Pennsylvania Partners in the Arts (PPA) is a partnership between local organizations and the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts (PCA). Operating in all 67 Pennsylvania counties, PPA Partners re-grant PCA funds to support a wide variety of local and community arts activities. PPA goals include:
- Expanding constituent access to the arts by (a) making arts programs available to communities that may have been underserved in the past by state arts funding, and (b) supporting a wide variety of arts activities in communities, developed in a variety of local settings.
- Encouraging and supporting local decision making in regranting of arts dollars.
- Increasing awareness of and advocacy for government support and funding for the arts at the local and state levels.
- Enabling the PCA to provide increased assistance to its broad constituency throughout the state.
Community Giving Foundation is the Region 3 Partner serving Columbia, Lycoming, Sullivan, Bradford, and Tioga Counties.
Grant Opportunities
Review the grant opportunities below. To begin the application process for any of the listed programs, log in to our grant website.
Questions? Contact Karri Harter, Foundation Grant and Scholarship Administrator, at [email protected] or 570.752.3930.
COVID-19 ARPA PA ARTS & CULTURE RECOVERY PROGRAM
The COVID-19 ARPA PA Arts and Culture Recovery Program (the "program") was created to provide grants to nonprofits and culture organizations, local arts and culture districts and arts and culture professionals located in the Commonwealth to ensure the stability and recovery of the Commonwealth's arts and culture sector from the COVID-19 pandemic. Pursuant to Section 3002 of the act of July 8, 2022 (Act No. 1A of 2022), known as the General Appropriation Act of 2022, the General Assembly of the Commonwealth appropriated federal funds from the COVID-19 Resposne Restricted Account to the Department of Community and Economic Development for transfer to the Commonwealth Financing Authority. Pursuant to Section 136-C of the act of July 11, 2022 (Act No. 54 of 2022), known as the Fiscal Code, the Commonwealth Financing Authority is authorized to issue guidelines and award grants in accordance with the Statement of Purpose set forth above. The program is administered by the Department of Community and Economic Development ("DCED") under the direction of the Commonwealth Financing Authority ("CFA").
Eligible Use of Funds: Applicants for the Panedmic Payments to Art and Culture Professionals components can use funding for pandemic recovery payments of $3,000 to arts and culture professionals who have experienced negative economic impacts form the pandemic. The pandemic recovery payments may not exceed $3,000 per individual. The individual must provide reasonable evidence that they will continue to work in the arts and culture sector to help ensure the stability and recovery of the sector.
Other Eligibility Requirements:
- Must be located in Pennsylvania, AND ONLY IN Bradford, Columbia, Lycoming, Sullivan, and Tioga Counties.
- The program grant funds cannot be used to reimburse revenue which has already been reimbursed from other sources, including philanthropic and federal, state, and local government sources.
Application Timeline: March 10, 2025 through March 31, 2025
CREATIVE ENTREPRENEUR ACCELERATOR PROGRAM
The Creative Entrepreneur Accelerator Program was created in 2021 with the purpose of pairing access to existing small business consulting services with financial resources for creative entrepreneurs who aspire to start their own for-profit business or who operate an existing for-profit micro business. The program's purpose is to help creative entrepreneurs to grow their business, audience, and revenue. The program overview document included in the links below provides a detailed explanation of the eligibility criteria, roles and responsibilities required for this application process.
- Application Timeline: Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis through the online grant application portal
- Funding Amounts: $500 to $2,000
- Program Overview
- Guidelines
- Referral Form
- Client Information Form
CREATIVE SECTOR FLEX FUND
The Pennsylvania Council on the Arts introduced a new grant program, the Creative Sector Flex Fund (CSFF), in 2023-2024, and is offering the program again for the 2024-2025 grant cycle. The CSFF is designed to address the changing needs of dynamic PA arts organizations with average annual revenue between $10,000-$200,000. This grant program incorporates the current needs of the field by offering grantees the flexibility to use $5,000 grants in ways that ensure the most significant impact for their organizations and communities. Eligible uses of funds are flexible, including the support of applicants' administrative, programmatic, and project-related expenses.
Please Note: The PCA has retired Pennsylvania Partners in the Arts' (PPA) Entry to Program Stream, and Program Stream grant programs. The decision to retire these programs resulted from the PCA's consideration of conservations, feedback, observations, insights, research, and data review with state and industry leaders, panelists, grantees, and community members. The goal of this retirement is to enable the PCA to provide a funding avenue that better aligns with industry trends and the goals of our strategic plan.
- Guidelines for the 2024-2025 Creative Sector Flex Fund
- Application Timeline: June 3rd - July 10th.