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Mellon announced on Tuesday an emergency financing in the field of human sciences throughout the country, and what defenders say is a decisive life line after the abolition of federal support has left some at risk of collapse.
The new financing, which will support human councils in all fifty states and judicial states, comes a month after the national endowment of human sciences from cutting federal funding suddenly to the councils, as well as most of their current grants. The Endowment, which amounted to a budget of $ 207 million in the past fiscal year, is the largest public financier in the country, as it provides decisive support for museums, historical sites, cultural festivals and community projects.
Only $ 15 million from the Melon Foundation will only be met a part of $ 65 million. But Elizabeth Alexander, the head of the Foundation, said that she would help maintain humanities programs, especially in rural states without a strong base of private charitable works.
She said: “The projects that fall under the typical humanities are of an unusual scope.” “It will be terrible if countless people have lost all over the country to reach all things that help us understand what we should be a human being, in history and in a contemporary society.”
Money from the Mellon Foundation, the country’s largest projects for arts and humanities projects in general, with an annual grant budget of about $ 550 million, is one -time pump. Each council will receive $ 200,000 in immediate operational support. Most of the rest will come in the form of granting a challenge of $ 50,000, which must be met by other sources.
When human gifts canceled almost all its current grants earlier this month, after a review by the Ministry of Governmental Efficiency at Elon Musk, the recipients told that it was re -financing her towards “the priorities of the president.” Last week, the agency announced that it was committed to $ 17 million to support the National Park of American Champions, a national sculpted park called President Trump for the first time during his first term. (Another $ 17 million will come from the National Endowment of Arts.)
The agency also registered nearly two -thirds of its employees. It announced a new grant program, “America celebrates!” Which will save up to $ 6.25 million of grants for projects that were timid to the 250th anniversary of American independence in 2026.
For human sciences councils, the end of federal financing poses an existential threat. Vepi Stein, President The Federation of Government Humanitarian CouncilsWho will manage the financing of the Melon Foundation, said that 40 percent of the councils had reported less than six months of reserve funds.
Stein said: “This is the absolute life artery for the stability of the councils.” They “really look at this as a moment to take a breath because they find long -term solutions.”
While the Humanities Councils may have a low level, they support books, literary events, local history projects and historical sites. It is also drivers for local economies, including tourism; According to the Federation, each dollar of federal support results in $ 2 in private investment.
Melon Foundation, Its total assets reached about 7.9 billion dollars At the end of 2023, emergency measures were taken before. In 2020, with the threat of the Coronverus virus with the survival of many cultural organizations, the annual grant grant increased to $ 500 million from about 300 million dollars. In June of that year, it was also announced “The main strategic development” It would give priority to social justice.
Alexander, the poet and literary researcher who led the institution since 2018, said that the recent discounts throughout the federal government, not only in the gift of humanities, have caused devastating effects on many of its grants. She said that the institution was considering helping other emergencies, but she could not replace all the missing federal support.
Alexander said: “Charity themselves are unable to connect all these holes,” Alexander said. “With regard to human science in particular, we believed that this was somewhere the responsibility of doing what we can.”