The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is an independent federal agency of the United States government, established by the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965 (Pub. L. 89–209). It is the sole federal agency dedicated to funding the humanities and to supporting research, education, preservation, and public programs in fields such as history, literature, philosophy, and languages. NEH has distributed more than $6 billion in grants to a wide range of recipients across the United States, including museums, historic sites, universities, K–12 education, libraries, public broadcasting, documentary filmmakers, scholars, and community programs. The agency administers prestigious programs such as the Jefferson Lecture and works to prioritize humanistic scholarship amid contemporary challenges, including issues arising from recent executive orders.

NEH is headquartered in the Constitution Center at 400 7th Street SW, Washington, DC 20506; it was previously located at 1100 Pennsylvania Avenue NW from 1979 to 2014. Contact information includes main phone (202) 512-1800, email addresses publications@neh.gov and info@neh.gov, and a FOIA Officer reachable at (202) 606-8322; FOIA requests can be mailed to National Endowment for the Humanities, Freedom of Information Act Officer, 400 7th Street SW, 4th Floor, Washington, DC 20506. Media inquiries are managed by the Office of Communications.

Current leadership includes Acting Chairman Michael McDonald, who handles speaking and event requests. In September 2025, NEH awarded Tikvah a $10.4 million grant—the largest in the agency’s six-decade history—for the "Jewish Civilization Project," a program described as aimed at combating antisemitism; that grant was reportedly awarded through a non-competitive invitation to apply, a process that drew congressional scrutiny.