NC Humanities gets 'emergency funding' after federal cuts

WUNC | By Bradley George

Published May 2, 2025 at 3:09 PM EDT

North Carolina Humanities Facebook page

North Carolina Humanities, based in Charlotte, receives about $1.6 million from the National Endowment for the Humanities each year.

A private foundation will help a North Carolina nonprofit that lost federal funding last month.

The Trump Administration, through Elon Musk's DOGE cost-cutting entity, rescinded grants to state and territorial humanities councils offered by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). The endowment laid off 80% of its staff.

North Carolina Humanities, based in Charlotte, receives about $1.6 million from the NEH each year. Executive Director Sherry Paula Watkins said the loss of funding would affect programs such as its North Carolina Reads statewide book club, fellowships, reading programs, and cultural festivals.

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Bradley George

Bradley George is WUNC's AM reporter. A North Carolina native, his public radio career has taken him to Atlanta, Birmingham, Nashville and most recently WUSF in Tampa. While there, he reported on the COVID-19 pandemic and was part of the station's Murrow award winning coverage of the 2020 election. Along the way, he has reported for NPR, Marketplace, The Takeaway, and the BBC World Service. Bradley is a graduate of Guilford College, where he majored in Theatre and German.

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