*** The following information is courtesy of the Kentucky Oral History Commission. For more information directly from their website, please click here to be redirected.

The Kentucky Historical Society houses the Kentucky Oral History Commission (KOHC), the only state commission in the nation committed to statewide oral history documentation through granting programs and outreach. KOHC reaches across the state to record and preserve the diverse stories that make up Kentucky’s rich and colorful history.

Since 1976 KOHC has:

• Awarded over $1 million to more than 600 individuals, colleges, universities, and community organizations, resulting in the collection of more than 35,000 interviews in repositories throughout the state.
• Secured nearly 10,000 interviews within the KHS Collection, making it one of the largest in the U.S.

Twice per year, the Kentucky Oral History Commission grant programs offer monetary, equipment, and training grants to assist amateur or professional oral historians with oral history research projects on topics of particular significance to Kentucky. These grants encourage statewide participation in the collection and preservation of historically valuable interviews. Project grant application deadlines for FY2025 are October 4, 2024, and April 4, 2025.

KOHC also offers accreditation for archives that want to be permanent repositories for oral history collections which KOHC sponsors through grant awarded funds and resources.

Here are a few of the many opportunities available for KOHS Funded Grants:

Reminder, the Grant Applications for FY2025 are due April 4th, 2025.

For more information, please feel free to contact Kentucky Historical Society’s Processing Specialist Johannah Ball at johannah.ball@ky.gov, or visit their website found here.