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NEH grant cancellations force Vermont Humanities to cut staff, seek state and private support
Summary
Vermont Humanities says a March 2025 suspension of National Endowment for the Humanities grants left the nonprofit with a roughly $728,523 shortfall for the calendar year, prompting layoffs, budget cuts and a search for private and possible state funding.
Christopher Kaufman Ilstrup, executive director of Vermont Humanities, told the House Appropriations Committee on April 30 that the organization has cut staff and pared programming after the National Endowment for the Humanities canceled grants on April 2, 2025 and the agency impounded FY25 appropriations.
The loss of federal funding has left Vermont Humanities with a shortfall of about $728,523 for the remainder of the calendar year, Ilstrup said, equal to roughly 42% of the nonprofit’s budget. He told lawmakers the organization has drawn down about $170,000 of FY25 payments to date, is using rainy-day reserves to cover roughly half the gap and has implemented approximately $366,000 in budget cuts.
“That’s how much it is, right? Dollars 728,523,” Ilstrup said. “If ever there was a rainy day, this is a typhoon.”
Why it matters: Vermont Humanities said it serves about 70,000 Vermonters across all 14 counties with programs in schools, prisons, hospitals, libraries and veterans’ services. The council warned that cuts reduce its capacity to deliver grants and programs statewide.
Ilstrup described the federal disruption as the result of letters and grant cancellations from NEH’s Fed-State Partnership division. He told the committee that most staff in that NEH division were placed on administrative leave and that, by mid-April, most had been dismissed. “There is exactly one staff person left at the Fed-State Partnership,” he said, adding that the division previously employed roughly 20 people.
The council expects a national lawsuit challenging the cancellations; Oregon Humanities and the Federation of State Humanities Councils planned to file on behalf of the system, Ilstrup said. He also said Vermont’s attorney general, Charity Clark, is aware of the situation and that state attorneys general would likely file amicus briefs because the councils are private nonprofits and cannot themselves be represented by the states.
Private philanthropy has partially eased the shortfall. Ilstrup said the Mellon Foundation announced a $15 million grant to support humanities councils nationwide; under that program each council would receive $200,000 plus an additional $50,000 if the council can provide a local match. He said those funds, together with some local donors, would cover roughly half of Vermont Humanities’ gap but would leave an estimated $350,000–$400,000 shortfall for FY25.
“We’ve had donors step in and help us unpause programs,” Ilstrup said, but he cautioned that private gifts cannot fully replace federal operating support: “Private philanthropy does not replace federal funding under any circumstances.”
Operational decisions: Ilstrup said personnel is about half the organization’s budget. Vermont Humanities has left one position vacant and has laid off two full-time employees (a program officer and a communications officer). He described the layoffs as permanent rather than furloughs, saying the organization wanted staff to be able to find other work rather than wait in limbo for a possible restoration of funds.
Committee members asked whether the state could provide replacement funding and whether state funding would carry restrictions that differ from federal grants. Ilstrup said state funds would not impose the same federal requirements, and that state support could help secure the Mellon match and provide predictability needed to consider rehiring: “If it was close to what we’ve lost, we would consider rehiring, but we would want to know that we had predictability going forward.”
Other federal agencies and programs: Ilstrup reported that the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) told some state libraries they would restore 50% of grant value, though he cautioned that those restorations could come with conditions. He also said the National Endowment for the Arts appears to be operating with more staff than NEH but that NEH appears to have lost much of its institutional capacity to support councils.
Next steps and uncertainty: The committee did not take formal action on state funding during the hearing. Ilstrup said Oregon Humanities and the Federation expect to file suit on behalf of the system and that Vermont Humanities will participate; he urged the committee to consider small state appropriations that could extend the organization’s runway and unlock the Mellon match.
“There is actual real harm to real people,” Ilstrup said, noting that cuts affect programs that reach educators, libraries, veterans and incarcerated people across Vermont.
The committee kept Vermont Humanities on the governor’s recommended funding list, and members signaled interest in exploring options; no appropriation was made during the hearing. The lawsuit and federal administrative decisions remain the primary determinants of whether the impounded funds will be restored.
