Updates on NEH Grant Terminations, PBS Under Threat
Advocating for the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
This off-cycle news missive was spurred by urgent developments and will update you on concrete steps you can take. First, two weeks ago, the New York Times broke the news that DOGE immediately cut U.S. National Endowment for the Humanities grant programs. Since last Wednesday, here’s what’s been terminated: funding to all 50 state humanities councils and 1,434 NEH grants supporting culture and humanities programs across the country, including the only federal grant program funding the development and production of feature-length documentaries.
The terminations affect our field, from museums, film festivals and arts nonprofits that rely on state humanities funding, to filmmakers in the middle of production. A coalition of seven nonprofits, from the International Documentary Association to the Center for Independent Documentary, issued a statement explaining: “The blanket termination of active grants, including those awarded under a previous Presidential administration, is a blatant attempt to impose ideological control over artistic production and will continue to devastate the affected productions.”
On Monday, April 14, major media outlets reported that the Trump Administration is proposing that Congress rescind over $1 Billion in funding to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), which funds public media in the United States, including PBS, NPR, and their local member stations.
According to reports, the proposal would be part of a much larger rescission package totalling over $9 Billion in cuts, including other organizations such as USAID, and asking Congress to rescind funds which were already approved. The proposal is slated to go to Congress after the Easter recess on April 28, and then the House and Senate will have 45 days to approve the request or deny it. This is money that was already allocated by Congress, and according to reports, has already been delegated and spent. By all accounts, this would be devastating for all forms of public media, especially for smaller and rural communities.
What’s Happening at FFC
NEH Grant Terminations: We are working with other nonprofits to identify as many affected parties as possible for legal action. Are you or your organization affected by the grant terminations? We want to hear from you, learn about the harmful impacts, and connect you to this collective action. You can write to us at info@futurefilmcoalition.org.
Public Media Threat: We have joined Protect My Public Media’s coalition to advocate for Congress to not rescind funds, and to continue to support CPB and all related programs. We are building a concerted effort to support public media, and will report back regularly on our progress and proposed next steps.
But time is of the essence. In the near term, please contact your Congressional representatives and let them know you support CPB and a robust public media system, and urge them to vote against the proposed rescission package.
A personalized, non-form letter approach is best, and you can use the APTS talking points below to begin. You can find your representative here. In addition, you can send a message via Protect My Public Media, or sign this petition from Common Cause.
Many in public media are pointing out that CPB funding is crucial for American audiences, the reason why we as indie filmmakers make our work. As APTS, a nonprofit organization representing public television stations, publicly stated, “A rescission of funds threatens the very existence of the nation’s local public broadcasting stations and the entire public broadcasting system. This includes the over 160 locally operated and controlled public television stations that serve communities small and large throughout this country from the most remote corners of Alaska to the hollers of Appalachia, public broadcasting is a lifeline in hundreds of communities where there is no other source of local media.”
