Pres. Trump recently signed a budget bill that included ongoing funding for the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) for the 2026 fiscal year. But what that means on the ground in the Cowboy State is still unclear.
The funding comes after the federal government abruptly terminated NEH grants to humanities councils across the country last spring, including a $850,000 grant to Wyoming Humanities. The NEH allocates funding for state humanities councils every year, according to a legislatively mandated formula. Some saw the grant terminations as a violation of that obligation.
Funding the NEH this year is a pivot from last spring, when the Trump administration proposed entirely defunding the NEH and NEA, along with multiple other government agencies.
The cancelled Wyoming Humanities grant accounted for roughly 80% of the nonprofit’s budget and ultimately pared its staff of six down to two.
The 55-year-old organization typically receives funding every year from the NEH. It’s at the center of a statewide web of community organizations and historic sites, and supports programming like educational lectures and museum exhibits across Wyoming.
Read more here….https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/arts-culture/2026-02-13/trump-funds-neh-again-but-what-that-means-for-wy-humanities-is-unclear