The Awards for Faculty Institutional Support – HBCUs and TCUs program, administered by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), aims to provide financial support to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs). This funding opportunity is designed for institutions with faculty or staff members who have received an NEH Awards for Faculty fellowship in the federal fiscal year 2025. The program is intended to help these institutions maintain humanities research and instruction by covering costs associated with the temporary leave or reduced course load of faculty members who have been awarded NEH fellowships.

The grant provides funding at a fixed rate of $2,500 per month (full-time equivalent), up to a maximum of $30,000, depending on the recipient’s work plan and period of performance. The funding supports the hiring of replacement instructors for humanities courses, stipends for faculty or staff members taking on additional teaching or administrative duties, and the hiring of temporary replacement staff for administrative roles. The period of performance for funded projects can be up to 24 months, aligning with the awarded faculty member’s approved period of performance.

Applications for this grant will be available starting October 4, 2024, and must be submitted by either February 3, 2025, or May 1, 2025, depending on the cycle chosen by the applicant. The expected notification dates for funding decisions are late March 2025 (for February applicants) and late June 2025 (for May applicants). Projects funded through this opportunity are expected to begin as early as April 1, 2025, and as late as September 1, 2026.

Eligible applicants for this funding are HBCUs and TCUs with faculty or staff members who have accepted an NEH Awards for Faculty fellowship for the 2025 federal fiscal year. The institution applying must be the faculty member’s employer at the time of their individual award application. If the faculty member later moves to a different institution, the original institution may still apply to hire replacement instructors for the faculty member’s approved period of performance. Other organizations, for-profit entities, and individuals are not eligible to apply.

Applications must be submitted through Grants.gov and include a letter requesting funding, documentation detailing the faculty member’s teaching and administrative responsibilities, and plans for replacing their duties during the period of performance. Institutions must also ensure their registrations with SAM.gov and Grants.gov are up to date prior to submission, as NEH does not allow deadline extensions for registration delays.

NEH anticipates awarding approximately $90,000 through this funding cycle, with an estimated three institutional grants per application deadline. The grants will be issued as fixed-amount awards with no cost-sharing requirements. Recipients must submit documentation verifying the hiring of replacement instructors, and funds will be disbursed as reimbursements based on milestone achievements.

For questions regarding this grant opportunity, institutions may contact the Division of Research Programs at NEH via email at facultyawards@neh.gov or by phone at 202-606-8200.