Three Indianapolis-based cultural nonprofits won’t receive $1 million in expected federal funding after a change in priorities at the National Endowment for the Humanities and the dismantling of the Institute of Museum and Library Services.
Last week, President Donald Trump’s administration canceled National Endowment for the Humanities grants committed to organizations throughout the United States. In Indianapolis, the affected nonprofits include Indiana Humanities, the Children's Museum of Indianapolis and the Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library.
Indiana Humanities, a 53-year-old organization that promotes intellectual engagement through traveling exhibitions, public conversations and the literary arts, learned last week that more than $750,000 wouldn’t arrive from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Keira Amstutz, CEO of Indiana Humanities, said the notice arrived as an emailed letter signed by Michael McDonald, acting director of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
In part, the letter read, “NEH has reasonable cause to terminate your grant in light of the fact that the NEH is repurposing its funding allocations in a new direction in furtherance of the President’s agenda.” Also detailed in the letter: “Your grant’s immediate termination is necessary to safeguard the interests of the federal government, including its fiscal priorities.”
The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis learned that $200,000 in committed funding was no longer available.
At the Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library, founder Julia Whitehead said $50,000 in committed funding was canceled by the National Endowment for the Humanities. After more than 75% of staff members at the Institute of Museum and Library Services were placed on administrative leave last week by the Department of Government Efficiency, Whitehead said she’s not expecting an $11,000 committed grant to come through.
In the case of National Endowment for the Humanities grants, organizations spend money and then request reimbursement from the federal agency.
Indiana Humanities typically receives an annual “general operating support grant” from the National Endowment for the Humanities. This year’s figure was $1.3 million, Amstutz said, or about 37% of Indiana Humanities’ operating budget.
Amstutz said Indiana Humanities, which already received reimbursements for more than $500,000, won’t be able to do as much cultural outreach in rural areas of the state.
“A lot of our funding that allows us to create access and support for all 92 counties is at risk with this NEH cut,” Amstutz said. “There aren’t many funders out there funding the types of organizations that we support.”
When contacted by IBJ, the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis provided a written statement based on its National Endowment for the Humanities funding.
The museum’s grant of $201,000 was to support sustainability planning for the museum and its campus. The museum submitted a reimbursement request to NEH for $199,500 in expenses already incurred as part of the “climate-smart humanities organizations” grant program.
“The loss of nearly $200,000 in federal reimbursements would not only jeopardize our ability to complete important work, but also place undue pressure on our operating budget, which must absorb costs already incurred,” read part of the museum’s written statement. “Every unreimbursed dollar is one we cannot use to serve the children of Indiana. Our work, along with the thousands of schools, libraries, and museums impacted by recent changes, has always been and continues to be essential to the communities we serve.”
Whitehead said the Vonnegut museum expected to receive the final installment of NEH funding related to building improvements across multiple years at 543 Indiana Ave.
“We could always count on the government to come through with their promises,” Whitehead said. “Kurt Vonnegut would be so disappointed to learn that this is no longer true about the American government.”
Copyright © 2025 All Rights Reserved.