The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage

Apply for A Grant

Please note that the 2010 Philadelphia Cultural Management Initiative grant application deadline has now passed.

What’s new in the Philadelphia Cultural Management Initiative Guidelines?

The 2010 Guidelines introduce a new structure and format for PCMI; please read them carefully. Grant categories and eligibility criteria are significantly changed, as is the program’s application calendar. Staff members at PCMI are available to discuss your questions and we strongly encourage you to talk with us before submitting a Letter of Intent. Please call us at 267-350-4910 to set up an appointment. Detailed descriptions of PCMI’s new grant categories are found in the guidelines document. Below is a brief review of the major changes:

Overarching focus: Strong management in the cultural sector is not an end in itself, but a set of activities that must propel and support continuous improvement in the organization’s programming and audience engagement efforts. Going forward, all of PCMI’s investments will be framed by its goal to strengthen management capacity in service of sustaining and improving program quality and broadening, deepening and diversifying audiences.

Professional Development Grants: Grants of up to $10,000 over one year are available for organizations wishing to strengthen board or staff skills in strategic areas, including but not limited to: governance, capitalization, leadership, marketing, social networking, and donor development. Funds may also be used to address shorter-term planning in response to unforeseen events (an unexpected leadership transition, for example). Incorporated 501c3 cultural organizations in the five-county region are eligible to apply. Proposals will be accepted and grants will be awarded on a rolling deadline.

Planning Grants: Grants of up to $30,000 over one year are available for organizations to conduct comprehensive or function-specific planning, provided that the planning will strengthen the organization’s ability to sustain or develop outstanding cultural programs and engage audiences, and senior program leadership of the organization is integrally involved in the planning. Organizations that have received funding from the Philadelphia Cultural Leadership Program or one of the Pew Center’s Artistic Initiatives in the previous three years are eligible to apply. Proposals will be accepted annually and will be adjudicated by a panel of experts from outside the GreaterPhiladelphia region.

Catalyst Grants: Grants of up to $150,000 over one to two years are available for organizations to make structural changes that will have a lasting and potentially transformational impact on the organization’s capacity to deliver high quality programs and engage audiences. Organizations that have received two or more grants in the last five years from the Artistic Initiatives of the Center (from a single Initiative or across Initiatives), or are current Philadelphia Cultural Leadership Program recipients, are eligible to apply. Proposals will be accepted annually and will be adjudicated by a panel of experts from outside the Greater Philadelphia region. Please confirm your eligibility for Catalyst Grants with PCMI staff prior to submitting a Letter of Intent.

Organizational Assessment: Incorporated 501c3 cultural organizations in the five-county area of Southeastern Pennsylvania may approach PCMI for financial assistance to conduct organizational assessments, but a self-assessment is no longer a prerequisite for PCMI funding. PCMI’s revised assessment tool helps organizations consider both the artistic and management dimensions of their work. Organizations may use the PCMI assessment tool, or they may use another mechanism as long as both artistic and management aspects of the organization are assessed. Organizations interested in working with PCMI on self-assessments should contact the PCMI staff so we can help tailor the assessment process to the needs of the organization, in consultation with the Center’s Artistic Initiative staff.

Support for staff positions: In the past, PCMI has funded new or upgraded staff positions. Many of these grants have not been as successful as PCMI hoped because organizations have had difficulty filling positions or retaining the appropriate talent. We recognize that the economy has forced cultural groups to lay off staff and the need for capable staff is ongoing and urgent. However, we want PCMI’s funds to be catalytic for the organization and not simply fill ongoing or unanticipated gaps in staffing. Applicants should discuss with PCMI staff any requests to offset staff costs prior to the submission of applications. PCMI will request information about the term of the position, the candidates identified to fill it, and—if it is a permanent position—how it will be sustained after the PCMI grant terminates.