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Founded in 1975 with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities, Humanities New York has spent nearly fifty years strengthening civic life across the state.

For decades, HNY primarily supported public humanities work through grantmaking, funding projects in libraries, museums, historical societies, universities, and community organizations

statewide. That grantmaking legacy helped build a robust ecosystem of humanities programming across New York.

Today, HNY has evolved from being primarily a grantmaker to serving as a statewide civic infrastructure.

Through programs like Community Conversations and Reading & Discussion, and through our shared system known as In Common, we train facilitators, convene partners, develop public-facing resources, and sustain a network of practice across regions.

Rather than funding isolated projects, we now build durable systems that connect communities, strengthen dialogue, and create long-term civic capacity. Our past informs our present, and our institutional archive grounds innovation in nearly five decades of experience.

The humanities are disciplines that help us interpret human experience and make meaning together.

They include literature, history, philosophy, cultural studies, ethics, and related fields. But for HNY, the humanities are not only academic subjects. They are public practices.

When people gather to read a text closely, examine a historical moment, interpret a work of art, or wrestle with a shared question, they are engaging in the humanities.

We understand the humanities as a civic practice of interpretation. They cultivate listening, reflection, ethical reasoning, and dialogue across difference. In a diverse democratic society, these habits are essential.

Our programs are open to the public and designed to be accessible.

Community Conversations and Reading & Discussion series are hosted in libraries, museums, campuses, and other trusted civic spaces across New York State. There are no prerequisites for participation. What matters is curiosity and a willingness to engage thoughtfully with others.

We also work closely with facilitators, scholars, and community partners who lead programs locally. Through training and network-building, we support a growing civic-humanities workforce across the state.

Our work is for anyone who believes that dialogue, interpretation, and shared inquiry strengthen communities.

Community Conversations are 60–90 minute facilitated dialogues centered on a short text, image, or artifact. Groups of 15 to 25 participants gather in a structured setting to reflect together. The goal is not debate or persuasion, but shared reasoning.

Reading & Discussion offers a deeper, multi-session format organized around a book or curated set of readings. Participants return over several sessions to build trust, develop interpretive skill, and explore complex questions in sustained conversation.

Both formats are led by trained facilitators who prioritize fairness, humility, reciprocity, and interpretive care. Materials are designed to be accessible while inviting meaningful reflection.

Together, these programs create visible public spaces for thoughtful engagement across difference.

Humanities New York works in partnership with libraries, museums, universities, historical societies, and community-based organizations across the state.

Programs are often developed collaboratively to reflect local history, concerns, and community priorities. Some offerings align with HNY’s annual themes, while others emerge directly from consultation with local partners.

Through In Common, we provide training, toolkits, facilitation support, and ongoing peer connection. This model ensures shared standards of dialogue while allowing adaptation to regional needs.

Our approach balances statewide coherence with local responsiveness.

Donations support the long-term civic infrastructure that makes our work possible.

Rather than funding one-time events alone, contributions help sustain facilitator training, statewide convenings, digital resources, archival preservation, and the development of shared tools that partners can adapt and reuse across communities.

Unrestricted and general operating support donations are especially vital. They help us keep the engine running, allowing us to maintain staff capacity, uphold consistent standards of quality, invest in long-term partnerships, and respond to emerging needs across the state. Philanthropic support strengthens our ability to expand access, reinforce shared systems, and build durable civic capacity across New York State.

In short, donations do not simply support programs. They sustain the infrastructure that allows public humanities work to endure.