Out-of-School Community-based Arts Education Programs

The William Penn Foundation is soliciting proposals for its Out-of-School Community-based Arts Education Programs initiative, a funding opportunity designed to significantly expand access to hands-on arts education experiences for youth in the Greater Philadelphia region. As part of its long-standing commitment to enriching the region’s cultural landscape, the Foundation is targeting the engagement of at least 75,000 youth aged 5 to 18 by 2035 through both in-school and out-of-school partnerships. This RFP focuses specifically on community-based programs operating outside of regular school hours, including afterschool, weekends, school holidays, and summer sessions. Programs must take place in accessible community venues and be led by skilled teaching artists. Eligible applicants must be 501(c)(3) public charities or operate under a qualifying fiscal sponsor. They must demonstrate a history of successfully implementing arts education programming for at least two consecutive years within the Philadelphia region. Priority will be given to programs that primarily serve youth from low-income households—defined as 75% or more of participants meeting this criterion—and that are offered at little to no cost to youth or their families. Proposed programs must cater exclusively to youth between the ages of 5 and 18 and be designed to deliver developmentally appropriate arts education across disciplines such as music, dance, visual arts, media arts, creative writing, and more. The Foundation encourages collaborative proposals that involve organizational partnerships leveraging complementary strengths and resources. All project designs must emphasize youth-led or youth-informed learning experiences and should reflect cultural relevance in both content and delivery. Proposals will be evaluated on multiple dimensions including artistic and cultural practice, organizational capacity, equity and inclusion, feasibility of design, and engagement with intended beneficiaries. Programs should aim to serve at least 50 youth annually and demonstrate dosage and duration that supports meaningful youth development. Funding for this RFP totals $3 million. While there is no minimum or maximum grant amount, the Foundation notes that proposals requesting less than $450,000 over three years are likely to be most competitive. Budgets must be all-inclusive, covering aspects such as program design, staffing, evaluation, materials, partner organization fees, and teaching artist compensation. Importantly, WPF will not consider proposals that are already being funded by the Foundation through another grant. Applicants must submit a complete proposal via WPF’s online Grants Portal by 5:00 PM ET on October 23, 2025. An optional informational webinar will be held on September 17, 2025, at 11:00 AM ET. Organizations moving to the next round will be notified between November 7–10, 2025, and site visits will be conducted from November 10 through December 10, 2025. Final funding decisions will be made by the WPF Board by February 6, 2026, with funded projects eligible to begin implementation as early as February 9, 2026. For questions about the RFP or eligibility, applicants are encouraged to contact Hillary Murray, Senior Program Officer, at hmurray@williampennfoundation.org. All proposal materials, including a required Arts Education Program information form, must be submitted through the Grants Portal at https://wpf.my.site.com/grantee.

Programs reaching at least 50 youth/year and requesting under $450,000 are most competitive; partnerships are encouraged; strong emphasis on cultural relevance and youth-centered approaches.