The team at Nevada Humanities is scrambling, after receiving a notice of grant termination from the federal government earlier this month.
“Our staff and board are evaluating our situation at this moment, financially,” said executive director Christina Barr. “To see if it's possible for us to survive and we think it may be possible for us to survive a little while, but in a very limited way.”
“Your grant’s immediate termination is necessary to safeguard the interests of the federal government, including its fiscal priorities,” the April 2nd notice sent to Barr by Acting Chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities Michael McDonald indicated.
According to recent reporting, the National Endowment for the Humanities intends to redirect some of the funding retracted from humanities programs across the country to build President Donald Trump’s proposed National Garden of American Heroes.
A banner on the Nevada Humanities website now indicates “Our Work is Under Threat. DOGE is cutting funding for Nevada Humanities and all other state and jurisdictional humanities councils across the country.”
Underneath, it has a take action tab, asking people to contact their elected officials and share the action alert.
“The humanities aren’t some elite luxury,” George Lam, assistant director explained. “We’re talking about programs that reach rural communities, students, artists, storytellers – people all across Nevada. We use roads to connect our towns, but we also connect people through culture, food, ideas, and language. That’s what we’re fighting to preserve.”
Events at risk include book talks, oral history projects and presentations that explore identity, philosophy, and what it means to be human. Programs here include local lectures, partnerships with schools and libraries, and elevating voices that are often overlooked. Losing this funding doesn't mean fewer events and programs, it could mean none at all.
Barr remembers distinctly the moment she received the notice.
“It came from an outside sender, not the usual NEH system. And that was already strange,” Barr said. “ What shocked me most was finding out NEH staff didn’t even know this letter had gone out.”
Barr and her team had just warned their staff the night before about potential grant terminations.
“It's been an emotional roller coaster,” she said. “We believe in our work. We know it helps people, and it’s heartbreaking to imagine Nevada without it.”
Nevada Humanities has an office in Reno and works closely with both urban and rural communities throughout the state.
“Imagine a small organization that gets a grant from us,” Lam explained. “If they lose it, the speaker doesn’t get paid, the event doesn’t happen, and the audience never gets the message. It’s not just about the money. It’s about what the money enables.”
Despite the uncertainties, Nevada Humanities is not giving up. They’ve launched an emergency fundraising campaign and are asking for the community's help.
If a Nevada Humanities event, program or grant impacted you, they are asking Nevadans to speak out, contact their representatives and let them know what’s at stake, not just the funding, but spaces where residents find meaning, memory, and each other.
As Barr puts it, “It’s all happening in real time.”