The Florida Humanities has launched the Broadcasting Hope Media Grant to support the development, production and distribution of radio programs, podcasts, digital resources and documentary films that engage general audiences with important Florida-focused topics through a humanities lens in creative and appealing ways.
The humanities enable them to pursue an understanding of our shared human experience, giving people a sense of grounding and a vehicle through which to gather and discuss modern problems through a historic lens. Humanities inspire, engage, and enrich them. Funded projects must be grounded in humanities scholarship and demonstrate an approach that is thoughtful and balanced. Proposals must also demonstrate the potential to attract a broad general public audience and focus on topics that enhance our understanding of Florida and its culture, people, and history.
The projects should showcase local communities coming together to inspire hope, broaden perspectives, and foster unity.
Funding Information
Broadcasting Hope Media Grants offers two levels of funding: Development and Production.
Development – up to $25,000: Development awards enable media producers to collaborate with scholars to develop humanities content along with other program elements. Awards must result in a script or detailed treatment and incorporate a significant level of outreach and public engagement in collaboration with partner organizations and humanities scholars. Development awards may support activities such as:
Meetings with scholars
Research and preliminary interviews
Preparation of program treatments and/or scripts
Production of a work-in-progress trailer
Outreach activities and public engagement to solicit public feedback and insights
Production – up to $50,000: Production awards should result in the production and distribution of radio, podcast, television, and/or documentary film projects. Production awards may support activities such as:
Archival research and rights clearances
Meetings with scholars
Script refinement
Production and distribution of films, television programs, radio programs, and podcasts
Development of resources related to the proposed media project, such as websites, that explore the humanities content and themes central to the project
Outreach and public engagement to present the final production, such as film screenings with panel discussion, community conversation, etc. Programs can be in-person, virtual, or hybrid.
Projects must be completed within the following 1-year contract period:
Contract Begin Date: October 3, 2022
Contract End Date: October 3, 2023.
Eligibility Criteria
This funding opportunity is open to Florida public media stations, both TV and Radio, as well as private nonprofit organizations, institutions of higher education, state and local governmental agencies, and federally recognized Native American tribal governments. Organizations that apply for funding must be constituted for nonprofit purposes.
Eligible applicants may only submit one grant proposal for consideration each cycle. Applicants may not currently have a Broadcasting Hope Media Grant currently open, but may hold another Florida Humanities grant or program (i.e. Community Project Grant, Greater Good: Humanities in Academia, Florida Talks, etc.), so long as the funds are not directed at the same project.
Sponsoring Organization and Partnerships
Eligible organizations are encouraged to partner with independent producers and other skilled professionals to carry out programmatic activities. In these cases, the lead applicant submits the application on behalf of the partnership(s).
The lead applicant (i.e. sponsoring organization) assumes all programmatic, financial, and legal responsibilities associated with the award, including adherence to and compliance with federal regulations and the terms and conditions of the award.
The assigned Project Director must be officially affiliated (i.e. staff member or contractor) with the sponsoring organization.
Individuals, foreign or for-profit entities are ineligible for funding.
Special consideration will be given to the following:
Projects that actively partner with diverse and underserved communities
Underserved communities can be defined as those whose access to the humanities is limited by geography, ethnicity, economics, or disability.
Projects that are strengthened by partnerships with other organizations or institutions, including but not limited to humanities nonprofits, K-12 schools, universities or colleges, libraries, or public media stations.
All Projects Must:
Demonstrate a key message of unity and hope for communities
Deepen public understanding of significant humanities questions and inspire constructive dialogue with the public.
Approach a subject analytically, presenting a variety of perspectives
Involve humanities scholar(s) and other subject-area experts in all phases of development and production
Actively engage the general public through accessible program formats, and be free or not cost prohibitive.
