diverse heritage, traditions, and history and to the relevance of the humanities to the current conditions of national life.”

Use the Funded Projects Query Form to find examples of NEH-supported projects.

Learn more about NEH.

NEH Areas of Interest NEH is especially interested in supporting projects that advance humanities-related work in the following areas. NEH will give all applications equal consideration in accordance with the program’s review criteria.

NEH encourages projects that include Native American organizations and communities as applicants and project partners.

American Tapestry: Weaving Together Past, Present, and Future American Tapestry: Weaving Together Past, Present, and Future is a wide-ranging special initiative at NEH that leverages the humanities to tackle some of the most pressing challenges of our time: strengthening our democracy, advancing equity for all, and addressing our changing https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?hl=false&edition=prelim&req=granuleid%3AUSC-prelim-title20-section956 https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=236bb02f01d2e050f7a5b60c88a67066&mc=true&node=pt2.1.200&rgn=div5 https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=236bb02f01d2e050f7a5b60c88a67066&mc=true&node=pt2.1.200&rgn=div5 https://www.neh.gov/general-terms-and-conditions-awards-organizations-grants-and-cooperative-agreements-issued-january-2022 https://www.neh.gov/general-terms-and-conditions-awards-organizations-grants-and-cooperative-agreements-issued-january-2022 https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-1998-title20/pdf/USCODE-1998-title20-chap26-subchapI-sec952.pdf https://securegrants.neh.gov/publicquery/main.aspx https://www.neh.gov/about https://www.neh.gov/americantapestry

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climate. The initiative encourages humanities projects that elevate the role of civics in schools and public programs, advance knowledge of the country’s history and political institutions, and examine threats to its democratic principles. The initiative also encourages projects that explore the untold stories of historically underrepresented groups and build capacity at cultural and educational institutions to benefit underserved communities. Finally, the initiative welcomes projects that promote research into the historical roots and cultural effects of climate change and support the cultural and educational sectors in building climate resilience. By supporting humanities projects that align with these three themes—strengthening our democracy, advancing equity for all, and addressing our changing climate—the American Tapestry initiative seeks to tell our country’s history in all its complexity and diversity.

United We Stand: Connecting Through Culture Hate must have no safe harbor in America – especially when that hate fuels the kind of violence we’ve seen from Oak Creek to Pittsburgh, from El Paso to Poway, and from Atlanta to Buffalo.

When ordinary Americans cannot participate in the basic activities of everyday life – such as shopping at the grocery store or praying at their house of worship – without the fear of being targeted and killed for who they are, our security as well as democracy are at risk. In coordination with the White House “United We Stand” Summit in September 2022, NEH launched a new initiative titled United We Stand: Connecting Through Culture that uses the humanities to combat hate-motivated violence and promote civic engagement, social cohesion, and cross-cultural understanding. As a part of this initiative, NEH encourages humanities projects that further our understanding of the nation’s racial, ethnic, gender, and religious diversity; examine the sources of hate and intolerance in the United States; and explore progress towards greater inclusiveness.

B. Federal Award Information

1. Type of Application and Award NEH seeks new applications in response to this notice.

NEH will provide funding in the form of grants.

2. Summary of Funding

Award amounts You may request up to $25,000 at the Exploration level and $60,000 at the Development level.

This includes the sum of direct and indirect costs. See A1. Funding levels for specific information and project-specific limitations.

NEH anticipates awarding approximately $1,000,000 among an estimated 25 recipients.

NEH will award successful applicants outright funds, which are not contingent on additional funding from other sources.

NEH will not determine the amount available until Congress makes appropriations for FY 2024.

NEH will issue awards subject to the availability of appropriated funds. NEH is publishing this notice as a contingency action to ensure that NEH can process applications and issue awards in a timely manner, should sufficient funds become available.

https://www.neh.gov/unitedwestand

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Period of performance You may request a period of performance up to one year at the Exploration level and up to two years at the Development level. Your project must start between June 1, 2024, and September 1, 2024.

The period of performance is the time during which you may incur expenses to carry out the work under the award. It must start on the first day of the month and end on the last day of a month.

