Weston History Center Loses $25K NEH Grant For Planned Exhibit

WESTON, CT — A $25,000 federal grant awarded to the Weston History & Culture Center to support a new permanent exhibit was unexpectedly terminated, the nonprofit confirmed Friday.

The grant, issued by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) in December 2024, was intended to help fund “Weston at Work,” a historical exhibition planned for the Coley Barn that highlights local labor and industry from the 18th to early 20th centuries.

According to Executive Director Samantha Fargione, the organization received an email late on April 2 notifying them of the grant’s termination. The message, sent from an unfamiliar email domain, cited a funding redirection “in furtherance of the President’s agenda.” Fargione later verified the email’s authenticity with NEH, learning the notice had been issued by the Department of Government Efficiency.

The loss of the grant places the fall 2025 launch of the exhibit in jeopardy. WHCC, an independent nonprofit that receives no municipal or state budget line-item support, must now raise $75,000 to complete the first phase of the exhibition.

The WHCC is seeking support through donations, memberships, program participation, and advocacy. The “Weston at Work” exhibit is expected to feature interactive displays and highlight diverse historical narratives.

State Senator Ceci Maher called the cut "heartbreaking, if not surprising."

"Another day, another DOGE cut, this one in our own backyard. It's not lost on me that this funding was stripped from a project focusing on the history of marginalized groups in Weston. It's also not a surprise that the Trump administration is petty enough to cut grants as small as this; $25,000 for a local museum project isn’t my definition of 'government waste.'"

For more information or to contribute, visit the WHCC website.