Mellon welcomes inquiries from organizations whose work aligns with our current strategies

What happens when you try something outside of what is supposed to be business or nonprofit work? I think crossing those imaginary boundaries can lead to something generative.

​​​​​​​​​For the sake of the neighborhood, the W.O.W. Project is blurring the lines between storefront and arts center in Manhattan’s Chinatown. Performer Tuxedo Masc stands outside Wing on Wo.

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The Hard-Won Beauty of Staying Put 

The Mellon Foundation and the American Council of Learned Societies have both moved toward grants that serve historically marginalized communities that are beyond the university.

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The humanities is not at a crossroads, but is flourishing beyond traditional classrooms

The Japanese-American National Museum in Los Angeles has, for the first time ever, compiled the names of all 125,000 people of Japanese descent who were incarcerated during World War II.

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A museum has compiled the names of all people of Japanese descent incarcerated during WWII

Iⁿ‘zhúje‘waxóbe is being relocated to Kaw Nation land. Photo: Mike Gunnoe, courtesy of the University of Kansas Endowment Association 

In a clearing at sunrise, a tall red stone boulder sits on a pedestal made of smaller stones. The boulder is almost as tall as the trees around it. 

The Kaw Nation Reclaims a Sacred Stone

Old Dominion University in Virginia created an internship academy to provide paid employment roles for humanities students.

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$5M grant from the Mellon Foundation will boost internship participation rates

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GMA: Black twins buy Woodland Plantation, site of largest U.S. uprising of enslaved people

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Women’s and Gender Studies Program received a $100,000 grant from the Mellon Foundation.

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$100k grant opens doors for new Women and Gender Studies course at UNL

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The Mellon Foundation announced that it has awarded a total of $25 million to five public colleges to establish paid internship programs for humanities majors.

Mellon Awards $25M for Paid Internships for Humanities Majors at Public Universities and Colleges

Since the pandemic, over 200 guaranteed-income experiments launched across the United States. The Mellon Foundation backed one of them, providing $115 million to support 2,400 New York City artists.

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Guaranteed Income Is Sweeping the Nation. Will It Last?

Mellon makes grants to support communities through the power of the arts and humanities

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Mellon Eli I m more secure

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I’m more secure of who I am and the ideas I have. I’m proud that I am able to stand by the person that I’ve become.

Mellon Randy I want to be able

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This is something we can do, like academics, scholars, these are actual jobs that we can obtain.

Mellon Roberta Getting through college

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Getting through college, it’s just given me this unwavering faith in myself.

Mellon Huzaifah I don t think I was capable

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I don’t think I was capable of that much, but here I am. I persevered through.

Mellon Mika I realized the power

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I realized the power of coming as I am into spaces and not trying to be perfect all the time.

Mellon Ahmed The most nerve-wracking part

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Learning that the path in academia is just so fluid taught me to just have faith ... a path will open up.

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While every student in the class of 2024 has a different story to tell, their collective undergraduate experience unfolded during an unprecedented time in human history.

Wisdom from the Class of 2024 

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Artists as Catalysts

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Beyond Incarceration

A side profile of a Black poet who is wearing glasses and a hat with a feather hat pin.

Civic Engagement

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Evolving Higher Education

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Expanding Public Knowledge

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Monuments and Memory

A large statue of a confederate general is covered in markings and graffiti. 

Multivocality

Five people stand together in a group photo. They are laughing and smiling.

Power of the Word

Five colorful neon signs hang on the wall with messages that include, "Freedom cannot wait," "Brown owned," and "America is for Dreamers."

Public Places‚ Public Stories

A group of Indigenous Maskoke people stand and sit in the wooden frame of a structure in a woods

Puerto Rico and Its Diaspora

In a vertical image, a black leather vest is adorned with colorful pins across the front of it. Embroidery on the vest reads: "Felícitas "La Prieta" Méndez" 