Created by Congress in the early 1970s, the state humanities councils are independent, not-for-profit entities that support humanities programs and community-based activities in the 50 states, as well as the District of Columbia and the jurisdictions of American Samoa, Guam, Northern Marianas, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. The 56 councils are governed by volunteer boards composed of humanities scholars and members of the general public, and are funded mainly by the federal government. (For data on the number and revenues of the nation’s not-for-profit humanities organizations, which include state humanities councils as well as museums, reading promotion groups, ethnic and cultural awareness organizations, and many others, see Indicator IV-9, Revenues of Not-for-Profit Humanities Organizations.)

The NEH provides each of the councils with an annual supporting grant through its Federal/State Partnership program. The funds are allocated according to a legislatively mandated formula, which directs $200,000 to every council, with the remainder of the appropriated monies being distributed in the following manner:

	44% is allocated equally among councils that serve a population of 200,000 or more;
	22% is allocated to all councils according to population; and
	34% is allocated to the councils at the discretion of the NEH Chairman.

Councils also receive discretionary (nonformula) funding from the NEH. Thus, for example, a portion of the NEH’s appropriation for We the People (a special initiative that directs monies to activities that explore significant themes or events in American history) is distributed to the state councils. In addition, councils receive funding from the NEH in the form of matching grants and are eligible to apply for funding under the NEH’s competitive grant programs.

While federal funding constitutes the bulk of most councils’ revenues, a minority of councils receives a substantial portion of their total funding from state legislatures. Some councils have also been successful in raising significant amounts of funding from both corporations and individuals. (For more information about the sources of council revenues, see the Federation of State Humanities Councils’ Annual Income Survey.)

The official source for data regarding council incomes is Internal Revenue Service Form 990, which these organizations, as public charities with revenues in excess of $25,000, must submit annually. In the fiscal year (FY) ending in 2005, the 50 state humanities councils and the council for the District of Columbia reported a total of $61.2 million in revenues, which represents a 14% increase over 1994 levels (Figure IV-3a). (1994 is the first year for which data from Form 990 were available for these councils; information for the 1994-2004 period is presented at five-year intervals because Form 990 data compiled in this way are available only from a private provider at non-negligible cost; the five jurisdictional councils are not included because data were not available for all years.) But as funding grew, so did population, with the result that per capita revenues remained quite constant, hovering in the vicinity of 20 cents per U.S. resident (and overseas military service member) over the entire period.

Figure IV-3a, Full Size Supporting Data

Figure IV-3b presents total and per capita revenues for each of the state councils and the District of Columbia for FY 2005. In that year, the range in per capita funding levels was striking. California reported revenues amounting to 5 cents per capita, while Maine, South Dakota, and Wyoming reported revenues of over $1 per state resident. The median per capita revenue level was 31 cents in 2005.

Figure IV-3b, Full Size

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