Language Preservation Grants

Oklahoma Humanities offers grants for language preservation projects that support the documentation and protection of endangered human languages. These grants aim to ensure the long-term accessibility of primary resources in the humanities, particularly in the preservation of cultural heritage and linguistic traditions. The program is designed to fund projects that contribute to research, education, and public programming within the humanities, with a particular focus on language preservation efforts. Eligible applicants include U.S. nonprofit organizations with 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status, accredited public and nonprofit institutions of higher education, state and local government agencies, and federally recognized Native American tribal governments. Applicants must demonstrate that their projects adhere to ethical best practices for oral histories, language preservation, and interview-based research. Oklahoma Humanities encourages applicants to seek guidance from the Oklahoma Oral History Research Program at Oklahoma State University for technological and methodological support. The funding opportunity provides outright grants of up to $10,000 for qualifying projects. The application process requires interested parties to apply through the Oklahoma Humanities online grants portal, where all specific funding guidelines are outlined. At this time, the grant program is temporarily unavailable, and no active application cycle is open. Grantees should ensure that their projects contribute to the preservation and accessibility of linguistic and cultural heritage collections. These projects should support broader humanities research and public education efforts. The grant guidelines emphasize the importance of privacy and ethical data collection in interview-based work, requiring applicants to adhere to best practices in these areas. For further inquiries, interested applicants can contact Oklahoma Humanities at their office in Oklahoma City. The organization can be reached by phone at 405-235-0280. The grant program’s availability and future cycles will be updated on the Oklahoma Humanities website.