The William Penn Foundation seeks to support efforts that provide young people with hands-on arts education led by skilled teaching artists, through in-school partnership programs that are provided at no cost to schools or students.
Donor Name: William Penn Foundation
State: Pennsylvania, New Jersey
County: Bucks County (PA), Chester County (PA), Delaware County (PA), Montgomery County (PA)
City: Camden, Philadelphia
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 01/29/2026
Size of the Grant: $100,000 to $500,000
Grant Duration: 3 Years
Details:
Programs must exclusively serve children of any ages from 5 through 18. In particular, they are most interested in prioritizing support for projects that make it possible for youth to engage as leaders and drivers of their own learning experiences.
Foundation is requesting proposals for projects that last from one to three years and connect young people in Greater Philadelphia with in-school arts education partnership programs driven by the young people’s own creativity and interests to support their personal development and growth. These programs are to supplement and not replace the important arts learning being implemented by certified art teachers in Philadelphia area schools. These programs will be implemented by teaching artists in partnership with classroom teachers and specialists. This can include models ranging from arts integration and enrichment to afterschool arts clubs, to expand and broaden arts education for the region’s young people.
Funding Information
- WPF has a total of $6 million available to advance this objective through this RFP.
- There is no minimum or maximum amount of funding that organizations may request. However, grant requests under $450,000 (for 3 years) will be most competitive.
Eligibility Criteria
- Applicants must be recognized by the Internal Revenue Service as 501(c)3 public charities or operate under a public charity fiduciary (fiscal sponsor). Applicants must also have successfully completed at least two consecutive years of arts education programs in the Philadelphia region and have worked in at least two different school sites during this time.
- Eligible organizations include:
- Arts education organizations: community art schools, community youth arts organizations, creative youth development organizations, and arts and education collaboratives that work to make high-quality arts education accessible for Philadelphia area youth.
- Arts and culture organizations: arts and culture organizations with dedicated high-quality arts education programs committed to advancing arts access for Philadelphia area youth.
- The majority of the funding will be awarded to projects in the City of Philadelphia. However, projects in Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery counties, and the City of Camden, NJ will also be considered.
For more information, visit William Penn Foundation.
