Wisconsin Humanities Council

Grant program - the whc's grant program provides support for public Humanities programs that strengthen our democracy through educational and cultural programs that build connections and understanding among people of all backgrounds and beliefs throughout the state. Grants are offered throughout the year to support locally initiated public Humanities programs that promote reflection, dialogue, and civic participation.for this tax year, 42 new grants were awarded. There were approximately 210 grant related events funded, with a total audience of more than 70,000 people this past year. In addition, with funding provided by the national endowment for the Humanities as part of the american rescue plan act of 2021, the whc provided grant funding to nonprofit Humanities and cultural organizations that provide Humanities programming as a significant part of their mission, to help them "prevent, prepare for, respond to, and recover" from the covid-19 pandemic. A total of 99 grants were awarded in the past two years and successful grant applicants received $278,785 in grant funds this tax year.

Love Wisconsin project - the love Wisconsin project "celebrates our state, our lives and our shared future" via a digital storytelling project focused primarily on facebook, using the facebook groups platform. This platform has created an online community that strives to bring about a more connected, compassionate, and engaged Wisconsin. This past year, 19 stories have been shared, along with hundreds of instagram posts, with a monthly reach of over 50,000 people on facebook, resulting in numerous digital conversations involving thousands of participants.

Community powered project program- the community powered program launched as a pilot in fall of 2021, builds resilience among Wisconsin communities by helping them recognize, communicate, and act upon their strengths, challenges, and histories to envision a vibrant future. Residents of four participating communities experienced new ways to unearth and tell stories of their communities and took concrete steps toward making their hometowns even better places to live. Initial programming included hiring and training of four recent college graduates and pairing them with local librarians in their respective hometown communities of appleton, racine, spooner, and the forest county potawatomi tribal community. With the library serving as the anchor organization, these young people and their librarian partners were trained in Humanities and digital media skills and were supported as they collaborated with local nonprofit organizations, businesses, and citizens to create locally meaningful projects. 51 events, including history harvests, story circles, workshops and an exhibition were carried out during this year, with more than 700 people participating in or attending programming.

Podcast project - "human powered" is a podcast series about how people make places better. It's about what can happen when passionate, creative people engage deeply with their neighbors and find ways to strengthen the roots of community lives. Three episodes of the second season of the podcast debuted this year focusing on people impacted by the justice system. Over 2,700 people listened to the Wisconsin Humanities Council podcasts this year, and an additional 1,300 people visited the podcast website. Three more episodes will be produced in the coming year.

Program partnership - in addition to its own programming, the whc provides financial support outside of the grant program for Humanities programing by partner organizations in the state of Wisconsin. This year the whc continued its partnership with Wisconsin public radio and "Wisconsin life" radio programming, airing radio essays that celebrate what makes Wisconsin unique through the diverse stories of its people, with approximately 70,000 radio listeners per week. The whc also continued its support of the Wisconsin poet laureate commission and the Wisconsin poet laureate, the state's ambassador for poetry. The whc is one of six member organizations that provide financial support and representatives to serve on the poet laureate commission.

William a. wenninger fund for the public Humanities - these grant funds support whc-funded programming that serve children and families across Wisconsin, with priority given to programming that serves northern Wisconsin.

Immigrant journeys project - programming includes a travelling exhibit titled "immigrant journeys from south of the border" showcasing the stories of people who have immigrated to Wisconsin from colombia, honduras, mexico and uruguay, and a website dedicated to the program. In tax year 2022, the exhibit traveled to 1 location in the state of Wisconsin, and over 500 people viewed the exhibit.