The group says it will lose 42% of its annual budget after the latest move by the Trump Administration to slash federal spending.
Every humanities council in the country received a letter this week from the National Endowment for the Humanities saying that all funding was being frozen immediately.
Vermont Humanities Executive Director Christopher Kaufman llstrup said that while he doesn鈥檛 think programs will have to be eliminated right away, he does expect the cuts to affect the work his organization does.
鈥淔orty-two percent is a significant hit. So if this holds we will necessarily have to cut some of the work that we do and that won鈥檛 not be available to Vermonters,鈥� Kaufman llstrup said. 鈥淚 can鈥檛 predict two days out what that might look like and how that might manifest itself. But that is a significant cut and we will have to do less.鈥�
Vermont Humanities gets about $800,000 annually from the federal government toward its budget of about $2.2 million.
The group says it held 899 activities in 2023, which were attended by 68,529 people, at literacy programs, public discussions at libraries, and museum events across the state.
The 鈥淣otice of Grant Termination鈥� that Vermont Humanities received Wednesday said, "Your grant no longer effectuates the agency's needs and priorities and conditions of the Grant Agreement and is subject to termination,鈥� going on to state, 鈥淵our grant's immediate termination is necessary to safeguard the interests of the federal government, including its fiscal priorities.鈥�
鈥淚t is devastating to feel like the federal government is changing in such a way that everything you鈥檝e been working towards is no longer valued,鈥� Kaufman llstrup said. 鈥淏ut mostly this strengthens our resolve to keep doing the good work that we do."
Every state in the country runs its own humanities council, which receives funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
About 80% of the staff at the National Endowment for the Humanities in Washington, D.C. were put on paid administrative leave Thursday, according to .
Americans for the Arts CEO Erin Harkey told NPR that the cuts were 鈥渁n unprecedented threat to culture in America.鈥�
"Recent economic figures from the NEA highlight the significance of these institutions, which contribute $1.2 trillion to the U.S. economy and support 5.4 million jobs," Harkey said. 鈥淓liminating federal support for arts and humanities agencies will harm American families, weaken local economies, and undermine our nation's competitive edge."
