A banner atop the Wyoming Humanities’ website warns that its work promoting the stories and cultures that shape Wyoming “is at risk” after losing a federal grant and two-thirds of its staff as a result.

On Tuesday, the statewide nonprofit sent word of what it needs to keep the lights on without an $870,000 National Endowment for the Humanities grant that was abruptly frozen by the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency in early April. Faced with losing 80% of its funding, the Wyoming Humanities Board recently decided to shrink its staff from six full-time employees to two, in order to keep the 55-year-old nonprofit from fully shuttering.

“The whole situation is unfortunate,” Wyoming Humanities Executive Director Shawn Reese told WyoFile. “Congress had authorized direct funding to state humanities councils, and DOGE still decided to cut the funding. That was unexpected and questionable, but nevertheless, it’s the position that we’re in.”

Reese is among the four Wyoming Humanities employees whose positions will be eliminated come June 1. Other staff whose jobs are casualties of the federal funding freeze are Emy DiGrappa, executive producer; Lucas Fralick, program coordinator; and Katie Beuman Parrish, director of advancement.

Chloé Flagg, formerly the director of grants and programs, was retained and named interim executive director. Michele Carter will stay on as the group’s director of operations. 

Wyoming Humanities will be able to sustain several programs despite its reduced state. Its grant program will continue thanks to the Wyoming Legislature, which appropriates funding for its community culture and Spark grants, Flagg said. The Wyoming Center for the Book program also is expected to continue, she said, as is Native American programming that mostly takes place on the Wind River Indian Reservation and in Teton County. 

Flagg, Carter and their board members in the months ahead will have to pick up the pieces and figure out what’s next for Wyoming Humanities. A strategic plan just completed in 2024 will need to be revamped.

“The work of Wyoming Humanities is more important than ever,” Wyoming Humanities Board Interim Chair Stacy Stebner said in a statement. “In times of uncertainty, we need more, not less, connection. More dialogue. More stories.” 

The soon-departing executive director, Reese, said he’s pleased his board isn’t dissolving the organization and is instead recalibrating and planning for a future likely to include much less government funding.

(WyoFile is an independent nonprofit news organization focused on Wyoming people, places and policy.)