Connecticut Historical Society

Connecticut Historical Society, a Hartford, Connecticut–based tax-exempt nonprofit, receives federal grant funding from cultural heritage agencies to develop exhibitions, digital collections, educational resources, and traditional arts apprenticeships centered on Connecticut history and inclusive cultural documentation. The organization operates exclusively as a grant recipient (100% of recent awards) and has not competed for federal contracts or contract vehicles.

Connecticut Historical Society's customer base concentrates entirely within the cultural and humanities funding ecosystem, with 100% of awards distributed across five agencies. The National Endowment for the Arts leads by volume (21 awards), followed by the National Archives and Records Administration (4 awards), the Institute of Museum and Library Services (3 awards), the National Endowment for the Humanities (3 awards), and the National Commission on Libraries and Information Science (3 awards). The organization has obligated $4.7 million in combined federal grant funding across its recent award footprint.

The organization's grant work spans three primary capability areas. Educational resource development for K-12 curriculum alignment comprises projects such as a $168,093 Museums for America Project Grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (award date September 1, 2022, completion August 31, 2024) to develop ten digital resource packs with primary sources, lesson plans, and explanatory videos supporting Connecticut's new Black and Latino studies course mandate for secondary schools. Digital collection preservation and access comprises a $1 million National Historical Publications and Records Grants award from the National Archives and Records Administration (September 1, 2023 through September 30, 2026) supporting arrangement, description, imaging, cataloging, and digitization of historical collections, with partnerships including Central Connecticut State University, the Connecticut Digital Archive, and Hartford-area public libraries. Traditional arts apprenticeships and community documentation comprise multiple National Endowment for the Arts grants funding the Southern New England Apprenticeship Program (recurring annual grants from July 2022 through June 2026) and a Community Historian Project grant (September 1, 2021 through August 31, 2024) developing community historians to document and preserve the lived experiences of Connecticut residents through collaboration with academic and library partners. A recent National Endowment for the Humanities project grant (April 1, 2026, completion June 30, 2026) supports development of a Living Democracy exhibition examining the Declaration of Independence's legacy through Connecticut's colonial and post-colonial history.

Award activity has declined in recent years — three awards in 2022 to one per year in 2024, 2025, and 2026 — reflecting a shift toward longer-duration multiyear grants rather than annual funding cycles. The organization does not subcontract on federal work and does not partner with federal contractors as a tier-one supplier.