Grant and Funding Programs Offered by D.F. Plett Historical Research Foundation Inc.

The D. F. Plett Historical Research Foundation, Inc. is a not-for-profit private charity founded in 1996 by Delbert F. Plett in Manitoba. Its mandate is to support historical research and projects related to the cultural background, migration and settlement, and descendant communities of the conservative Dutch-Russian Mennonites who immigrated to Manitoba in the 1870s and later spread across the Americas.

Role of the Foundation in the Funding Ecosystem

The Plett Foundation plays a specialized role in the humanities and religious-history funding landscape by focusing on Dutch-Russian Mennonite history and related communities. It supports a wide range of initiatives, from individual research projects and scholarly publications to conferences, exhibitions, digital archives, and community history projects. Funding is provided internationally, with a strong emphasis on Canada but also including projects in Mexico, Paraguay, Bolivia, the United States and Europe.

Grant Programs and Supported Activities

The Foundation administers distinct funding streams:

• Research grants covering eligible project expenses such as travel, accommodation and archival or research fees for work on Mennonite history and descendant communities.
• Publication grants assisting with design, layout, printing and related costs for books and other works that explore the experience and history of the 1870s Mennonites and their descendants.
• Project support for initiatives such as museum exhibits, interpretive signage, archives development, websites, conferences and audio‑visual productions that disseminate Mennonite history to broader publics.

Recent grant recipient lists demonstrate ongoing support for academic monographs, community histories, atlases, museum exhibits, archival digitization projects, artistic and educational initiatives, and international research travel.

Fellowships and Academic Support

In addition to project grants, the Plett Foundation offers structured fellowships at the Master’s, PhD and postdoctoral levels, primarily linked to the University of Winnipeg, the University of Manitoba and Canadian Mennonite University. These fellowships provide substantial financial awards to support thesis and dissertation work, as well as a postdoctoral fellowship and short-term visiting fellowships for researchers using Mennonite archives in Winnipeg.

Fellowships are awarded competitively according to the relevance of the proposed research to the Foundation’s mandate, academic record and letters of reference. Supervision is coordinated through faculty affiliated with Mennonite Studies and the Centre for Transnational Mennonite Studies.

Governance, Mission and Decision-Making

The Foundation is governed by a board of directors that sets policy and makes final decisions on grant and fellowship applications. The board typically meets twice a year to evaluate submitted proposals, with clear deadlines for grants and fellowships. A formal application process is used, and recipients are required to provide interim and final reports and to acknowledge the Foundation’s support in resulting publications and materials.

Through these mechanisms the D. F. Plett Historical Research Foundation aims to nurture new historians, strengthen Mennonite faith and culture through historical knowledge, and foster understanding and unity among descendant groups of the 1870s migrants by supporting rigorous research and broad dissemination of their stories.