Apply for Independent Practitioner Fellowship Program 2025 (United States)

They are particularly interested in supporting practitioners in project ideation and research. Throughout the Fellowship, the Fellows meet monthly as a cohort to discuss progress and for peer support, and occasionally participate in other group activities. At the end of the Fellowship, Fellows present their work at a showcase hosted by HumanitiesDC. Additionally, Fellows will have the opportunity to propose HumanitiesDC programming based on their work.

Funding Information

• Award Amount: Up to $10,000.

Eligible Costs

• These funds are intended to support the practitioner during the Fellowship, so salary for the practitioner is expected to be the primary or sole expense. However, applicants can include other expenses such as supplies, equipment, travel, and facilities rental that would support their stated Fellowship goals.

Ineligible Costs

• Awards may not be used for the following purposes:
  • Promotion of a particular political, religious, or ideological point of view
  • advocacy of a particular program of social or political action
  • support of specific public policies or legislation
  • lobbying
  • projects that fall outside of the humanities and the humanistic social sciences (including the creation or performance of art; creative writing, autobiographies, memoirs, and creative nonfiction; and quantitative social science research or policy studies)

Eligibility Criteria

• At the time of submission, applicants must meet all the following eligibility requirements:
  • Be a District of Columbia resident with a permanent District of Columbia address, as listed on government-issued identification or tax returns. Post office boxes and UPS addresses may not be used as permanent addresses.
  • Be a public humanities practitioner, defined as someone engaged in bringing the ideas of the humanities to life for general audiences.
  • Be at least 18 years old.
  • Submit a Certificate of Clean Hands (CCH) from the District of Columbia Office of Tax and Revenue.
  • Be in good standing with HumanitiesDC. Applicants with outstanding or delinquent reports or final products from previous HumanitiesDC grants must submit them completed and without deficiencies at least 30 days before the deadline for which they wish to apply.
  • Not be an individual grantee of HumanitiesDC during the period of the Fellowship
  • Not have received Federal funds for the same or overlapping project period and purpose as this request.

Review Criteria

• HumanitiesDC staff review all submitted applications for eligibility. Ineligible applicants are notified immediately and are allowed to appeal the decision.
• Eligible applications are reviewed by a panel comprised of HumanitiesDC staff, board members, and at least one community member.
• Everyone involved in the review process is expected to remain impartial and will recuse themselves from review of any application that presents a personal or professional conflict of interest.

Application Requirements

• Recipients agree to document all grant expenditures.
• Any changes to the scope or budget (greater than 25% in any one budget category) must be requested in writing in advance.
• Awardees are required to submit an interim report as described below. Failure to complete this report on time may result in intervention on the part of HumanitiesDC up to and including a request to return disbursed funds.
• Awardees are required to submit a final report as described below. Failure to do so satisfactorily might affect eligibility for future funding.
• To receive the grant award, approved applicants must sign and submit a Fellowship Agreement that constitutes a legally binding contract between HumanitiesDC and the Fellow. The signatory will be legally obligated to complete the project under the terms of the Fellowship Agreement.

For more information, visit Humanities DC.