The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), through its Office of Digital Humanities, has released the 2025 Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for the Digital Humanities Advancement Grants (DHAG). This federal funding program supports innovative, experimental work that contributes to the infrastructure of scholarly research, teaching, and public programming in the humanities. The program promotes extensibility, reuse, replicability, and accessibility of digital tools and research methods. Projects that primarily use established tools or aim to create digital collections are not competitive under this opportunity, and applicants are encouraged to explore alternative NEH funding programs for those purposes.

The DHAG program offers three levels of funding: Level I (up to $75,000 for up to 24 months), Level II ($75,001 to $150,000 for up to 24 months), and Level III ($150,001 to $350,000 for up to 36 months). Level III applicants may also request up to an additional $100,000 in federal matching funds, for a total potential award of up to $450,000. Level III proposals must demonstrate project maturity through prior planning, user metrics, and dissemination plans. The program expects to fund approximately 10–15 projects per deadline with an estimated total of $2.2 million in available funds for FY 2025.

Eligible applicants include U.S.-based nonprofit organizations recognized under section 501(c)(3), accredited public or nonprofit institutions of higher education, state and local government agencies, and federally recognized Native American Tribal governments. For-profit organizations, individuals, and foreign entities are not eligible. Applicants may submit multiple proposals, but individuals may not serve as project director or co-director on more than one DHAG application per deadline. Institutions may apply on behalf of consortia, and subrecipients are permitted, though the lead applicant must maintain primary responsibility for the project.

Applicants must submit proposals through Grants.gov and ensure all required registrations (SAM.gov and Grants.gov) are current. Applications must include a narrative, work plan, data management plan, personnel list, and budget, along with additional optional and conditional components. The narrative length and required attachments vary depending on the funding level. Application deadlines are January 9, 2025, and May 22, 2025. Draft proposals may be submitted for feedback by November 13, 2024, and March 24, 2025, respectively. Anticipated award announcements will occur in August 2025 for the January deadline and December 2025 for the May deadline.

Evaluation criteria include the project's significance to the humanities, clarity of goals, accessibility for intended audiences, feasibility, team qualifications, and sustainability. Level III applications are additionally evaluated on scalability, outreach, and fundraising plans for matching funds. A pre-recorded webinar will be posted by October 24, 2024, to aid applicants. All funded projects must submit a final white paper, data management outcomes, and financial and performance reports. Project outputs are expected to be shared broadly and align with the DHAG program's core values.

The primary contact for programmatic questions is the Office of Digital Humanities at odh@neh.gov. For administrative questions, contact the Office of Grant Management at grantmanagement@neh.gov or 202-606-8494. Additional details, including required application components and formatting, can be found on the program’s webpage at https://www.neh.gov/grants/odh/digital-humanities-advancement-grants.