Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance to receive $250,000 to support arts groups in Philadelphia, announces applications now open. Funding is part of over $1 Million in National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Stimulus Grants Funds Awarded to the city.

July 10, 2009
Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance to receive $250,000 to support arts groups in Philadelphia, announces applications now open.
Funding is part of over $1 Million in National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Stimulus Grants Funds Awarded to the city

Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance
1616 Walnut St., Suite 600
Philadelphia, PA 19103

Contact: John McInerney at johnm@philaculture.org or 215-399-3515 or 215-399-3515, Luke Butler at luke.butler@phila.gov or 215-686-6210

(Philadelphia)— The Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance today announced that they had received $250,000 in federal stimulus funds from the National Endowment of the Arts (NEA). The funds will be distributed to eligible arts groups in Philadelphia impacted by the economy. This grant was made possible through the collaborative efforts of the City of Philadelphia’s Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy and the Cultural Alliance. These funds are part of a $50 million federal stimulus package being allocated by the NEA in support of job recovery programs for nonprofit and local and state public arts agencies, and are part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act program ("ARRA").

"These are exceptionally challenging times for the arts community." said Cultural Alliance President Peggy Amsterdam. “Given the importance of the arts to our regional economy, and the extremely competitive nature of the NEA stimulus grant process, we are pleased to bring this help to our region.”

"My Office is pleased to have been able to team up with the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance to successfully obtain this special Recovery Act funding from the NEA for the Philadelphia arts community,” said Gary Steuer, Chief Cultural Officer for the City. “Like jobs in other industries, many jobs in the arts are currently at risk due to the economic downturn. This grant program will both protect our arts sector and stimulate our local economy."

In addition to the $250,000 received by the Cultural Alliance, twenty arts groups located in Philadelphia will receive an additional $800,000 in direct grants and two arts groups located in the suburban Pennsylvania counties will receive $75,000.  (A full list of current grantees is available at http://www.arts.gov/grants/recent/09grants/states2/arra.php?STATE=PA).

Over 2,600 groups applied from across the country for the latest round of funding, with 631 groups receiving $29.775 million. Previously, $19.9 million was distributed to state and regional sub-grant agencies.

The grant to the Cultural Alliance was made possible in part through a collaborative effort with the City of Philadelphia’s  Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy.

Funds from the grants program will be distributed through the Cultural Alliance. These one-time grants will provide salary support for a single position, critical to an organization's artistic mission, which is threatened or has been eliminated as a result of the current economic climate, or fees for a previously-engaged artist or contractual employee to maintain or expand their engagement with the organization. Five to 15 grants of $15,000, $25,000, or $45,000 will be awarded. The Cultural Alliance will distribute $225,000, with an additional $25,000 used for administration of the program.

Eligibility to apply is limited to Philadelphia-based nonprofit arts organizations that are grantees in good standing of the Philadelphia Cultural Fund or the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts’ AOAP track.  Eligible organizations are encouraged to review the program guidelines at www.philaculture.org/recovery-act-guidelines.  Applications must be submitted online and are due by 5pm on July 24, 2009.

The Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance is a leadership organization of over 375 nonprofit arts and cultural institutions located primarily in the five counties of southeastern Pennsylvania.  Its mission is making greater Philadelphia the foremost creative region in the world. For more information on the Cultural Alliance, please visit www.philaculture.org

The City of Philadelphia Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy works to improve access to the arts for both residents and visitors; expand arts education for young people; oversee all the City’s arts programs; support the growth and development of the City’s arts, culture, and creative economy sector, by promoting public and private investment in the creative economy sector; coordinate with relevant City agencies to unify the City’s arts efforts; and serve as a liaison between the City’s many cultural institutions.  For more information, please visit www.phila.gov  or call 215-686-3989