Opportunity Overview
Indiana Humanities is accepting applications for the Matters of Religion Grant, a statewide public-humanities program supporting projects that help Hoosiers explore the role of religion in their lives and examine how religious liberty influences education, democracy, culture, and other aspects of human experience in Indiana.
Supported formats may include reading-and-discussion programs, community conversations, educational resources, media projects, speaker or panel programs, exhibitions, oral-history projects, tours, maps, and other humanities-centered public programs.
Funding and Deadline
Award amount: Up to $5,000.
Current application deadline: October 31, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time. Indiana Humanities states that Matters of Religion Grants are reviewed quarterly, with additional deadlines scheduled in 2027.
Match: Applicants must demonstrate matching support equal to at least 50 percent of the requested grant amount, using eligible nonfederal cash and/or in-kind contributions. For example, a $5,000 request requires at least $2,500 in match.
Eligible Applicants
Eligible applicants include tax-exempt organizations registered with the IRS, K-12 schools, colleges and universities, public libraries, churches, temples, synagogues, mosques, and government entities. Individuals, nonregistered entities, and for-profit entities are not eligible. Fiscal sponsorship is not permitted.
An organization may receive no more than one Indiana Humanities grant in a 12-month period. Organizations that receive an award must provide a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) before grant funds can be paid.
Project Requirements
Projects must engage meaningfully with the Matters of Religion theme, use humanities methods, involve qualified humanities scholars or experts in planning and implementation, and be intended for a public audience. Programs must be presented at ADA-accessible sites or include reasonable accommodations, include a credible execution plan and timeline, begin after award notification, and normally be completed within one year of notification.
Allowable Costs and Restrictions
The program can support reasonable project costs tied to public humanities programming, including project personnel, speaker fees and honoraria, eligible travel, supplies, printing and production, venue costs, marketing, and certain indirect costs. Applicants may charge up to 15 percent of grant funds to indirect costs unless they have a higher federally negotiated indirect-cost rate and provide current NICRA documentation.
Grant funds may not support general operating expenses, political or ideological advocacy, lobbying, fundraising, endowment contributions, regranting, land or facility acquisition, construction or renovation, primarily equipment purchases, archival acquisitions, social services, prizes, awards or scholarships, publication of books, or international travel. Food and beverages are generally prohibited unless they are an essential educational component, and alcohol is always prohibited.
Application Requirements and Submission
Applications must be submitted through the Indiana Humanities online grants portal. The application requires organizational and project leadership information, a detailed project description, audience and location information, a project timeline, humanities-scholar and project-team information, partner details when applicable, and a complete itemized budget.
Required uploads include the project director’s resume, resumes or CVs for the humanities scholars or experts involved, and the completed project budget. Additional personnel resumes and other supporting materials are optional. If an applicant requests indirect costs above the standard allowance based on a federally negotiated rate, a current NICRA must be included. The application also asks for accessibility information, federal reporting information, electronic authorization, and the organization’s EIN; a UEI may be left blank at application but is required before payment if funded.
Atlas Analysis
Atlas Opportunity Score: 82/100. This is a well-defined statewide opportunity with a current official call for proposals, clear eligibility, a precise deadline, explicit matching requirements, a detailed application structure, and a published budget template. The relatively modest $5,000 ceiling limits strategic value compared with larger funding programs, but the opportunity is actionable for well-matched Indiana cultural, educational, governmental, library, and faith-based organizations with public humanities projects.
N9+ Fit Score: 0/100. This is a public-humanities grant and does not provide a defensible basis for introducing N9+ in ordinary outreach.
QC Healthcare Fit: 0/100. Although religion and healthcare may be explored as a humanities topic, the grant does not fund social services, clinical operations, healthcare technology procurement, or direct medical-service delivery.
Next Action
Identify only organizations with a credible public-humanities project aligned to the Matters of Religion theme. Before ORIGINAL outreach, verify the specific organization’s eligibility and project fit, a legitimate business Contact, Email_Opt_Out status, permanent hard-bounce status, and complete Account, Contact, Deal, Atlas_Email_Queue, and authoritative send-history deduplication. Ordinary outreach should focus on the verified grant opportunity and Atlas grant-package assistance at no cost and should not introduce N9+.
Official sources: Indiana Humanities Matters of Religion Grant; 2026 Call for Proposals; Online Grant Application Instructions.