Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance Announces Dynamic New Strategic Plan: Co-Creating Our Future

The 52-year-old organization shares new vision for the region’s cultural sector, including key strategic shifts to strengthen and energize Philadelphia’s arts and culture ecosystem. 

December 17, 2024 (PHILADELPHIA) – The Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance (“Cultural Alliance”) has formally launched its new strategic plan, titled Co-Creating Our Future. The new plan reflects the organization’s 52-year commitment to the region’s cultural ecosystem, while boldly reasserting its role as a thought leader, advocate, and catalyst for transformative change for Philadelphia’s creative sector. The plan was announced Tuesday, October 15 at the Cultural Alliance’s 2024 Annual Meeting and Arts Party and is now available on the Cultural Alliance website. 

“For over 50 years, the Cultural Alliance has been a leading voice for Philadelphia’s cultural and creative community, and with our new strategic plan, we are embracing the rapidly evolving landscape before us. By prioritizing collaboration and community engagement, we’re not just reacting to change—we're actively shaping our future together,” said Patricia Wilson Aden, President and CEO of the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance. “The Cultural Alliance is ready to usher in a new era where arts and culture are not just celebrated in Philadelphia, but a pillar of our civic life. This pivotal moment requires the collaboration and commitment of the cultural sector, our allies and other stakeholders, as we implement actionable strategies to advance our shared interests and achieve our shared goals.” 

“As a working artist, I know too well the challenges and hurdles we face as creative entrepreneurs. I am proud of the work that the Cultural Alliance has done to develop this new strategic plan, to unite our sector and help us overcome these obstacles,” said Gerald Veasley, Chair of the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance Board of Directors and President of Jazz Philadelphia. “Our mission of leading, strengthening, and amplifying the voices of Philadelphia’s cultural community has never been more relevant. Together, we will work tirelessly to uplift artists and cultural organizations to create a healthier, more vibrant Philadelphia for all who live here.” 

“As a central anchor of support for artists and arts and culture organizations in the region, the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance has been an effective convener of members and stakeholders to organize voices to strengthen the sector and build advocacy for change in policies and resources,” said Barbara Wong, Program Director for Arts and Culture at the William Penn Foundation. “With that in mind we were pleased to support GPCA’s work to create a new strategic plan to ensure it continues to evolve in order to meet changing needs of the sector.” 

Co-created with the Greater Philadelphia cultural community, the Cultural Alliance’s new strategic plan is rooted in the bold vision to center Philadelphia’s creative sector as an essential partner in reaching shared civic ambitions for equity, economic vitality, access to creative expression, and the health and wellbeing of all residents. 

The strategic plan is the culmination of more than a year’s consultative and iterative work involving its board of directors, Strategic Planning Task Force members, staff, and dozens of diverse community stakeholders and observers including artists, cultural workers, volunteers, civic leaders, and grant- and policymakers. 8 Bridges Workshop served as the consultants for the strategic planning process.  

As a result of the year-long planning process, the Cultural Alliance identified three substantial, strategic shifts for the organization’s vision, programs, and business model that will have far-reaching impacts. These strategic shifts will redefine the Cultural Alliance, its role as a leader in the cultural ecosystem, and how it can best serve the interests of the creative sector: 

• Building Connections: We are evolving from solely providing programs and services for nonprofits, to building connections across and throughout the entire creative sector. We’ll seek to create and uplift a shared vision, identify shared opportunities and obstacles, and will work with our partners to create shared approaches and solutions for the entire ecosystem by expanding our membership base to include individual artists, creative entrepreneurs, cultural consumers, allied business interests and other stakeholders.  
• Advocating for Public Investment: We are shifting our advocacy strategy from merely needing more funding to save the arts to advocating for public and philanthropic investment in the arts as a means to enhance the health and well-being of all citizens and as core to realizing the vibrant Philadelphia we all envision. Establishing a fund dedicated to stabilizing, supporting and stabilizing the creative sector is a core objective of the plan. 
• Uniting Us All: We are refocusing our value proposition from access to services and programs to become part of a collective effort that unites us in striving towards shared goals that no organization or individual can accomplish alone. Our advocacy, our research and our collective voice will be at the forefront of a movement that positions the creative sector as an essential civic value and as core to our larger public interests. The Cultural Alliance is committed to working with Creative Philadelphia and other partners to encourage the development of a city-wide cultural plan. 

In addition to the three strategic shifts, the plan outlines six core strategies to guide the future of the Cultural Alliance. They are: 

• Partner, Convener, and Facilitator: Continuously work to earn and strengthen our leadership role as a trusted partner, key organizer, convener, and facilitator of collective action that supports our vision for the region’s creative sector.  
• Trusted Resource for Data and Research: Develop and deliver timely data and fact-based analyses to enhance sector operations, advance philanthropic support, engage government partners, and support sector advocacy. 
• Connector of Communities and Sectors: Strengthen the sector’s capacities to serve diverse communities, and support the sector’s response to – and engagement with – broader civic interests.  
• Advocate for Policy Change: Organize and coordinate energetic advocacy efforts – from grassroots to treetops – focusing on the City of Philadelphia, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and aligned national efforts. 
• Powerful Thought Leader: Build our communications capacity to serve as a primary resource of information within the creative sector, and as a trusted source of information about the creative sector to all relevant audiences.  
• Resilient, Dynamic Organization: Sustain a well-governed and professionally managed organization that is fully resourced to realize its vision for the creative sector and fulfill its organizational ambitions, while also providing an equitable organizational culture that attracts and retains high-performing staff. 

“The creative sector is integral to our region’s economic vitality and essential to the well-being of its residents,” said Stanford Thompson, Co-Chair of the Strategic Planning Task Force and Principal of Goldsmith Strategies. “The Cultural Alliance’s new strategic plan is a commitment to building recognition of the creative sector’s essential contribution to the fulfillment of key civic goals for Philadelphia and the surrounding region.” 

“By embracing its role as an influential leader and fostering a new era of collaboration among the creative sector, the Cultural Alliance is not only addressing current challenges, but actively shaping a future where our diverse interests and disciplines work in harmony,” said Elizabeth Warshawer, Co-Chair of the Strategic Planning Task Force and Principal of EBW Consulting. “The success of this plan will depend on engaging all stakeholders as one united community, uplifting a shared vision for a vibrant and resilient creative ecosystem that serves everyone.” 

The full strategic plan is now available is now available on the Cultural Alliance website. 

### 

About Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance: 

Established in 1972, the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance has proudly served as the region’s foremost advocate for arts and cultural for over 50 years. Our mission is to lead, strengthen and amplify the voices of a dynamic cultural community that sparks creativity, inspires people, and plays a vital role in fostering the health and wellbeing of the region. Representing a diverse cultural ecosystem—including museums, visual artists, dance companies, community art centers, musicians, historic sites, zoos, and more—the Cultural Alliance is dedicated to being a thought leader, trusted resource, and powerful advocate for the Greater Philadelphia creative sector. We are committed to driving positive change and supporting the collective vision of our community. For more information, please visit philaculture.org.