Pivoting to Fill the Gap in History Education through Digital Programming

FAIN: AH-274557-20

Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History (New York, NY 10036-5900)
Tim Bailey (Project Director: May 2020 to July 2023)

Continued employment of eight staff members responsible for facilitating online summer seminars and digital programming for K-12 U.S. history educators.

As a result of COVID-19 and school closings, the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History has rushed to meet the urgent needs of educators, students, and parents across the country with free programming. K-12 history classes, in particular, have been eliminated or greatly pared back, and summer learning loss is expected to be enormous. The Institute has worked intensively to convert in-person programs into digital formats and develop new online programs for the public. We received positive feedback from thousands of participants, proving that we are filling a critical gap. We have made substantial adjustments despite known revenue shortfalls of $1M in FY20 and FY21. The Institute anticipates more shortfalls, up to 25% of our approximately $10M FY21 budget. Without additional funding, shortfalls would likely lead to program reductions, cancellations and layoffs. This grant would give us the critical funds for near-term work, including reimagining of key programs and staff retention.