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News and Perspectives

The latest news, perspectives, and updates from around the Foundation.

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Children and families play in a park that has many games and toys available.

Summer in the City: Building 6 Critical Skills Through Playful Learning

August 31, 2022

For many, summer is synonymous with play. It holds the promise that fun and play might spring from anywhere at anytime – whether the playground or neighborhood pool, a friend’s house or a local shop, a block party or lazy front porch afternoon. I love...

Like Renovating a Church

August 26, 2022

About 30 years ago, graffiti writers and street artists began to flock to an abandoned, crumbling railroad coal bridge on the Delaware River waterfront. Located at the water’s edge in the Port Richmond section of the city, the site is part of Philadelphia...

Build the Community Before You Build the Project

August 26, 2022

Bridesburg Riverfront Park. In recent years, the Foundation has stepped up support for efforts to strengthen connections between neighborhoods and the North Delaware Greenway that joins with the northern end of the Central Delaware. In 2017 and 2018 the...

William Penn Foundation Welcomes Barbara Wong as New Director of Creative Communities

August 17, 2022

PHILADELPHIA (August 17, 2022) – The William Penn Foundation announced today the appointment of Barbara Wong as its new Director of Creative Communities. Wong will oversee more than $30 million in annual grantmaking to ensure people and communities across...

William Penn Foundation

The Great Outdoors Plays Critical Role in America

Op-Ed by Stuart Clarke, Watershed Protection Program Director, William Penn Foundation Established by President Clinton in 1998, and continued under the Bush, Obama, and Trump administrations, this celebration of Great Outdoors Month in June recognizes...

OpEd by Stuart Clarke published in MyChesCo

Barriers to equitable river access persist, but they’re not always what you expect.

Pictured: RiverFest at Bartram's Garden. With the official start of summer, on-water recreation season has arrived. Here in the region, if you’ve walked the newly renovated trail along Delaware Avenue , cast a line from the Schuylkill Banks, pedaled in...

Philly-area trail network gets nearly $6 million from William Penn Foundation to improve and expand

The William Penn Foundation has announced $5.9 million in grants designed to help extend the Circuit Trails.

Philadelphia Inquirer

William Penn Foundation Approves Nearly $6 Million in Grants to Advance Circuit Trails Network in Nine-County Region in Pennsylvania and New Jersey

The William Penn Foundation has announced its most recent round of grants – $5.9 million – to 12 organizations in the regional Circuit Trails Coalition.

William Penn Foundation

Initiative to Expand High-Quality Early Learning Grows with $3.8 Million Grant from William Penn Foundation

For eight years, the Fund for Quality has increased the availability of high-quality early childhood education for children across Philadelphia PHILADELPHIA (May 31, 2022) – Today, the William Penn Foundation announced a $3.8 million grant to Reinvestment...

William Penn Foundation

A collage of images featuring a woman speaking at a podium, a panel of speakers, and members of the audience.

Building Momentum for Teacher Diversity in Philadelphia (Part I)

Think about your K-12th grade teachers. Did you have teachers who shared your racial or cultural background? Did you have teachers who did not? I hope the answer to both questions is “yes.” However, for many students of color the answer to the first...