Loss of federal funding affects Indiana Humanities, Vonnegut Museum, other organizations
Kurt Vonnegut Museum & Library Wikimedia Commons attribution: Hayden Schiff, CC BY 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
The Kurt Vonnegut Museum & Library (KVML) resides in one of the notable historical buildings on Indiana Avenue, in the one-time heart of Black Indianapolis. It is on the National Register of Historic Places. Like any old building—it was built in 1910—it requires ongoing maintenance and repair.
KVML was recently forced to dip into its operating funds to cover the cost of repairs and maintenance, because it is owed $61,000 by the federal government, funds that it will likely never receive because of recent actions by the Trump administration.
Throughout the federal government, agencies that support the arts and humanities have recently been defunded or eliminated altogether.
One of those agencies was the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS), which supported libraries, archives, and museums across the country. According to Arts Midwest, IMLS awarded $4,140,011 to Indiana museums and libraries in 2024, out of $55 million donated nationwide.
The Institute still owes KVML $11,000. The money was slated to cover the cost of maintenance and upgrades on its historic building at 543 Indiana Avenue, per the terms of its grant. That work on the building infrastructure has been completed, but the money in all likelihood will never arrive because the agency that awarded it has been defunded.
On Friday, March 14, President Donald Trump signed an executive order slashing funding to seven federal agencies that he deemed “unnecessary.” IMLS, which supported libraries, archives, and similar organizations, was one of the affected agencies.
More critically to the viability of KVML is the fact they won’t be receiving the lion’s share of a $70,000 grant—$50,000—from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) that had been already pledged to the nonprofit (also for maintenance and infrastructure work).
KVML is not the only organization affected by the changes at the federal level. Indiana Humanities has also been affected by the loss of their NEH funding.
“Although we will remain operational, the loss of NEH funding will profoundly impact our ability to serve Hoosiers statewide,” wrote Anna Bowman, the Indiana Humanities Communications Manager, in an email. “The residents in cities, towns, and rural areas will lose access to traveling exhibitions, speakers series, film screenings, conversations, and many more programs that support Hoosier communities.”
In 2024, Indiana Humanities provided 127 organizations with more than $317,000 in direct grants and program support.
“Without NEH funding, we will have limited resources to provide assistance for groups to celebrate local history, hold teacher workshops, host festivals, provide educational activities for students, or engage residents in their towns’ unique architectural heritage,” Bowman continued.
The effects are likewise being felt across the country. According to an April 3 report by NPR, millions in previously awarded federal grants to arts and cultural groups have now been canceled by the Trump administration. Furthermore, according to NPR, no upcoming grants will be awarded in fiscal 2025.
The wider effects of the funding shortfall at KVML
As a result of the cuts in federal grant money, KVML has been forced to dip into their operating fund to cover the cost of repairs, upgrades, and other expenses. Programs that depend on the operating fund include speakers as well as performers, including those participating in its annual Juneteenth celebration, Whitehead stated. She went on to say that KVML does not have an endowment, which is a fund where the principal amount is invested, and that would allow her organization to have a more predictable income stream.
“That’s why the disappearance of the federal funds is such a blow because we had to use our money for payroll and keeping the lights on to cover the federal money we were supposed to receive until they reimbursed us,” according to Whitehead. “But now that is gone.”
Costs of maintaining their historic building run about $300,000 per year, according to Whitehead, which will be a significant portion of their $1,295,500 budget for 2025. While this budget amount may sound impressive on paper, it doesn’t accurately reflect the day-to-day reality of running the Kurt Vonnegut Museum & Library, according to Whitehead.
For starters, the money available for operational support in the bank at the beginning of January 2025 was only $10,327. KVML has other funds in the bank, but these funds, like those of many nonprofits, come with stipulations. That is, they receive grant funding that is restricted to specific projects or purposes.
The low amount available for operational support reflects the reality that KVML is operating close to the bone.
“So you can look in and say, like, Oh, you guys got a million-dollar budget,” said Whitehead over the phone. “That's because every year we have to work our tails off to make the money because we don't have an endowment.”
The first half of the year is a particular challenge for KVML, Whitehead said.
“We tend to receive more donations and get more foot traffic for earned revenue like admission and cafe sales and [the] gift shop in the building during the summer and fall months and during our important festivals in the fall,” Whitehead continued. “So someone might say just to hang on until the fall when things might get better, but that doesn’t help right now when there is pressure to make cuts to make ends meet. I cannot express how urgent it is for us to receive support now.”
The Legacy of Kurt Vonnegut embodied in a Nonprofit Organization
Kurt Vonnegut, who was born in Indianapolis, was a writer known for his science-fiction themed novels, which were chock-full of social commentary. The Indianapolis-born author, who died in 2007, strongly supported the freedom to read and write under the First Amendment among other activities He was a strong advocate for federal funding of the arts. The writer, whose works are noted for their dark humor, is quoted saying the following, “I am sorry that we have so many people who are too lazy and mean to read, who would rather have missiles than libraries.”
But KMLV, founded in 2009, operates on the assumption that there are many Greater Indianapolis area residents who feel exactly the opposite.
“Our programs have proven to benefit students’, veterans’, and others’ quality of life and education, including our service as an international visitor destination,” Whitehead said.
The nonprofit library and museum warrants a place in Atlas Obscura, a media company and website that highlights unique and unusual destinations around the world: “Since 2011 the Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library has been keeping the flame of the famed author, war veteran, pacifist, free-speech advocate, critic, counter-culture icon and Indianapolis' favorite son,” they write. “The staff are not only curators of Vonnegut’s work, but advocates of his ideals.”
You can see some of those ideals expressed in the Youth Writing Program that supports activities in Indianapolis Public Schools, and in writing workshops for veterans (Vonnegut fictionalized his experience as a WWII veteran in his most famous novel Slaughterhouse Five). KMLV also produces a literary journal.
“We are not just ‘administrators,” Whitehead said. “We are contributors to the literary arts fabric of this community, among other genres of the arts as individuals trying to grow our community-gathering space.”
Members of the Community Speak
Members of the community are reacting to this news.
Sue Kennedy, formerly a branch manager at Indianapolis Public Library, wrote the following: “The Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library is a unique cultural treasure in Indianapolis Through their youth writing program, annual VonnegutFest and other programs KVML keeps the legacy of this native son alive. As a veteran of many years in Indiana libraries I'm very saddened by this funding cut.”
Kathleen Angelone, former owner of Bookmamas in Irvington and volunteer for KVML, volunteered this in an email: “The Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library keeps alive the thoughts and memory of one of the great thinkers and writers of the world. The museum touches individuals through its programming. For example, cuts would endanger the placement of writing coaches in public high schools, book read alouds, and talks on the issues of the day such as environmentalism, Indiana historical figures such as Eugene V. Debs, and celebrating the value of the individual,” she wrote.
Despite the significant challenges, Whitehead remains optimistic. She hopes that KMVL will help point the way forward in a challenging funding environment where many nonprofit organizations have lost their federal funding and are making more urgent demands of their patrons for support.
“We started as a ‘movement’ for free speech and common decency, and we are not going anywhere regardless of what happens on the federal level,” Whitehead added.
