PHILADELPHIA—(July 12, 2022)—The Philadelphia Cultural Fund (PCF) has announced the recipients of its 2022 Art & Culture Grants. A total of $3,267,407 was awarded to 282 Philadelphia-based art and culture organizations. The grants are resourced through the City of Philadelphia’s budget and supplemented by donations. The Art & Culture Grants provide much needed general operating funds to small and mid-sized arts organizations at a time when the pandemic has caused significant disruption and financial devastation to the arts sector for over the last two years.
The Philadelphia Cultural Fund has been the primary vehicle through which the City of Philadelphia has funded the arts since 1994. It was established as an independent 501 (c) (3) to ensure fair and apolitical access to public funding for a broad and diverse spectrum of arts organizations that serve all corners of the city. Due to COVID-19, the City’s 2022 allocation to PCF was reduced by over 20%, to $2.5M, but in December of 2021 City Council recognized the dire situation for the arts and the value of the sector to the city and directed an additional $1M to PCF. Because of the increase in funds, an additional 35 organizations received a grant and the grant amount for all the organizations was increased.
Recognizing that not all segments of the city’s population have equitable access to financial resources, PCF aimed to focus its limited dollars where their impact could be greatest: on small and mid-sized organizations, which are likely to have less access to revenue sources such as foundation grants. The Philadelphia Cultural Fund has long been an accessible and vital source of financial support for Philadelphia’s smallest arts organizations – 33% of the grant recipients operate with budgets below $50,000. The average grant was $11,587, a significant increase from 2021’s average grant of $4,461 when the City allocation to PCF was reduced to $1M due to the pandemic.
The grant amounts are based on a funding formula and peer review panel scores, and take into consideration the budget size of the organization.
“We are in awe of and deeply grateful to Philadelphia’s artists and arts organizations for their perseverance and innovation over the 2-plus years of the pandemic,” said Philadelphia Cultural Fund Executive Director Barbara J. Silzle. “The arts have long been a vital component of Philadelphia’s character -- the arts are why people want to live, work and play here. And are essential for the development of our young people. The arts uplift and connect us, and amplify voices of those not always heard. And the arts will be essential to Philadelphia’s recovery from the pandemic.”
About the Philadelphia Cultural Fund
Established in 1991 to support and enhance the cultural life and vitality of the City of Philadelphia and its residents, the Philadelphia Cultural Fund, through the combined efforts of the Philadelphia City Council and the Mayor, promotes arts and culture as engines of social, educational and economic development and has played a key stabilizing role for numerous organizations by providing much needed general operating funding. Learn more at www.philaculturalfund.org and follow along @PhilaCulturFund on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
