After listening to feedback and recognizing that Philadelphia is becoming increasingly less affordable—especially for BIPOC artists—we have expanded eligible areas of applicant residency to include Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, and Philadelphia counties.

When there have been a dearth of resources available it is tempting to try to access as many resources for ourselves as possible once they are available. The overall goal of the PCT initiative is to spread resources as broadly and as fairly as possible. We want to avoid a disproportionate investment in any one person, set of people, or project. Given the spirit of equity underlying this opportunity, and our aim to position Philly’s BIPOC cultural community for long-term success individually and collectively, we ask you to use your best judgment whether your application aligns with that spirit or not.

The panel to determine awards will meet at the end of February. To allow time to onboard new grantees, we anticipate payments going out by mid-April 2024 at the earliest.

You may decide that you want to partner with an organization of some sort to realize the ambitions of your project. That might be a performance hall, a university, an immigration rights organization, or a for-profit entity like a local business. Having a partner is NOT required for the purposes of this grant. Separately you may intend to use grant funds to hire contractors (e.g. studio assistant, project manager, promoter, copyeditor, etc.) or to pay vendors (e.g. fabricator, printer, A/V supply) for your project. This is perfectly fine and for the purposes of this application, vendors and contractors are not considered project partners. 

PWI stands for Predominantly White Institutions. It is a term frequently used to describe colleges and universities but has application more broadly. For the purposes of this grant program, PWI is defined as an institution whose leadership at both the board and staff level is majority white. To be more specific, key levels of leadership include anyone with executive-level decision making authority to shape the way an organization allocates its resources, and/or the way the organization governs itself, and/or the organization’s cultural norms (e.g. informal practices, beliefs, values, etc). This has direct bearing on the mandate of the Cultural Treasures initiative to resource BIPOC artists and art organizations directly to redress historic inequities that benefitted their white peers. 

No. This grant opportunity is open to folks who historically have not had equal access to resources as their white peers. That means the only people who can apply to this specific opportunity are independent BIPOC artists or fiscally sponsored organizations/projects/artist collectives that are BIPOC-led and -serving.  

It depends. The total amount of funds any individual artist can receive directly through the PCT initiative is $135,000 (including contributions to retirement funds). This means current PCT Fellows who have received awards of $120,000 with additional funds contributed to their retirement accounts are NOT eligible for support.  

And while we are not excluding current PCT Fellows who have received awards of $75,000 from applying, please keep in mind that we are giving preference to applicants who have not received any support to date from the PCT initiative. Our goal is to support as many BIPOC artists based in Philly as possible with the funds available. 

No.  

All eligible applicants will still be eligible to receive support from any of the funding partners in the future.   

If you each meet all the eligibility criteria, it’s your choice which one of you is the lead applicant. As you make your decision, keep in mind a few things. The lead applicant determines who will receive the grant dollars. The lead applicant also determines which grant category is open to you (see Step #4 in the Grant Guidelines). 

PWI partners are asked to invest actual dollars in your project that are equal to or greater than the amount of grant you receive. In-kind contributions (such as staff time, supplies, marketing support, etc.) are not a sufficient match for this grant opportunity.    

Should you choose to apply with a project partner (and partners are NOT required for independent artists), you have the freedom to collaborate with whomever you choose. This means that it is okay to work with a partner located outside of Philadelphia. That said, our first preference is for projects that take place in Philadelphia or directly support Philadelphia’s own cultural economy.  

Yes. There may be applicants who partner with an immigrant services organization, senior center, or CDC, etc. It is also okay to partner with for-profit entities and organizations that are not BIPOC-led if that advances the specific goals of your project. 

If you meet all the other eligibility criteria, then yes.