Museum on Main Street: Voices and Votes

Catalyzing important conversations in rural communities.

Letter of Inquiry Opens
March 11, 2024
LOI Due
Closed

About this Grant

Museum on Main Street is a unique partnership between the Smithsonian and Mass Humanities that brings world-class exhibits to six rural communities in our state

Grants DETAILS

Applicant organizations must:  

  • Be a 501(c)(3), non-profit, fiscally sponsored association, state or federally recognized tribe, or non-federal government organization.  
  • Serve Massachusetts residents in a rural community (defined as a population of 12,000 people or less according to the 2020 US Census). 
  • Not have a currently open grant with Mass Humanities with the exception of 2024 Reading Frederick Douglass Together grants. 

Please review the Grant Guidelines document linked above for additional requirements.

  • March 11, 2024: Letters of Inquiry open
  • May 10, 2024: Letters of Inquiry due 
  • July 1, 2024: Award notification  
  • April 19, 2025-February 2, 2026: Voices and Votes tour in Massachusetts  

with this
grant, you can...

host

free public events featuring exhibits curated by the Smithsonian as well local historians.

revitalize

civic discourse in rural communities.​

Spark

new ideas about the importance of storytelling and connect with your neighbors about current issues.

CREATE

exhibits, programs, and events that put local history in conversation with national history.​

Where it
all began

Inspired by a visit to a correctional facility in 1995, writer Earl Shorris started a course with faculty of fellow scholars at the Roberto Clemente Family Guidance Center in the city’s Lower East Side neighborhood. Graduates of that first course went on to become dentists, nurses, fashion designers, and drug counselors with two participants later earning their PhDs. Since 1996, over 10,000 students have benefited from the Clemente Course in the Humanities. Classes continue to take place across the U.S., and around the world.

In 1999, we brought the Clemente Course to Massachusetts to give everyone, regardless of race, income and educational background, the opportunity to enrich their lives through the humanities. Overcoming formidable obstacles such as economic instability, health challenges, family responsibilities and disability, we have seen over 750 Massachusetts residents graduate from the program.

Past Grantees

Learn about past projects completed by grantees.

grant webinars
& workshops

Mass Humanities hosts periodic webinars and workshops to support you and set the stage for a successful funded project. 

Al and Sally Griggs
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, through the Federation of State Humanities Councils
The Beveridge Family Foundation, Inc.
F. Roscoe and Vila B. Webber 1985 Charitable Trust
Marcia Butzel Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts
Paul and Edith Babson Foundation
University of Massachusetts Amherst
University of Massachusetts Dartmouth
Wells Fargo Foundation

Let’s do more good
work together

The work we do wouldn’t be possible without the generous support of donors like you. Make a donation today and help build a better Massachusetts.

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connected

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Grant Program
  • READING FREDERICK DOUGLASS TOGETHER
  • 2020 SUPPORT GRANTS
  • BRIDGE STREET SPONSORSHIPS
  • DIGITAL CAPACITY GRANTS
  • DISCUSSION
  • EXPAND MASSACHUSETTS STORIES
  • RESEARCH INVENTORY GRANT
  • MAJOR
  • MASS HUMANITIES CARES ACT
  • MASS HUMANITIES SHARP GRANTS
  • MINI
  • MUSEUM ON MAIN STREET (MOMS) CROSSROADS
  • PROJECT
  • PROJECT-THE VOTE
  • PROPOSAL DEVELOPMENT
  • PUBLIC SQUARED
  • RESOURCE CENTER
  • SCHOLAR IN RESIDENCE
  • STAFFING RECOVERY
  • STAFFING THE HUMANITIES
  • STAFFING THE HUMANITIES - YEAR 2
Amount
  • < $2,000
  • $2,000 - $7,500
  • $7,500 - $20,000
  • > $20,000