C. Eligibility Information

1. Eligible Applicants To be eligible to apply, your organization must be established in the United States or its jurisdictions as one of the following:

• an accredited institution of higher education (public or nonprofit)

• a nonprofit organization recognized as tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the

Internal Revenue Code

• a state or local government or one of their agencies

• a federally recognized Native American Tribal government

If your organization is eligible, you may apply on behalf of a consortium of collaborating organizations. If NEH selects your proposal for funding, you will be programmatically, legally, and fiscally responsible for the award.

The recipient may not function solely as a fiscal agent but should make substantive contributions to the success of the project.

Individuals and other organizations, including foreign and for-profit entities, are ineligible.

2. Cost Sharing NEH does not require cost sharing in this program.

Cost sharing or matching is the portion of the project costs you pay for with non-NEH funds.

Peer reviewers will not consider cost sharing in their evaluation of applications.

You may contribute voluntary cost share to your project if the total costs exceed the amount awarded by NEH. Voluntary cost share includes:

• cash contributions made to the project by you or a third party

• your unrecovered indirect costs

• in-kind contributions (non-cash contributions, such as property or services, that benefit the project and are contributed without charge) by you or a third party

While you may describe voluntary cost share in your budget justification, you should not include it on your Research and Related Budget.

You must maintain auditable records of the source and use of cost share. See 2 CFR § 200.306.

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Learn about types of funds NEH offers.

3. Other Eligibility Information You may submit multiple applications for separate and distinct projects under this notice.

An individual may serve as project director for multiple proposed projects under this notice. If an individual will serve as project director on multiple applications, you should explain in the narratives how the project director would allocate their time between the awards.

You may revise and resubmit previously rejected applications. Submissions are subject to the application requirements and review criteria of the current competition.

If NEH has previously made an award in support of your project, you may apply for a new or subsequent stage of the project, which NEH will assess using the review criteria of the current competition.

Per 2 CFR § 200.403(f), you must not include the same project costs in more than one application for federal funding and/or approved federal award budget. However, you may submit multiple proposals for complementary aspects of the same overall project. NEH may disallow costs or reject applications that include overlapping project costs. An individual’s level of effort cannot exceed 100% across multiple active federally funded awards.

NEH does not issue awards to other federal entities. If your project is so closely intertwined with a federal entity that the project takes on characteristics of the federal entity’s own authorized activities, it is ineligible. You may use funds from, or sites and materials controlled by, other federal entities in your project.

NEH does not provide financial assistance to foreign institutions or organizations. If you are an eligible domestic entity, you may apply for collaborative projects involving foreign organizations provided you do not use NEH funds for the purpose of issuing subawards to any foreign organization, as defined in 2 CFR §§ 200.1 and .331(a). You may obtain the services of foreign individuals and consultants to carry out programmatic activities on a fee-for-service basis, as specified in 2 CFR § 200.459. You may obtain goods and services from foreign vendors, such as in-country transportation services, in accordance with 2 CFR § 200.331(b). If you plan to submit an application involving international collaboration, contact program staff at spotlight@neh.gov.

Except for the rare cases covered by its late submission policy, NEH will not consider applications submitted after the deadline.

NEH will not consider incomplete, nonresponsive, or ineligible applications for funding.

NEH will not consider applications that exceed mandatory page limits or deviate from formatting instructions. See the Application Components Table.

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D. Application and Submission Information

1. Application Package You must apply using Grants.gov Workspace or a Grants.gov system-to-system solution. You can find this funding opportunity in Grants.gov under number 20231011-ASA-ASB. There is also a link on the program resource page.

This funding opportunity includes two application packages, which you can find under the “Package” tab. Select the appropriate one based upon your project type. (Exploration or Development) Each package includes a series of required and conditionally required forms. You will upload additional application components using the Attachments Form.

• Exploration: ASA2023

• Development: ASB2023

You must complete a multistep registration process prior to submitting your application. See D3. Unique Entity Identifier and System for Award Management.

Contact spotlight@neh.gov to request a paper copy of this notice.

If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services.

2. Content and Form of Application Submission Your application will include a narrative, budget, and other forms and attachments. You will complete the forms within Grants.gov Workspace and upload other components into the Attachments Form. See the Application Component Table.

NEH has assigned each application component one of the following designations:

• Required: You must submit this component.

