Date:  Wed, 17 May 1995 12:19:08 CST

From:  Joan Hall <jdhall[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]FACSTAFF.WISC.EDU>

Subject: Re: Survival of DARE



This is a plea for help from all of you who appreciate the Dictionary of

American Regional English. Our funding situation is more precarious than

ever before, with our current NEH grant running out June 30. If we do not

receive another one, our remaining funds will run out before the end of

October. If we do receive one, it will doubtless be largely (or wholly) in

the form of matching grants, requiring dollar-for-dollar private

contributions. At this point, we have no foundation money lined up to

provide the match.



I asked a Program Officer at NEH whether letters testifying to the value and

utility of DARE would help our case at NEH, since they are always looking

for proof that projects they support have "ripple benefits" in education and

contribute to humanities scholarship in general. She felt that, since the

very existence of NEH is threatened in Congress, a better idea would be to

have supporters write their own Senators and Representatives, urging

continued funding for NEH and mentioning DARE as a specific example of an

NEH project that has helped them in their own work. (Too many Senators and

Reps know only of the very few NEH projects that have managed to offend a

few of their constituents.) So if DARE has been useful to you, whether as a

research tool, a teaching tool, or simply as evidence of the continuing

exuberance and diversity of American English, please tell your Congress

people THIS WEEK, and send a copy of your letter to

      Dr. Martha Chomiak

      Program Officer

      Division of Research Programs

      NEH

      1100 Pennsylvania Ave. NW

      Washington, D.C. 20506



and to me, Joan Hall

      6125 Helen White Hall

      600 N. Park St.

      Madison, WI 53706.



Also, if you know of any foundations, corporations, or individuals who might

be willing to entertain a proposal for partial support of DARE, please send

me their names a.s.a.p.



We PLAN to send Volume III (I-O) to Harvard Press by the end of the year for

publication in 1996 no matter what happens with regard to funding. But it

would be a tragedy for DARE to be A-O rather than A-Z. Thanks for any help

you can give.



Joan Hall