In 2018, the NEA made outreach to historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) an agency priority. The grant guidelines were revised to specifically encourage HBCU applications, and the NEA hosted HBCU interns, who helped us catalogue the interests and needs of each HBCU so that we can better target our outreach. NEA staff travel was mapped to have meetings and workshops at nearby HBCUs.

For its innovative outreach strategy to HBCUs, the National Endowment for the Arts received a Public Partnership Award in 2019, presented by the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities (WHI-HBCU) at its annual conference in Washington, DC. At the conference, the NEA teamed with fellow agencies the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, the U.S. Department of Education, and the Institute of Museum and Library Services to present a day-and-a-half overview of federal cultural opportunities for HBCUs.

Ayanna Hudson, acting deputy chair for Programs and Partnerships at the National Endowment for the Arts (and alumna of Spelman College, an HBCU in Atlanta, Georgia), spelled out why it was so important that the agency participate in this outreach in remarks at the 2019 conference. “Many HBCUs have shared with us that they do not apply for federal grants because they feel that they cannot compete. By providing these programming opportunities, we show what federal resources are available and how to effectively apply for cultural grants. Plus, it gives them an idea of whose face is on the other side of the telephone.”

As part of the Arts, History, Humanities & Culture Cluster of the White House Initiative on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity through Historically Black Colleges and Universities, the NEA works with colleagues at other federal agencies to share resources for HBCUs around grant opportunities, careers and professional development, and the creative economy. In 2022, the cluster presented a webinar career/job opportunities in the arts, humanities, history, museum, and library spaces as well as the ways the federal government supports professional development for HBCU faculty and leadership working in these areas.