• Conditionally Required: You must submit this component if your proposal meets the specified conditions.

You must submit all required components and conditionally required components relevant to your proposal. NEH will not review applications missing any required documents or relevant conditionally required documents.

In addition, NEH has established page limits for some application components:

• Mandatory: You must not exceed the page limit.

• Suggested: NEH encourages, but does not require, you to abide by the page limit.

Note page limits and formatting instructions in this notice. NEH will not review applications that exceed mandatory page limits or deviate from formatting instructions.

Your application components must conform to the following formatting requirements, unless otherwise indicated:

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• pages no larger than standard letter (8 ½" x 11”)

• at least one-inch margins on all sides for all pages

• a font no smaller than 11 points

In addition, NEH encourages you to format your components consistent with the following:

• single-spacing

• a readable font such as Arial, Georgia, Helvetica, or Times New Roman

• any standard citation style (include citations in page counts)

Application Component Table Application Component File Name Designation Page limit Attachments 1: Narrative narrative.pdf Required 5 pages

(mandatory) 2: Organizational Profile profile.pdf Required 1 paragraph

(suggested) 3: Work plan workplan.pdf Required 1 page

(suggested) 4: Biographies biographies.pdf Required 5: Letter of institutional support support.pdf Required 6: Subrecipient budget(s) subrecipient.pdf Conditionally required

7: Federally negotiated indirect cost rate agreement agreement.pdf Conditionally

8: Explanation of delinquent federal debt delinquentdebt.pdf Conditionally

Grants.gov forms SF-424 Application for Federal Assistance - Short Organizational

Required

Supplementary Cover Sheet for NEH Grant Programs

Required

Project/Performance Site(s) Location Form

Required

Research and Related Budget and Budget Justification

Required

Attachments Form Required

Application Components: Attachments Each attachment must be a single PDF file. See the Attachments Form instructions for further guidance about file requirements. Read those instructions carefully, as Grants.gov will not accept files that do not meet the requirements.

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Attachment 1: Narrative (required) Compose a comprehensive description of your proposed project. Your narrative should be succinct, well organized, and free of technical terms and jargon so that peer reviewers can understand the proposed project.

You must limit the narrative to five single-spaced pages. Do not include an executive summary, cover page, or a table of contents. You may include images, charts, diagrams, footnotes, or endnotes if they fit within the page limit.

Organize your narrative using the following headings. Each section aligns with one or more review criteria NEH will use to evaluate your proposal.

Humanities content and activities (aligns with review criteria “Intellectual quality” and “Design quality”) Identify the core humanities topic your project will address. Describe your intended audience, including its estimated size or reach (for example, the number of students, faculty members, stakeholders, partner organizations, etc.). Explain why the topic is important and how your project will improve humanities teaching and learning. Summarize the activities and resources (including texts, if relevant) you will use and explain why you chose them. If you will create supplementary resources for an existing curriculum or program, explain how you will use them.

For nonprofit organizations that support humanities education, explain how your project will strengthen the programming and/or humanities work of the academic institutions, students, and/or faculty your organization serves.

Project personnel (aligns with review criterion “Design quality”) Identify key personnel, including the project director(s), members of the project team, and any external contributors, such as visiting scholars and consultants. Describe their roles and state their qualifications.

Institutional context and benefit (aligns with review criteria “Institutional context” and “Potential benefit”) Discuss why this specific funding opportunity is appropriate for your institution or organization and the needs the project addresses. Describe the mission of your institution or organization.

Demonstrate its commitment to underserved populations by describing, as relevant, student demographics, the institutional budget, and the types of curricula and/or programming currently in place. For academic institutions, include the undergraduate student enrollment numbers that characterize it as small or medium-sized. (In Attachment 2: Organizational Profile you will provide evidence that your institution is small or medium-sized and explain how it meets at least one of the criteria for Intended Applicants).

Explain the status of the humanities at your institution or organization and how the proposed project would have a significant impact on it. Describe how the project would enhance existing programs or create new ones; how it would fit into organizational structures or curricular contexts; and how it would benefit students and faculty. If relevant, explain how humanities resources (libraries, archives, museums, digital materials, publications, conferences, etc.) would support the project.

