What is the Missouri Humanities Council?

The Missouri Humanities Council (MHC) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that was created in 1971 under authorizing legislation from the U.S. Congress to serve as one of the 56 state and territorial humanities councils that are affiliated with the National Endowment for the Humanities.

MHC supports and presents humanities-based programs and projects that serve and benefit the people of Missouri.

We work to encourage family reading. We support local museums, libraries and other organizations promoting humanities education, and seek to facilitate interaction between humanities scholars and public audiences. We also strive to foster community pride and economic development opportunities through local exhibits, programs and heritage tourism projects.

Current MHC Programs
  • Touring Exhibits – bringing  traveling exhibits to  Missouri communities and helping them develop programs and exhibits to tell their own stories
  • Read First! – promoting early reading through collaborative events in selected target communities
  • Read from the Start – encouraging and guiding parents of young children to begin reading with them early in life to foster a life-long love of books and appreciation for the power of stories
  • Project and Program Grants – competitive grants awarded by MHC to Missouri institutions, organizations and communities to help them develop and present quality humanities-based programs, events, exhibits and publications
  • Heritage Tourism/Humanities Inventory Pilot Project – supporting innovation in the effort to assist Missouri communities in preserving and sharing their stories
  • Missouri Humanities Awards – recognizing excellence in humanities-based education, literature and community service
  • The Missouri Warrior Writers Project — supporting creative writing workshops and publication projects for veterans
Our Funding Sources Include:
  • The National Endowment for the Humanities
  • The State of Missouri
  • Private Foundations
  • Corporate sponsors
  • Private donors

Special News

Storm Country: MHC/MO Writers’ Guild-sponsored Anthology to Assist Joplin School Libraries

Storm Country, an anthology published to benefit the Joplin School libraries that were damaged or destroyed by an E-5 tornado in May, was recently released and is now available for purchase at http://stormcountry.wordpress.com. The book is a joint project of the Missouri Writers’ Guild and its Joplin Writers Guild chapter, Mozark Press in Sedalia, and the Missouri Humanities Council.

The anthology contains 70 pieces of poetry, short stories and creative nonfiction works by authors ranging from the Missouri and Kansas poets laureate, to a Joplin High School sophomore, to a 2011 Pushcart nominee, to sixth-grade students from Fair Grove Middle School, to mystery writer Elaine Viets. Cover price for the anthology is $10.

All proceeds from the sale of Storm Country go to the Missouri Writers’ Guild Joplin Book Drive to benefit Joplin School Libraries for the purchase of books, furniture and equipment as they continue to rebuild.