After the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency budget cuts dealt a "significant blow" to Florida Humanities , the state program is looking for money.

The program's Save Florida's Stories campaign wants to raise $300,000 by Sept. 1. If the nonprofit reaches that goal, donors will double it.

At the end of March, DOGE made cuts to the National Endowment for the Humanities, which eliminated over $1.7 million in annual funding to Florida Humanities.

Without the funding, Executive Director Nashid Madyun said the nonprofit has not been able to offer grants to support local art programs.

"There are a lot of stories in Florida…and there's so many nuances to what it means to be a Floridian," Madyun said.

Madyun said his organization, which preserves Florida's history and culture through the arts, is using the campaign to raise awareness.

"We hope that these new supporters become a part of our network and we continue for another 50 years," he said. "That's the intent – we want to grow."

Tampa philanthropist Hugh Culverhouse Jr. will match up to $250,000 in donations.

Culverhouse Jr. is the son of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' former owner, Hugh Culverhouse Sr. The younger Culverhouse donated $500,000 toward Donald Trump's presidential campaign in 2024.

The Mellon Foundation , an arts-supporting organization, said it will match up to $50,000 as well.

The foundation offers grants to art programs that support local communities. In 2023, it was named the "largest private source of arts, culture, and humanities funding" by the NEH after giving a nearly $8 billion endowment.

Madyun said these one-time matching gifts are appreciated and he hopes they will encourage others to support the organization.

"[The matches are] an emergency stopgap, a bridge, with the anticipation that the NEH funding will come back," Madyun said.

But he adds, even with the matching funds, this goal will not be enough – the organization is hoping to collect $1.7 million or more.

"We want to make sure we're in a position to weather the storm," Madyun said.

If there's one bit of good news, between the fundraiser and the budget cuts, Madyun said, more people are getting to know about Florida Humanities and what it does.

"We have received attention," he said. "Though we have these donors in place and the money is coming in and we're getting new supporters and people are talking about us, we still have a long way to go."