Humanities Grants Humanities Grants Glossary

501(c)(3) Organization: An organization classified by the Internal Revenue Code as charitable and tax-exempt. 501(c)(3) organizations include religious, educational, charitable, amateur athletic, scientific or literary groups, organizations testing for public safety or organizations involved in prevention of cruelty to children or animals.

Applicant Contribution: Refers to the contribution made by applicants to the project. To demonstrate the community's interest and support, all applicants must provide at minimum, a contribution that, in value, equals or exceeds the requested funds. For example, applicants requesting $1,500 must bring a contribution of $1,500. This contribution can consist of cash contributions, in-kind contributions or a combination of the two. (Applicant Contribution = Cash Contribution + In-Kind Contribution.)

Authorizing Official: The person (usually the executive director, president or board chair) with the authority to commit the sponsoring organization to fulfilling the terms of the award agreement.

Cash Contribution: Refers to monies raised for the project by the applicant from sources such as individuals, corporations, foundations, state or local governments and/or nonprofit agencies, etc. This also includes earned income (e.g. admission or registration fees) anticipated by the applicant which will directly support the project.

Fiscal Officer: The person in charge of the financial paperwork. S/he is responsible for record keeping and accounting for the grant funds.

Gift-and-Matching: See How does Gift-and-Matching work?

Humanities: See What are the humanities?

Humanities Scholar/Expert: Someone with a graduate degree in a humanities field and/or someone who has done extensive humanities-oriented research or has other interpretive experience. Artists can serve as humanities experts if their bios or resumes demonstrate their experience in the humanities, e.g., through publications, work experience or academic degree. Please note: The active participation of humanities experts is a requirement for all PHC funded projects.

In-kind Contribution refers to non-cash contributions towards a project. This refers to the dollar value of goods and/or services contributed to the project by the applicant (e.g., % of staff salaries involved in the project staff, project supplies, etc.) and/or a third-party (e.g., donated printing costs).

Intent to Apply: See How does the Intent to Apply process work?

Media Project: A program or project widely disseminated through film, radio, television, websites or other media.

PHC Evaluator: An independent and unbiased professional who will assess the quality and integrity of a grant project. Large Grant applicants must allocate $150 for a PHC evaluator in the requested funds portion of their budget.

Project Director: The person responsible for the overall management of the project. S/he serves as the primary contact to PHC and ensures that all necessary paperwork is submitted to PHC.

Requested Funds: The cash award requested from PHC to support your project.

Review Criteria: The standards by which applications are assessed and scored (see What does PHC look for when reviewing applications?).

Sponsoring Organization: The nonprofit organization that submits the grant application, receives the award, sponsors the project and is accountable for the appropriate use of grant funds. The sponsoring organization serves as the fiscal sponsor of the project.

Yearly Budget: The dollar amount of the annual operating budget of the sponsoring organization.