If you plan to collaborate with other institutions, organizations, or community and affiliated partners, describe their roles, contributions, and any prior collaboration(s).

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Narrative Alignment

Each section of the narrative aligns with corresponding review criteria. Use the crosswalk to ensure you address all criteria.

Narrative Section Review Criteria

Humanities content and activities “Intellectual quality” and “Design quality”

Project personnel “Design quality”

Institutional context and benefit “Institutional context” and “Potential benefit”

Attachment 2: Organizational Profile (required) In a short profile of your institution or organization, 1) provide undergraduate enrollment numbers to establish the relevant institution(s) as small or medium sized; and 2) evidence for the relevant institution(s) meeting at least one of the additional criteria below. You may also provide any additional information about your institution, or the colleges and universities with which you would work, if you believe that it would help reviewers evaluate the project. You can view sample profiles on the program resource page.

Size To determine whether a college or university is small or medium-sized, find the institution using the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) College Navigator. Two-year institutions with an undergraduate enrollment below 5,000, and four-year institutions with an undergraduate enrollment below 10,000 are considered small or medium-sized. These numbers align with the Carnegie Classifications. If you believe the NCES enrollment numbers to be incorrect and that an institution should be considered small or medium-sized, explain why the institution meets the criterion.

Additional Criteria In addition, Spotlight seeks to benefit institutions meeting at least one of these criteria:

• Community colleges. Most community colleges are listed as 2-year public or private institutions in the College Navigator.

• Minority-serving institutions. The Department of Education designates several categories of minority-serving institutions (MSI): Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU); Predominantly Black Institutions (PBI); Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI); Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions (AANAPISI); Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCU); and Alaska Native- Serving and Native Hawaiian-Serving Institutions (ANNH), and Native American- Serving Nontribal Institutions (NASNTI). To determine a college or university’s MSI status, consult the Department of Education’s eligibility matrix, a spreadsheet which can be accessed here: https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ope/idues/eligibility.html.

When viewing the spreadsheet, be sure to select the tab that corresponds to the institution’s minority-serving designation.

• Rural colleges and universities. To determine whether an institution is a rural college or university, find the institution using the College Navigator. Institutions whose campus setting is designated “rural,” “town: remote,” or “town: distant” meet this criterion. NCES’s locale classifications rely on standard designations defined by the U. S.

Census Bureau. If you believe your institution is a rural college or university but is not https://www.neh.gov/program/spotlight-humanities-higher-education https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/ https://carnegieclassifications.acenet.edu/carnegie-classification/classification-methodology/size-setting-classification/ https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/ https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ope/idues/eligibility.html https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/ https://nces.ed.gov/programs/edge/Geographic/LocaleBoundaries

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designated as “rural,” “town: remote,” or “town: distant” in NCES, explain why the institution meets the criterion.

• Colleges and universities enrolling a majority of students receiving Pell grants. To determine the percentage of Pell grant recipients, find the institution using the College Navigator. Under the “Financial Aid” tab, find the “Percent Receiving Aid” in the Pell grants row. Institutions with more than 50% of students receiving Pell grants meet this criterion. If you believe that a majority of students receive Pell grants but this is not indicated in NCES, explain why the institution meets the criterion.

• Institutions that have not received funding from the NEH Division of Education Programs since 2018. To determine prior NEH grants awarded to your institution, use the Funded Projects Query Form on the NEH website:

https://securegrants.neh.gov/publicquery/main.aspx. Enter your institution under “Organization name” and select “Education Programs” from the drop-down list under “Division/office.” If your institution has received no awards with a start date after 12/31/2018, your institution meets this criterion.

Name the file profile.pdf

Attachment 3: Work plan (required) Your work plan should reflect the major activities you describe in your narrative, the project dates on your SF-424 Application for Federal Assistance - Short Organizational, and your Research and Related Budget.

Describe the activities that will take place during the period of performance to achieve each of the proposed objectives. Use a timeline that includes each activity and identifies the project team members involved. Explain how outcomes from one activity will carry over into the next.

For multi-institutional collaborative projects, discuss the distribution of responsibilities across each institution. As appropriate, identify meaningful support and collaboration with key stakeholders in planning, designing, and implementing activities.

Name the file workplan.pdf.

