The Institute for Humanist Studies Grant Fund awarded more than $113,000 in grants to humanist projects for 2007.

This year's awards include several exciting grants to educational projects, including funding for a course on humanism at Harvard and a humanist charter school in the New York City metropolitan area. Other major projects reflect a strong focus on humanist youth development.

The grants are decided by a committee of leading humanist philanthropists. Since 2000, the IHS Grant Fund has awarded more than $900,000.

Specific projects awarded grants for 2007 are:

	Secular Student Alliance - Broad Base, Year Five Columbus, Ohio Awarded $30,000 The Secular Student Alliance (SSA) serves as a resource for secular high school and college students around the country. SSA offers leadership training and support, guest speakers, discounted literature and conference tickets to its affiliate groups. SSA will use this grant to continue campus affiliate operations. read more
	International Humanist and Ethical Youth Organization - Building through Communication Anderlecht, Belgium Awarded: $15,000 IHEYO will use this grant to create a more dynamic and informative website, in order to attract more youth members to their vibrant and active international network of humanist youth. read more
	Humanist Chaplaincy at Harvard University - Course on "Humanism: an Organized Alternative to Traditional Religion for Agnostics and Atheists" Cambridge, Massachusetts Awarded: $10,000 Humanist Chaplaincy at Harvard University will use this grant to provide a full-credit course on modern, organized Humanism utilizing cirriculum materials from the online school of the Institute for Humanist Studies, the Continuum of Humanist Education. website
	The Ethical Community Charter School Foundation - Development and Dissemination of an Elementary School Ethics Curriculum New York, N.Y. Awarded: $5,000 The Ethical Community Charter School will use this grant to provide an innovative model of education with ethics as its foundation, one that would be available to and replicated by the wider community, regardless of location or socioeconomic background.
	Kiev City Youth Initiative - Publication of Humanist Education Journal Kiev, Ukraine Awarded: $2,000 Kiev City Youth Initiative will use this grant to publish a humanist, secular and feminist journal to be distributed among school and university students.
	Atheist Centre - Building Humanist Alternatives Vijayawada, India Awarded: $2,000 The Atheist Centre will use this grant to develop science exhibitions to dispel superstitions, practical demonstrations and awareness programs for women, youth and high school/college students. read more
	Humanist Association of Nepal - Campaign to Disseminate the Basic Norms, Values, Ideals and Principles of Secular Humanism Kathmandu, Nepal Awarded: $10,000 HUMAN will use this grant to teach the basic values of secular humanism in order to promote tolerance within the communities of rural Nepal. HUMAN received $5,000 with an additional $5,000 challenge grant to be met by other donors. read more
	Prometheus Society of Slovakia- Publication of Bi-monthly Publication Bratislava, Slovak Republic Awarded: $6,000 The Prometheus Society of Slovakia will use this grant to continue publishing a bi-monthly periodical defending human rights and principles of civil society. read more
	Society for Rural Development - Let Reason Guide our Belief Systems Madhubani, India Awarded: $3,000 The Society for Rural Development will use this grant to demystify the tricks of priests, and to understand science and reason that offer more reliable knowledge than false faiths.
	American Humanist Association - The Appignani Humanist Legal Center Washington, DC Awarded: $15,000 The American Humanist Association will use this grant to facilitate the legal team’s implementation of legal and educational actions that work towards repairing the Jeffersonian Wall separating church and state. Money will also be used to expose Human Rights violations through publications, media and advertising.
	Solidarity for Freedom of Conscience Monitoring Religious Education in Romanias Public Schools, Bucharest, Romania Awarded: $4,980.00 Solidarity for Freedom of Conscience will research issues raised by religious education and other religious manifestations in Romanian public schools.
	IHEU Appignanni Center for Bioethics - Lecture Series on Bioethics New York, N.Y. Awarded: $10,000 The IHEU Appignani Center for Bioethics will use this grant to provide 6 lecture series on topics such as: public policy, reproductive rights, organ transplantation, emerging technologies, etc.
	Vasavya Society for Rural Development - Education: An Instrument of Social Change Hyderabad, India Awarded: $1,000 Vasavya Society for Rural Development will use this grant to improve the quality of education in rural areas and to promote humanism and values. The project will inculcate spirit of inquiry and scientific outlook.
	Tamil Nadu Tribal Development Society - Formation of Darwin Children Clubs Tamil Nadu, India Awarded: $4,000 Tamil Nadu Tribal Development Society will use this grant to organize tribal children into Darwin Clubs by doing science experiments, gaining leadership skills and developing scientific temper.

Most of the money for the IHS Grant Fund comes from a restricted gift from the National Philanthropic Trust. The Institute's motto is borrowed from former U.S. President Harry S. Truman: "It is remarkable how much can be accomplished if you don't care who gets the credit." To learn more about how you can support the IHS Grant Fund, click here.

The deadline for projects in 2008 is Sept. 3, 2007. Keep checking the IHS Grant Fund webpage for information.