Philadelphia, PA - 07/13/2006 - The Pew Charitable Trusts today announced more than $9.2 million awarded to nonprofit arts and cultural organizations to encourage, facilitate and reward the development of exemplary management practices. The awards were provided through the Trusts’ annual Philadelphia Cultural Leadership Program and in support of the Philadelphia Cultural Management Initiative. Historic Bartram’s Gardens, Philadelphia Young Playwrights and Settlement Music School are just three of the 21 arts and cultural organizations awarded more than $4.3 million in general operating support under the Trusts’ Philadelphia Cultural Leadership Program (PCLP). The PCLP initiative provides unrestricted grants for operating support to nonprofit arts and cultural groups in the five-county Philadelphia region that demonstrate excellence in their operations, fiscal management and programming. PCLP’s goal is to stimulate leadership and best practices for cultural institutions, helping them provide the public with high quality arts and cultural activities on a sustained basis.

“These organizations represent some of the region’s strongest cultural institutions dedicated to performing at a high level programmatically and managerially,” said Marian Godfrey, managing director of Culture and Civic Initiatives at The Pew Charitable Trusts. “Their strong leadership and management will allow them to effectively carry out what is most important—delivering innovative and cutting edge cultural experiences for our region’s arts audiences.”

Organizations awarded under PCLP this year receive grants ranging from $48,000 to $1,080,000, all distributed over three years. Currently, there are a total of 37 grantees receiving more than $10.4 million in support through the program. Grantees represent a wide variety of organizations in terms of size, discipline and geographic location. There were two first-time PCLP grant recipients this year: Art-Reach, Inc.—an organization that works in partnership with human service agencies to make the arts accessible to people with physical or developmental disabilities; and Astral Artistic Services—a service and presenting organization that offers promising young classical musicians vocations guidance and training.

“The PCLP process, with its focus on good planning and financial practices, was a real galvanizing event for our whole organization, particularly the board,” said Michael Norris, executive director of Art-Reach. “Its impact goes way beyond the actual grant itself, which of course is incredibly helpful since it is multi-year and for general operating support. Because of it, we now have a very clear picture of what the next three years at Art-Reach will look like on every level of the organization.”

A complete listing of 2006 PCLP awards and descriptions is below.

PCLP grant applicants are evaluated against an Index of Organizational Health, which has been developed from those practices and standards exhibited by the best-managed arts institutions in the region and nationally. Applications are reviewed by a team of independent consultants who evaluate applicants on such criteria as leadership, artistic/programmatic standards, financial operations and planning. Since the beginning of the Philadelphia Cultural Leadership Program in 1997, the Trusts has awarded more than $48 million in operating support to 55 arts and cultural groups in the metropolitan region.

To complement the PCLP awards, the Trusts awarded a renewal grant of $4.9 million over three years to the University of the Arts in support of the Philadelphia Cultural Management Initiative (PCMI), an organization that helps strengthen the management effectiveness of arts institutions in southeastern Pennsylvania. PCMI, an initiative of the Philadelphia Center for Arts and Heritage, provides opportunities for grantees and applicants to improve management and become more self-sufficient through a variety of services, tools and resources.

Launched by the Trusts in 2001, PCMI assists the local cultural community by offering grants, training and information designed to strengthen arts organizations’ infrastructure so they can thrive in an increasingly competitive and challenging environment. The initiative provides two types of grants: professional development grants for individual arts managers to take courses or attend seminars in areas such as accounting, fund-raising and marketing; and organizational development grants for updating financial and technological systems, strategic planning activities or new marking and fund-raising programs. Since its inception, PCMI has awarded nearly $1.75 million in grants in support of professional development and organizational development.

PCMI also assists the cultural community by providing professional development seminars and workshops on such topics as finance, human resources management and program evaluation, and by offering lectures and networking opportunities.

“For nearly five years now, PCMI has assisted a wide variety of arts, culture and heritage organizations in building more effective management practices, strengthening operations and decision-making, and supporting the growth and knowledge of organizational leaders,” said Martin Cohen, director of the Philadelphia Cultural Management Initiative. “It is PCMI’s goal to continue strengthening and expanding these resources to foster vibrant, healthy organizations that contribute to such a rich and broad cultural life in Philadelphia.”

Nearly 100 of the region’s artistic and cultural institutions, including many PCLP applicants, have participated in PCMI’s professional development and executive education programs.

“These grants have enabled the Arboretum to strengthen our fiscal and management practices, as well as enhance educational programs and outreach efforts,” said Richard Colbert, executive director of Tyler Arboretum, which has received support through both the PCLP and PCMI initiatives. “The PCMI program provided critical funds required to upgrade our accounting systems and the program has also allowed staff members to receive technical training related to their job function. In order to prosper, non-profit organizations of all sizes must continue to strengthen their business practices and develop high quality programs that are relevant to the community. PCMI has provided the critical funding that has allowed Tyler Arboretum to become a meaningful community resource and a regional destination.”

The Philadelphia Center for Arts & Heritage supports creativity and excellence through Dance Advance, Heritage Philadelphia Program, Pew Fellowships in the Arts, Philadelphia Exhibitions Initiative, Philadelphia Music Project, Philadelphia Theatre Initiative and the Philadelphia Cultural Management Initiative. PCAH programs are dedicated to helping cultural organizations in the five-county Southeastern Pennsylvania region develop high-quality public programs and effective management practices. They support dozens of performances, exhibits and other public programs, and encourage high levels of artistic and management capacity through seminars, publications, and other activities designed to develop and sustain a rich array of world class cultural programs for audiences in the Philadelphia region.