Attachment 4: Biographies (required) Provide a brief biography or short résumé for the project director and other key personnel. The résumés or biographies should convey each individual’s qualifications to fulfill their responsibilities on the project.

Name the file biographies.pdf.

Attachment 5: Letter of institutional support (required) Provide a letter demonstrating institutional or organizational support for the project and explaining its significance within the institution’s curriculum from a member of the leadership at your institution or organization, such as the president, a provost, dean, or executive director.

You may also include additional letters from community, organizational, or institutional partners, if they are relevant to the project.

Elected government officials, NEH staff, and current members of the National Council on the Humanities may not serve as letter writers.

https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/ https://securegrants.neh.gov/publicquery/main.aspx https://www.neh.gov/about/national-council-on-the-humanities https://www.neh.gov/about/national-council-on-the-humanities

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Name the file support.pdf.

Attachment 6: Subrecipient budget(s) (conditionally required) If your project includes subawards, you must provide a separate Research and Related Budget and budget justification for each subrecipient.

Download a fillable PDF of the Research and Related Budget form from the NEH website for each subrecipient. You must open and complete this form in Adobe Reader 8.0 or higher rather than in your web browser.

Prepare a budget and budget justification for each subrecipient using the same instructions in this notice, with a few exceptions:

• Enter the subrecipient’s Unique Entity Identifier, organization name, and period of performance start and end date (these fields will not prepopulate).

• For “budget type,” check “Subaward/Consortium.”

If your subrecipients have a federally negotiated indirect cost rate, you must honor it. If they do not have a federally negotiated indirect cost rate, they may negotiate a rate with you consistent with 2 CFR § 200.414 or use the de minimis rate. Learn more about managing subawards.

Rather than attaching related documents (budget justification, additional personnel, additional equipment) to the form itself, you will separately convert each document into a PDF and combine all subrecipients’ budget forms and related documents into a single document. Do not attach portfolios containing multiple PDFs.

NEH cannot accept security-enhanced PDFs (e.g., XFA files, PDFs that include password-protection, encryption, digital signatures). Remove these features (or “flatten” these files) before merging them into a single PDF and uploading it to the Attachments Form.

Name the file subrecipient.pdf.

Attachment 7: Federally negotiated indirect cost rate agreement (conditionally required) If your organization is claiming indirect costs and has a current federally negotiated indirect cost rate agreement, provide a copy of the agreement. If applicable, provide the indirect cost rate agreements for subrecipients claiming indirect costs. If you and your subrecipients are requesting the de minimis rate, you do not need to submit this attachment.

Name the file agreement.pdf.

Attachment 8: Explanation of delinquent federal debt (conditionally required) If your organization is delinquent in the repayment of any federal debt, explain why. Provide evidence that you have entered into a repayment agreement with the Internal Revenue Service, if applicable, and that you are current on all payments due. Examples of relevant debt include delinquent payroll or other taxes, audit disallowances, and benefit overpayments. See OMB Circular A-129.

Name the file delinquentdebt.pdf.

https://www.neh.gov/sites/default/files/inline-files/RR_Budget10_3_0-V3.0.pdf https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=d22b09774a679ad264cf0098635dabb8&mc=true&node=pt2.1.200&rgn=div5#se2.1.200_1414 https://www.neh.gov/general-guidance-pass-through-entities-managing-subawards https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/omb/circulars_a129_rev2013 https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/omb/circulars_a129_rev2013

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Application Components” Grants.gov Forms

SF-424 Application for Federal Assistance – Short Organizational This form requests basic information about your institution, the proposed project, and key contacts. Items 1, 2, and 4 will be automatically filled in; leave item 3 blank.

5. Applicant Information a-d. Provide your organization’s legal name, address, and web address. Select the applicant type that best describes your organization from the drop-down menu.

e-f. Provide your organization’s employer/taxpayer identification number (EIN/TIN), and Unique Entity Identifier assigned by the System for Award Management. If you do not know your identifier, contact your grant administrator or chief financial officer. See D3. Unique Entity Identifier and System for Award Management.

g. Provide your congressional district with your two-character state abbreviation followed by your three-character district number. For example, if your institution is located in the 5th congressional district of Alabama, enter “AL-005.” If your institution is in a state or U.S.

jurisdiction that does not have districts, enter “000” in place of the district number. If your institution is outside the U.S., enter “00-000.”

