Americans live in a historical moment when the legacies of slavery—and, for that matter, the fate of all understanding of serious scholarly history as well as good, informed, critical teaching—are under direct threat…. We could not assert the significance of [a] project on the legacies of slavery in a more needful time.— Pulitzer prize-winning historian David Blight (2025)
The Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) is pleased to announce a new grant program to support the efforts of independent colleges and their communities to better understand the complex histories and legacies of American slavery. A detailed but not exclusive list of legacies can be found elsewhere on the Legacies of American Slavery website.
The maximum award is $15,000 for projects that can be completed during the calendar year 2026. Funded projects must include a public-facing component and a collaboration between a CIC member institution and at least one community-based organization, such as a local museum or historical society, a public library, a school district, a civic organization, or another college or university in the region. Projects that combine original undergraduate research and public-facing activities are strongly preferred but CIC will also consider proposals that support teaching initiatives across multiple institutions (at either the K-12 or post-secondary levels).
The public-facing activities can take any form: community presentations, physical or virtual exhibits, walking tours, memorial markers, digital collections, podcasts, documentaries, etc. CIC’s recent reports on public humanities and the activities undertaken by institutional partners in the Legacies of American Slavery network contain many examples of effective public programs.
Project teams from the selected institutions will also participate in a workshop on the public history and memory of American slavery in June 2026.
This grant program is generously supported by the Mellon Foundation.
How To Apply:Eligibility is limited to CIC Institutional Members, which must remain members in good standing through 2026 if selected.
Applications must be submitted through an application portal on the CIC website. Application materials should be submitted as a single file in PDF format, although the draft budget can be submitted as a separate Excel spreadsheet.
A complete application package will include:
A project statement of no more than four (4) single-spaced pages that addresses the questions detailed below. Brief biographies (200 words or fewer) of each project team member. The core team of three project leaders must include at least one full-time faculty member and one representative from a community-based partner organization. The third project leader may be another faculty member, a librarian or archivist, or an administrator with responsibility for community engagement. A preliminary Project Budget. A completed Contact Information Sheet. A letter of support signed by the president or chief academic officer of the CIC member institution that affirms the institution’s commitment to the success of the proposed project. A letter of support from the community-based partner organization that affirms the partner’s participation in the project. Project Statement:In a narrative of no more than four (4) single-spaced pages, describe the goals and design of your project. Make sure to discuss how the proposed project will help your campus and community better understand the histories and legacies of American slavery and how the impact of the project might be extended beyond the term of this grant.
The following questions may help you prepare your project statement. You do not have to answer them all.
Project Focus: What history and/or legacy of slavery will be the focus of your project? Why is this history or legacy especially meaningful to your institution and/or members of the local community? (The strongest proposals will place the national history and legacies of slavery into a specific local or regional context.) What is the key research question you intend to address? Why is this question relevant to members of the local community? How does the proposed project align with your institution’s own mission and strategic plan? Project Description: What form will the public-facing activities take? Why did you choose this format? How will you involve undergraduate students in both research and public-facing activities? What collection(s) or resources from your library or archives (or from another local repository) do you intend to use? Project Partner: Who will be your community-based partner? Why did you choose them? Does your college have an ongoing relationship with the community-based organization or is this project an opportunity to build new relationships? Does your partner have the capacity (e.g., staffing, expertise, facilities, funding) to bring a public program to life in collaboration with your institution? Team Members: Who will be the three core team members (i.e., a faculty member, an archivist/librarian or other campus representative, and a representative from the community-based partner)? Why are they the right people to lead the project? What other individuals or offices on campus will be involved in this project (if any), and what will be their roles? Anticipated outcomes: What will success look like for this project—and how will you measure it? What is the anticipated impact on student researchers, the project team members, your institution, the partner organization, and the community? How could this impact be sustained beyond the end of the grant period? Project Budget:Please prepare a preliminary budget using this template. The maximum grant award will be $15,000. Cost-sharing is not required but may be indicated on the budget form. CIC may request additional budget information from some applicants before making a final selection of participants.
The budget should reflect the realistic costs of the proposed project, including (but not limited to) stipends for any faculty member, librarian/archivist, and community partner representative on the core project team; stipends for student researcher(s), especially for work carried out during summer 2026; and travel and materials related directly to any public-facing activities.
Deadlines and Project Timeline: The deadline for applications is November 17, 2025. Funding decisions will be announced by December 31, 2025. Funded projects must be completed between January 1 and December 31, 2026. Typically, projects will adhere to the following timeline: initial planning, research, and outreach during spring semester 2026; a national workshop for project team leaders in summer 2026; and public-facing programs during fall semester 2026. A final report will be due by January 31, 2027. Questions?Contact Philip M. Katz, CIC Senior Director of Projects, at pkatz@cic.edu or (202) 552-8988.