Wyoming Humanities now has a big hole in its budget.
The nonprofit supports humanities-oriented programs throughout the state and typically receives funding every year from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). But the federal government abruptly cancelled that $850,000 grant this week, along with similar grants to 55 other state and territorial councils across the country.
That comes alongside reports that the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) had made numerous visits to NEH in recent weeks. DOGE also placed 80% of the NEH’s staff on administrative leave via an email sent late on the evening of April 3.
Wyoming Humanities Executive Director Shawn Reese said his own email announcing the grant termination was initially quarantined in his inbox by anti-phishing software.
“ Each of the states in alphabetical order started receiving these notices of grant cancellation from a very weird email address,” he said. “And these were showing up in junk folders.”
The email states that NEH has “reasonable cause” to terminate the grant, as the endowment is “repurposing its funding allocations in a new direction in furtherance of the President’s agenda.”
The notice goes on to state that the termination is effective immediately.
“Your grant’s immediate termination is necessary to safeguard the interests of the federal government, including its fiscal priorities,” states the email. “The termination of your grant represents an urgent priority for the administration, and due to exceptional circumstances, adherence to the traditional notification process is not possible.”
At the same time, the email says Wyoming Humanities’ obligations under the grant continue to apply and NEH may conduct an audit after the termination of its grant.
Reese said the NEH funding makes up approximately 80% of the nonprofit’s operational budget and is primarily used to “keep the lights on,” paying for staff expenses, travel, accounting and IT.
Wyoming Humanities has been affiliated with NEH for over 50 years and was one of the first states to pioneer the model, which helps channel federal funds to support things like community lectures, book talks and local museums.
Reese said Wyoming Humanities is connected to a statewide web of historical societies, historic sites and community organizations dedicated to supporting local history and culture.
“ This is a bigger problem than a Wyoming Humanities problem. This is a state of Wyoming problem for our cultural network,” he said.
Reese said the cancellation is going to have sizable impacts, one being the organization’s long-standing relationship with the Smithsonian Institution.
“ We have brought world-class [Smithsonian] exhibits to Wyoming and taken them around to different communities. We're not gonna be able to continue that, at least for the time being.”
The nonprofit will still be able to use state funds to support local projects with its Community Culture and Spark Grants, at least for the time being. State funding makes up about 10% of the nonprofit's budget and is written into the state’s budget. But Reese said even that chunk of $150,000 might not be stable moving forward.
“Just thinking about the conversations with the Legislature and all of that, I don't know how much further we can count on that funding,” he said. “We're really gonna have to think, ‘What does this funding model look like?’”
Wyoming Humanities also receives support from private family foundations and public donations. Reese likened this current moment to the early days of the pandemic.
“ It feels like COVID,” he said. “It also feels like this is the time to get creative and to think outside of the box. Business-as-usual isn't going to work.”
When it comes to staffing cuts and organizational changes, Reese said that Wyoming Humanities faces some tough decisions about how to best move forward and continue operating.
