Please write your Members of Congress and ask them to support the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) by requesting $167.5 million in fiscal year (FY) 2012 funding for the agency. This would restore NEH funding to the same level the agency received in FY ‘10.

The final, FY ‘11 year-end Continuing Resolution (CR) set NEH funding for the current year at $155 million–a $12.5 million cut from the FY ‘10 level. In the FY ‘12 Budget Proposal, President Obama has requested $146 million for the agency in FY ‘12. If enacted, this figure would represent an even deeper, $21 million cut from the FY ‘10 level.

The FY ‘12 appropriations process is well under way. Messages from advocates to Congress are needed now to help restore funding for NEH and prevent even further cuts!

Our partners at the National Humanities Alliance have set up a template message for you to customize, including sample bullet points. We strongly encourage you to personalize this message by telling Congress why NEH and its programs are important to you, your institution, your field, your state, and/or district. If you have received or worked on an NEH grant, please consider the local or long-term impact of this funding. Citing specific accomplishments can be especially helpful (e.g. numbers of students taught, workshop participants, federal dollars leveraged, program viewers, collections protected, awards received, articles published). You may also wish to indicate what would be lost without this funding. Thank you in advance for your support!