Program areas at FHC
Grant making: since 1973, Florida Humanities has awarded more than $20 million in funding for the development and presentation of humanities-rich cultural resources and public programs statewide. These projects help preserve Florida's rich history and heritage, promote civic engagement and community dialogue, and provide opportunities for reflecting on the future of our state. Our grant making program primarily responds to community interests and initiatives, with preference given to projects that address important public issues, reach underserved audiences, create resources for communities and cultural institutions, and/or reach a broad public audience. (continued on schedule o)in fy23, $806,900 in funding was awarded to non-profit organizations statewide through Florida Humanities' various funding opportunities. These awards included 35 community project grants for locally initiated public Humanities programming; 4 broadcasting hope public media grants to support the research and development of audio, digital, film and other media projects; and 6 greater good: Humanities in academia grants awarded to colleges and universities to develop Humanities programming for audiences both within and beyond the campus community.
Print and digital resources:forum magazine - through its insightful perspectives on Florida, Florida Humanities' forum magazine provides readers with engaging and colorful stories about the people and places that define our state. Florida Humanities publishes three issues of forum annually. In fy23, forum received 23 Florida magazine association awards including "best overall: writing. "(continued on schedule o)florida stories walking tour app - our free downloadable walking tour app allows users to delve behind the scenes of Florida towns with an emphasis on local history, culture, and architecture. Connected via a statewide platform, the tours create sustainable cultural tourism products that increase knowledge and appreciation of local history. The app hosts a total of 36 tours and was downloaded more than 9,000 times in fy23.digital archive - in partnership with the poynter library at the university of south Florida, Florida Humanities maintains an archive of hundreds of videos either produced or funded by Florida Humanities on various topics related to Florida history, heritage, and culture as well as over 80 issues of forum magazine dating back to 1986. The archived content is part of the digital commons network that extends access to our materials to hundreds of colleges and universities worldwide. Three new issues of forum magazine were added to the archive in fy23. Podcast - a new "forum: behind the pages" podcast series was also launched at the end of fy23 featuring interviews with six writers included in the fall 2023 issue. New episodes will be produced with each new publication of forum.
Public programming: each year hundreds of free public Humanities programs are funded and/or created by Florida Humanities that examine a variety of Florida topics. Hosted by museums, public libraries, historical societies, colleges and universities and other non-profit organizations, these programs help floridians learn more about the richly diverse state in which we live. (continued on schedule o)these programs include:smithsonian institution exhibitions - museum on main street is a partnership program that brings smithsonian institution exhibitions to small towns across the state. These high-quality traveling exhibitions are designed to bring revitalized attention to underserved and rural communities and serve as a launching point for storytelling and local pride. During fy23, five venues received funding to host the "voices and votes: democracy in america" exhibition in 2024-2025.florida talks - Florida Humanities' speakers directory includes expert historians, storytellers, researchers, and authors who deliver thought-provoking programs on a wide variety of subjects related to Florida. In fy23, nearly 100 Florida talks programs were hosted either virtually or in-person with more than 4,600 attendees statewide.center for the book - in fy23, additional public program funding opportunities were offered in association with our library of congress center for the book program. These included book festival grants of up to $10,000 to support public events that celebrate reading and encourage thoughtful interactions between authors and readers. 11 book festival grants were awarded in fy23. 25 public libraries also received funding to host family literacy and summer reading programs that were attended by over 2,500 adults and children and two organizations received supplemental funding to support nea "big read" projects in their communities.