[American Council of Learned Societies](https://www.acls.org)

November 20, 2025 (9:00 PM EST)

$50,000–$100,000 per project (12–18 months)

Supports digital humanities projects advancing equity and inclusion for marginalized communities through ethical, community-engaged digital methods.

No indirect costs; U.S. higher education institution must administer funds.

--- ## Description The ACLS Digital Justice Development Grants, supported by the Mellon Foundation, fund digital projects in the humanities and interpretive social sciences that critically engage with the interests and histories of people of color and other historically marginalized communities. Projects must go beyond the prototyping or proof-of-concept phase and promote equity, inclusion, and sustainability in digital scholarship. The program emphasizes ethical digital methods, openness to new knowledge sources, capacity building (such as training and community partnerships), and trans-institutional collaboration. Recipients also receive financial planning coaching to support long-term sustainability of their digital projects. Projects focused solely on creative works, textbooks, translations, or purely pedagogical efforts are not eligible. Institutional indirect costs are not covered. --- ## Due Dates - Application Deadline: November 20, 2025 (9:00 PM EST) - Grant term must begin between July 1, 2026 and December 31, 2026, with a workplan of 12–18 months. - Notification: Spring 2026 --- ## Funding Amount - Award range: $50,000–$100,000 per project - Project duration: 12–18 months - No institutional indirect costs allowed; direct administrative costs are permitted. --- ## Eligibility - At least one principal investigator must be a scholar in the humanities and/or interpretive social sciences (faculty position or PhD not required; must demonstrate scholarly engagement). - Project must show significant preliminary work and engagement/impact with scholarly and/or public audiences. - Projects must be made as widely available as intellectual property constraints allow, ideally with open-source or Creative Commons licensing. - Funds must be administered by a U.S.-based institution of higher education. - International collaborators are allowed, but the U.S. institution must administer the grant. - Projects cannot be solely creative works, textbooks, translations, or purely pedagogical in focus. - No institutional indirect costs may be charged. --- ## Application Process - Applications must be submitted via the [ACLS online portal](http://ofa.acls.org/). - Required components: - Responses to nine project prompts (covering project history, activities, tools, deliverables, audiences, partnerships, resources, ecosystem impact, and data ethics). - One-page bibliography. - Project timeline (max one double-spaced page). - Budget and budget description (templates and samples available). - Project staffing list and roles (max two double-spaced pages). - Institutional verification form (completed by a senior administrator via the portal; not a recommendation letter). - Intellectual property agreement (commitment to open-source and broad dissemination). - Optional: statements of support from community partners (if relevant), and appendix for visuals. - No reference letters are required. - Applicants may submit multiple applications for distinct projects (cannot receive both Seed and Development grants in the same cycle). --- ## Additional Information - Grant funds may be used for salaries, tuition reimbursement, course releases, equipment, software, digitization, and support for community or international partners. - Sample applications, budget templates, and previously funded project examples are available on the [supplementary materials page](https://www.acls.org/digital-justice-grants-supplementary-materials/). - Webinars, info sessions, and Q&A resources are available for applicants. --- ## External Links - [Program Page](https://www.acls.org/competitions/acls-digital-justice-development-grants/) - [Application Portal](http://ofa.acls.org/) - [FAQ](https://www.acls.org/faqs/acls-digital-justice-grants/) - [Supplementary Materials, Sample Applications, Budget Templates](https://www.acls.org/digital-justice-grants-supplementary-materials/) - [Nonprofit Finance Fund (financial planning coaching)](https://nff.org/) --- ## Contact Information | Purpose | Contact | |------------------------|------------------------------------------------------| | Program Inquiries | [digitaljustice@acls.org](mailto:digitaljustice@acls.org) | | Technical/Application | [ofahelp@acls.org](mailto:ofahelp@acls.org) | | Phone (ACLS main) | 212-697-1505 | | Funder Website | [https://www.acls.org](https://www.acls.org) | ---

ACLS Digital Justice Development Grants

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