Figure

IV-01b: National Endowment for the Humanities Budget Request versus Final Appropriation, Fiscal Years 1966-2022 (Adjusted for Inflation)

Data Source and Other Information

* Due to data limitations, 2022 is the most recent year for which an inflation adjustment is possible.

Source: Data for years 1966 through 2007 were compiled by the National Humanities Alliance, at the request of the Humanities Indicators, from documentation supplied by the National Endowment for the Humanities’ (NEH) Office of Strategic Planning. Data for 2008 to 2015 were provided directly to the Humanities Indicators by NEH’s Office of Planning and Budget. Data for subsequent years up through 2022, with the exception of the amount of the budget request for 2021, were obtained from the documentation available at https://www.neh.gov/about/budget-performance (accessed 9/23/2022). The amount of the 2021 budget request was obtained from the press release at https://www.neh.gov/news/neh-statement-proposed-fy-2021-budget (accessed 9/23/2022) and the 2023 request from https://www.neh.gov/sites/default/files/inline-files/NEH%20FY%202023%20CJ.pdf (accessed 1/4/2023). The 2023 appropriation amount was obtained from https://www.appropriations.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Interior%20FY%2023.pdf (accessed 1/4/2023).

Funding amounts were adjusted for inflation using the Gross Domestic Purchases Price Index, a measure of inflation in the prices paid (including those for imported goods) by consumers, businesses, and governments in the United States. Quarterly estimates of the Index, produced by the U.S. Department of Commerce's Bureau of Economic Analysis, were obtained from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/B712RG3Q086SBEA (accessed 10/27/2022).

Data presented by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences’ Humanities Indicators (www.humanitiesindicators.org).

Related Indicators

For information regarding how NEH funding is allocated, see “State Humanities Council Revenues.”

For additional information regarding public and private investment in the humanities, see “Beyond NEH,” “Charitable Giving for Humanities Activities,” “Foundation Funding of Humanities Activities,” “Not-for-Profit Humanities Organizations and Their Revenues: Overview,” “Not-for-Profit Humanities Organizations and Their Revenues: Trends among the Major Organization Types,” and “Research and Development Expenditures at Colleges and Universities.”

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The Humanities Indicators and Departmental Survey have been made possible in part by grants from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this website do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
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