West Virginia Humanities Council

The West Virginia Humanities Council is a nonprofit organization governed by its Board of Directors. Our mission is to promote a vigorous program in the humanities statewide in West Virginia.
The Humanities Council was created June 25, 1974, at the encouragement of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Reflecting the NEH’s original purposes, the Council was first incorporated as the Committee for Humanities and Public Policy and focused on making grants for programs that applied the humanities to discussions of public policy by adults. Since then the Council has broadened its activities, expanded the range of its target population to include all West Virginians, and diversified its sources of funding.
The Humanities Council staff is experienced in grantmaking, program development, and the management of a historic property. We serve West Virginians statewide in their schools, libraries, museums, and other locations.
The cornerstone of our work are the grants we provide to educational institutions, museums, public broadcasting, historical societies, and others.
Additionally, we manage a variety of programs directly. Our direct programs include traveling exhibits, History Alive!, regional lectures, and e-WV, the online West Virginia Encyclopedia.
Council headquarters are located in the 1836 MacFarland-Hubbard House in Charleston. You may contact us there Monday through Friday from 9:00 until 4:00 p.m.
The Humanities Council is supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities, the West Virginia Department of Education and the Arts, corporations, foundations, and many other organizations and individual donors – people like you!