WHCC Grant Canceled
Weston Today photo
A $25,000 National Endowment for the Humanities grant awarded months ago to the Weston History & Culture Center was abruptly canceled under unusual circumstances last Wednesday, disrupting plans for a fall exhibition.
Word arrived via an email to Samantha Fargione, WHCC’s executive director, who said it initially struck her as a possible phishing scam. It didn’t come through the NEH portal normally used to correspond with grantees, and the email specified an “onmicrosoft.com” domain address for use by those who had “urgent questions.”
Ms. Fargione said she contacted the National Endowment for the Humanities and was told the email was valid but came not from the NEH — despite bearing the signature of its acting chairman — but from DOGE, Elon Musk’s task force given sweeping power to cancel federal spending programs, even those specifically authorized by acts of Congress.
So, the cancelation was real. It leaves the center short one third of $75,000 needed for a long-planned interactive October exhibition, “Weston at Work,” a history from the 18th century and beyond of manufacturing, agriculture, and domestic textile production in the area and the story of the workers behind the tools, including the “voices of underrepresented groups.”
“Another day, another DOGE cut, this one in our own backyard,” said State Senator Ceci Maher. “It’s not lost on me that this funding was stripped from a project focusing on the history of marginalized groups in Weston. It’s heartbreaking, if not surprising.”
“Your grant no longer effectuates the agency’s needs,” read the cancelation letter, saying the NEH is “repurposing its funding … in furtherance of the president’s agenda … to safeguard the interests of the federal government.” Termination was, it said, “an urgent priority for the administration.”
It added that unspecified grant obligations “continue to apply,” and that an audit could still be conducted after termination, although with no funds ever being provided, what could possibly be audited is a mystery.
Ms. Fargione says the exhibition is “now in doubt,” and the Weston History & Culture Center is asking for help.
Donations can be made on the center’s website or by mailing a check to Weston History & Culture Center, PO Box 1092, Weston, CT 06883.
The center also suggests considering becoming a WHCC member, attending events and exhibitions, liking and sharing its social media posts, and letting elected state officials know that you consider it important to sustain local history and humanities nonprofits.