"The New Mexico Humanities Council does a lot with very little." Request for support

The last few years have been tough on the cultural sector. State budget cuts and threats to eliminate the nation's cultural agencies have pushed some humanities and arts nonprofits to retrench or even close. Your support is critical to helping NMHC forge ahead and continue giving voice to New Mexico's stories.

The New Mexico Humanities Council does a lot with very little. This year we have already served more than 4,500 of the state's students with our National History Day program, booked 98 humanities speakers and performers to appear in 36 communities around the state, awarded 10 grants totaling $55,000 to local nonprofits in support of their cultural work, and launched our Journalism, Democracy and the Informed Citizen initiative. 

But that's as far as we can go without support from allies like you. Thousands of New Mexican stories will remain hidden and the creative ideas that could propel us to a more vibrant future will remain unexplored. The thing is, we have big plans. We want to take our speakers bureau on the road to significant historic and archaeological sites and provide you and other New Mexicans with an immersive "humanities-on-the-go" experience, led by experts who can give you each site's "hidden story." We're also developing plans to take high-quality book and story programs across the state. You already know that "story" is a deeply-rooted strand in New Mexico's DNA; your support can help us take storytelling festivals, book fairs, and reading + discussion programs to every corner of the state from Raton to Lordsburg, Clovis to Gallup. Finally, how long has it been since you've been able to chat with your friends at a local bar about current events and ideas through the lens of history or the arts? We want to give you a chance to do exactly this at a Humanities Happy Hour.

Without you, we'll be bound simply to continue our programs as they currently are, with little room for experimentation. Your support will make the difference between NMHC maintaining the status quo and taking our work to a new exciting level.

Please help us take our next step toward creating the "humanities council of the future." As always, your gift to the Council is tax-deductible.

Sincerely,  Brandon Johnson, Executive Director / Jerry Brown, Chair, Board of Directors

 PS: More than ever, we need your support to make the humanities more relevant in New Mexico. To make a gift, please go on-line at http://nmhum.org/NMHC.php?c=1146