MADISON – Wisconsin Humanities Council announced Monday it will award 49 libraries, historical museums, community centers and other organizations with relief grants, totaling $300,000, as part the U.S. Congress $2.2 trillion CARES Act. 

Of those, this economic stabilization effort will benefit the following Northeast Wisconsin entities: 

• Children’s Museum of Fond du Lac, $7,299
• Door County Historical Society, $6,227
• Ephraim Historical Foundation $4,584
• Family Resource Center of Sheboygan County/Literacy Council of Sheboygan County, $1,500
• Farnsworth Public Library in Oconto, $7,376
• History Museum at the Castle in Appleton, $7,500
• Kewaunee Public Library, $5,000
• Manitowoc County Historical Society, $6,525
• Marinette and Oconto Counties Literary Council, Inc., $934
• Ozaukee County Historical Society, $7,500
• Redgranite Library, $3,971
• Sheboygan County Historical Research Center, $7,500
• Sheboygan County Historical Society, $7,022
• Sturm Memorial Library in Manawa, $1,860

“We put great care into reviewing the 111 applications received, weighing factors such as need, location, strength of their public humanities work, and audience,” says Dena Wortzel, executive director of the Wisconsin Humanities Council, said in the announcement. “From paying the salaries of furloughed employees to Plexiglas barriers and protective equipment necessary for safe re-opening, we saw so much need.”

The grants are only the first round of the Wisconsin Humanities CARES Relief Grant program, and the second application period opens Monday, with a deadline of July 15. Grants are intended to help Wisconsin nonprofit organizations with annual expenses of $500,000 or less, which support humanities and cultural programs. The fund is aimed to help "maintain essential functions and retain core staff" during COVID-19 pandemic.

For more information, visit wisconsinhumanitiescares.org. 

RELATED: Door County still offers summer fun for visitors to reconnect with family

RELATED: Coronavirus in Wisconsin: Percentage of positive tests still on the decline

This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Coronavirus pandemic: 14 Northwestern Wisconsin humanities programs get CARES Act grants