6. Project Information

a. Provide your project’s title. It should be brief (no more than 125 characters, including spaces), descriptive of the project, and easily understood by the general public. If NEH funds your project, the agency may retitle your project for clarity in internal and external communications, including the public announcement of awards. Regardless, you may use your preferred title when carrying out the project.

b. Provide a brief description of your project (no more than one thousand characters, including spaces). You should write the description for a nonspecialist audience, clearly stating the importance of the proposed work and its relation to larger issues in the humanities.

c. State your project’s period of performance start and end dates. Your project must start on the first day of a month and end on the last day of a month. See B2. Summary of Funding for allowable periods of performance.

7. Project Director Provide the project director’s name, title, and contact information. The project director is responsible for the programmatic aspects and day-to-day management of the proposed project.

You must notify the NEH Office of Grant Management immediately if you need to change project directors.

If the project director is not employed by the applicant organization, you must have a formal written agreement with the project director that specifies an official relationship between the parties even if the relationship does not involve a salary or other form of remuneration.

8. Primary Contact/Grant Administrator Provide the name, title, and contact information for the official responsible for the administration of the award (e.g., negotiating the budget and ensuring compliance with the terms and conditions of the award).

https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative

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As a matter of NEH policy, the project director and primary contact/grant administrator must not be the same person.

The grant administrator (also called the “institutional grant administrator”) functions as the representative of the recipient organization. This individual should have authority to act on the organization’s behalf in matters related to the administration of the award. The institutional grant administrator must sign or countersign financial reports and prior approval requests such as budget revisions, extensions to the period of performance, and changes in key personnel.

NEH will address official correspondence (for example, the offer letter or Notice of Action) to the institutional grant administrator and copy the project director.

9. Authorized Representative Provide the name, title, and contact information for the authorized organization representative (AOR) who is submitting the application on behalf of the institution. This person, often called an “authorizing official,” is typically the institution’s president, vice president, executive director, board chair, provost, or chancellor. The institution’s Grants.gov E-Business Point of Contact must designate the AOR. See the Grants.gov Online User Guide.

Supplementary Cover Sheet for NEH Grant Programs

1. Project Director Select the project director’s major field of study from the drop-down menu.

2. Institutional Information Select your institution type from the drop-down menu.

3. Project Funding Enter the amount requested under “Outright Funds.” Do not enter anything under “Federal Match” or “Cost Sharing.”

Learn more about the types of funding NEH offers.

4. Application Information Indicate whether you or others will submit complementary proposals to other NEH programs, government agencies, or private entities. If so, specify when and to whom. NEH will not consider this information when evaluating the merits of your proposal. See C3. Other Eligibility Information for restrictions regarding overlapping costs.

For type of application, check “new.”

Select the project’s primary discipline from the drop-down menu. If applicable, select the project’s secondary and tertiary disciplines.

Project/Performance Site Location(s) Form Provide the primary location and any other locations where you will conduct project activities during the period of performance.

https://apply07.grants.gov/help/html/help/index.htm#t=GetStarted%2FGetStarted.htm https://www.neh.gov/grants/manage/types-funding

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Enter congressional districts using the two-letter state abbreviation followed by your three-character district number. For example, if your institution is in the 5th congressional district of Alabama, enter “AL-005.” If your institution is in a state or U.S. jurisdiction that does not have districts, enter “000” in place of the district number. If your institution is outside the U.S., enter “00-000.”

The form has space for 300 sites. If your project includes additional locations, list them in a separate document. Save the document as a PDF named additionallocations.pdf and attach it under “Additional Locations.”

Research and Related Budget You must submit a project budget using the Research and Related Budget form included in the Grants.gov application package and attach a budget justification. Complete the SF-424 Application for Federal Assistance - Short Organizational prior to completing your Research and Related Budget.

Complete a single detailed budget for the entire period of performance. The form will generate a cumulative budget.

The form indicates required fields in yellow. Round all costs to the nearest whole dollar. The inclusion of a cost category on the Research and Related Budget form does not automatically indicate that an expense is allowable in this program. See D6.