Creative Sector Flex Fund Grant Panelists

Each year the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance seeks individuals to serve on Pennsylvania Partners in the Arts grant advisory panels. Panelists contribute artistic, administrative, educational, and operational perspectives in discussion and evaluation of grant applications.

As a volunteer panelist, you’ll have the opportunity to forge new connections with peers who share your passion for arts and culture while supporting your community. A vital voice in the decision making process, panelists get an up-close look at the grantmaking process and learn about the many creative ways artists and arts organizations are making a difference in the Greater Philadelphia region.

We are currently accepting applications for Creative Sector Flex Fund panelists. Panels will be held virtually; there will be no in person meeting.

New this year! Panelists will receive a $200-250 stipend for their participation. In order to increase accessibility and allow for easier participation in our grant panels, panelists will complete all scoring on their own and will only be required to attend two, 1-hour virtual meetings with their fellow panelists: one orientation meeting before scoring applications and one final meeting following scoring to share your experience and feedback on the panel process.

The Cultural Alliance is committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion in our grantees and our panelists. We invite prospective panelists of all ages, races, genders, sexual orientations, and artistic disciplines to apply.

Complete the Panelist Interest Form here.

Deadline to complete the interest form is August 11, 2023.

About the Creative Sector Flex Fund

Grant Opportunities formerly known as Project Stream, Program Stream, and Entry to Program Stream have been combined into ONE grant opportunity: Creative Sector Flex Fund:

• Grants up to $5,000 for grant period January 1, 2024 - December 31, 2024
• Eligible applicants include:
  •  Arts organizations - fiscally sponsored or 501c3s with budgets between $10,000 and $200,000
  • Non-arts organizations with arts revenue between $10,000 and $200,000
  • Must have consistent (at least two years of) artistic programming and/or arts services in the 5-county Southeastern PA Region
• Visit our website for more information on eligibility and guidelines.

Panelist Qualifications

• Be an adult 18 years of age or older who resides or works in Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery or Philadelphia county. This process is about making sure that residents of each community have access to the arts.
• Have education, experience, or appreciation of arts and culture. We welcome a variety of experience - this could include work in the sector, an active or past artistic practice, or simply just a passion for arts and culture. Consultants, attorneys, community leaders, educators, philanthropists, non-profit administrators, and arts enthusiasts have all been panelists in the past. 
• Some financial or organizational management experience is a plus, but not required.

Panelist Responsibilities

• Participate in a mandatory online panel orientation in which you will learn about how to review and score the applications. The orientation will be approximately 60 minutes.
• Read and rate each grant application according to criteria established by the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts. Reading the grant applications must be done on your own time and scoring will be submitted using an online system. You will have at least three weeks to read and rate approximately 20-25 applications and should plan on spending an estimated 10-20 hours on reviewing and rating applications.
• Attend a final online panel meeting to share your experience and feedback on the panel process.
• Submit financial materials for stipend payment using GPCA’s bill pay system. Panelists will be compensated between $200-$250 for their participation. Amount to be determined based on the final number of applications submitted and number of panelists needed.