The Mellon Foundation supports arts and humanities projects around the world. Their goal is to build communities in which imagination and ideas flourish and people can create meaning. Grants are awarded in four core areas each of which is guided by three strategies: Arts and Culture, Higher Learning, Humanities in Place, and Public Knowledge.
Interested applicants may submit an inquiry at any time. If Foundation staff believe the proposed project is a good fit for their priorities, they will invite you to submit a full proposal. Do not submit to more than one core area.
Eligibility
This grant is open to:
- 501(c)3 nonprofit organizations in the United States
- International organizations with their country’s equivalent designation.
- Colleges, universities, and other institutions of higher education (Higher Learning)
- For-profit organizations or international organizations without a charitable designation at the Foundation’s discretion
Grant Types
Grants may be subject to matching requirements.
- Spendable Grants – For a specific project, to be spent in accordance with the timeline and budget in the application
- Endowment Grants – Establishes institutional funds with spending limits per the application, grant agreement, and any state laws
- General Operating Grants – Supports the grantee’s core operations and overall mission
Core Areas
Arts and Culture
- Strategy One – Supporting visionary artists and practitioners and the participatory roles they play across institutions and communities.
- Strategy Two – Supporting exceptional organizations and artists that have been historically under-resourced, including the creation, conservation, and preservation of their artwork, histories, collections, and traditions.
- Strategy Three – Creating scaffolding for experiments with new economic paradigms and institutional models that center equity and justice and creative problem-solving in arts and culture.
The Foundation works with individual artists, scholars, arts organizations, and conservators to cultivate innovative works of art. They seek to ground the arts in the community as a part of a thriving society and create change by making the arts more equitable.
Higher Learning
- Strategy One – Elevating the knowledge that informs more complete and accurate narratives of the human experience and lays the foundation for more just and equitable futures.
- Strategy Two – Accelerating the demographic transformation of US academic faculties and institutional leadership to better reflect the population and center humanities expertise.
- Strategy Three – Creating equitable broader access to humanities higher learning opportunities.
Colleges, universities, and other institutions of higher education interested in pursuing one or more of these strategies may apply.
Humanities in Place
- Strategy One – Keep and Shape Our Places
- Strategy Two – Evolve Our Institutions
- Strategy Three – Promote Greater Engagement and Understanding
Organizations such as history museums, heritage areas, and the media may apply for funding to promote a more diverse, nuanced view of American life and history. The Foundation is looking for novel approaches that challenge the traditional narrative and tell a more inclusive story about the American experience.
Public Knowledge
- Strategy One – Preserving original source materials in all formats, including web-based content, with focus on materials from historically underrepresented cultures and populations.
- Strategy Two – Supporting the innovative maintenance and sustainability of technology, tools, and infrastructure for content related to the Foundation’s social justice orientation.
- Strategy Three – Creating and strengthening networks for the interdependent sharing of resources, services, and collections.
The Public Knowledge program focuses on the conservation of knowledge through preserving physical and digital records. They seek to increase both access to these resources and the amount of documentation representing marginalized communities. This program is an ideal fit for libraries, archives, and presses.
