By Marcia Schmidt Blaine
Amid the many fires burning in Washington, one is at the NEH. In very early April, during the night and under the cover of administration-created chaos including new tariff announcements, DOGE cancelled all NEH contracts, including one to New Hampshire Humanities. NH Humanities brings programs and grants to small and large historical societies, libraries in rural towns, museums dotted all around the state, high school students through grants to National History Day NH and HYPE, literacy programs where needed, and more. These programs are not just important; they are vital to fostering strong, vibrant, and connected communities.
While NH Humanities knew that the Continuing Resolution did not guarantee the remainder of the FY25 budget, the organization was surprised by this sudden and complete cancellation of the Congressionally appropriated grant. The impact of the NEH cuts on NH is immediate, causing NH Humanities to suspend the Community Project Grants that were scheduled for review in the coming weeks. This means funding to support great local work in NH in the immediate future will not be available for communities providing Holocaust education in Meredith, introducing the public to Shaker history in Enfield, or creating dialogue on their town’s experience of COVID in Deering. And this is only a handful of the Granite State non-profits that have approached NH Humanities in recent weeks to find support for their local communities.
New Hampshire Humanities is still here. With budgetary and programmatic adjustments, NH Humanities will continue to serve the state well through this fiscal year. But they are cutting back. The team at NH Humanities has begun the process of closing or limiting other programs, reducing programs for rural communities, new Americans, youth, and civics education. They have postponed all planning around the anniversary of the American Revolution in 2026.
Of note: NHH is not wasteful or inefficient. In fact, NH Humanities is a great example of what some in Washington claim they want: to return control of federal funds to the states. Federal funds come into NH where each dollar is matched (doubling the power of the federal grants). The impact of the creative economy increases that economic return. These indiscriminate cuts are a bad financial decision.
The funding cuts attack the heart of what makes New Hampshire special: our conviction that people in our tight-knit communities support one another. That support rests on community connections and trusting relationships. NH Humanities connects people not only to ideas but also to other people. NH Humanities programming presents and encourages different perspectives, fosters curiosity, and promotes the common good. We need all of that urgently right now.
Please contact your federal and state elected officials to support NH Humanities. They need to hear from constituents that we want – we need – NH Humanities in our State.
Marcia Schmidt Blaine
Board of Directors, New Hampshire Humanities
Marcia Schmidt Blaine is a professor emerita of history from Plymouth State University. Along with following her main academic pursuits as a professor, Blaine also directed the Museum of the White Mountains, served as Executive Director of Government Relations and Special Projects, and Department Chair of History, Philosophy, and Social Studies of Education for the University. She now continues her research and writing and serves on the board for New Hampshire Humanities and the New Hampshire Historical Society.
Marcia Schmidt Blaine
Proudly serving on the NH Humanities Board of Directors