The Philadelphia Cultural Fund Distributes City Money to Arts Organizations.

June O’Neill is the manager of The Philadelphia Cultural Fund, a not well-known organization that financially supports the arts in Philadelphia using tax dollars allocated by the city government. G.W. Miller III spoke to her about the 22-year-old organization and what they look for in applicants.

What does the Cultural Fund do?

The Cultural Fund distributes the city money that’s allocated every year to support arts and cultural organizations in the city.

How much money is set aside for the arts?

$1.84 million this fiscal year, 2013-2014.

Four years ago, we had $3.2 million. They’re putting out not even $2 million and, just in tax revenue, $119 million is coming back to the city (according to a recent economic prosperity report). Even if they brought our budget up to $5 million, it’s like a pimple on the face of the city budget. Our budget should be more like $10 million. It’s a hard message to make people understand. The arts are still seen as something that is extracurricular.

Why was the Fund originally started?

Originally, the arts were funded from the city in what was called Class 500 grants. They were called that because they were a line item in the budget. In the ’80s, when the city was really in dire straights, the money that had been going into that line item completely disappeared. Leaders of the arts and culture community, particularly the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance and the Coalition of African American Cultural Organizations, worked with the Rendell administration and City Council to develop the Cultural Fund. The Fund is now represented by four members of City Council, four mayoral appointees and ten members of the community. The Cultural Fund is a separate entity. We’re
not the city. We’re a separate 501(c)(3) but we’re a quasi-city organization in that all of our money comes from the city. We don’t raise money from anywhere else. What we do is administer that process.

What is the process?

We have a number of peer review panels, people from the arts community who sit on these panels that actually review the applications. It’s something the community actually does for itself because there are a lot of volunteers – up to 130 per year – who sit on panels, review applications and make site visits. And then we have a series of daylong panel meetings where we discuss the various organizations and every organization receives a score based on their panel review. Their grant is calculated by a formula based on the size of their budget, the score they received and how much money we have to distribute.

How many awards are given every year?

Last year, we made 270 grants.

Are there panels for different branches of the arts – painting, dance, music, etc?

There used to be. This year coming up, we’re going to a multi-year process. If you apply for a grant, you can be awarded one and for the next three years, you’ll get a grant. Every panel is now going to be multi-disciplinary and we’ll review organizations by the size of their budgets.

Are there specific things you look for when deciding who gets grants?

These are general operating grants and not program grants. If you are a museum, you don’t apply for a specific exhibition or if you are a dance company, you do not apply for a specific performance. You apply for general operating money. Because of that, we’re looking at the entire organization holistically. We’re looking for the strength of their program, whatever that may be. We’re also looking for strength in their management and the way that they plan and evaluate what they do, and fiscal strength – the way they manage their money. We look for organizations that are sustainable and operating responsibly.

There have been a lot of music grantees, like Weathervane Music and Girls Rock Philly. What makes them stand out?

Weathervane is a really exciting program because it’s so different from other music programs that have been applying. Traditionally, we’ve had a lot of classical-type music organizations. I would love to have more applicants who are doing things other than classical. Girls Rock Philly is one of my favorites.

Did you grow up with an interest in the arts?

I actually was a music major my first two years at Northern Arizona University and then changed majors. I ended up getting my degree in Arts Management – before it was really popular. It was a new undergraduate program. It was the only major I could transfer to without losing all my credits that I’d done the first two years.

What was your instrument?

I sang.

Do you still sing?

I don’t. I directed a church choir for years. I started the taiko drumming group (Kyo Daiko) and … well, I don’t have much time anymore.

When are the applications due?

Sept. 30. We’ve tried to make the application process easy – it’s all online.