William Penn Foundation gives an $8 million boost to city arts and culture

In an effort to get more funding to Philadelphia’s smaller arts and culture groups, the William Penn Foundation is funneling an $8 million award through the Philadelphia Cultural Fund to benefit hundreds of organizations.

The grant is unusual in several ways: It’s one of the largest gifts to arts and culture in the foundation’s history, and the money will go toward general operating support (as opposed to special projects or buildings), which is often the hardest money to raise.

It is also the first time in the history of the Philadelphia Cultural Fund that it has received money other than an allocation from the city’s budget, according to PCF executive director Gabriela Sanchez.

“I want our city to celebrate this moment, because this is a historic moment,” Sanchez said.

The cultural fund — which is not a city agency, but a separate nonprofit — awarded $3.6 million to 262 Philadelphia-based organizations in 2024, according to its annual report, so the new money from William Penn represents a substantial boost in the amount it can disburse: an additional $2 million a year over the next four years going for grants and capacity-building workshops.

For the William Penn Foundation’s part, the hope is to get funds to some groups it has not funded in the past.

“It’s a challenge for some of these organizations … they have barriers like limited staff that make applying for funding opportunities difficult,” said Barbara Wong, program director of the arts and culture program at William Penn. “So by engaging the Philadelphia Cultural Fund in this initiative, it’s part of our commitment to helping these organizations get the resources that they need to do their really good and important work.”

The new program does not mean a net increase or reduction in the total amount William Penn allocates each year for arts and culture operating support, a foundation spokesperson said.

The grants are intended for groups with annual budgets of $1.5 million or less. The first grants with the William Penn money will be made in 2026, and will go to a subset of PCF grantee organizations expected to number around 200.

Sanchez said that in the past, there was some hesitancy about the PCF raising money beyond its allocation from the city, lest that allocation be reduced. Ultimately the foundation money was sought because Sanchez didn’t “want to work off of a fear mindset or a scarcity mindset.”

Asked whether she will now seek to raise additional outside funds to further sweeten the PCF pot, Sanchez said:

“Of course. This is my hope, that this is only the beginning.”