Our Revised Grantmaking Approach: Connecting More People To More Opportunities

Last fall, we shared our plans to review and update the Foundation’s grantmaking areas and practices, which had been in place for a decade. Our work since then helped us to understand how our grantmaking should evolve to meet the changing needs of communities across the region. After a comprehensive process that strongly centered stakeholder engagement, we are pleased to share that the Foundation’s Board of Directors has set the new direction for our grant programs and the way we’ll operate in the years ahead.

As of this summer, our approach will be focused on one central idea: Let’s help make more lives better by connecting more people to more opportunities and more resources. We will aim to do that particularly for groups of people who have often been shut out of opportunity in the past because of disinvestment, discrimination, or systemic inequities. And we will learn directly from you – the nonprofit leaders, community members, and organizations, large and small – who are the experts on what your neighborhoods, constituents, and stakeholders need.

At this time, we’re sharing a high-level preview of our funding areas and a new approach that’s designed to make the grant application process simpler and more transparent. We’re also outlining a timeline for how we’ll introduce these changes and how you’ll be able to learn more and spread the word.

In late June, we will unveil a new website and will begin a series of meetings to share more details about the specific areas of focus, along with funding opportunities that are available.

We’re incredibly energized by the work ahead and look forward to engaging with you as we implement this new approach in the coming weeks and months. Together, we can build Philadelphia’s future.

OUR PROGRAMS
 

SIMPLIFYING OUR GRANT APPLICATION PROCESS
 

MISSION, VALUES, AND PRIORITIES
 

SAVE THE DATES
 

OUR PROGRAMS

We’re pleased to share we’re now funding in five areas, primarily focused in Philadelphia and its surrounding counties. Below is a high-level preview of the programs and their overall areas of focus.

1. Arts and Culture (formerly Creative Communities) – Increase access to diverse, inclusive arts and culture experiences. This will include:

• More opportunities to create and experience performances, exhibitions, and other arts and culture initiatives, particularly for people who have previously had limited access to the arts and with organizations that reflect the cultural diversity of their communities
• Strengthening and expanding arts education
• Providing general operating support so that arts and culture organizations of all sizes that play important roles in Philadelphia’s civic and community life can thrive

2. Children and Families (formerly Great Learning) – Continued support of early learning and a broadening of investments to support the wellbeing and economic security of children and their families because those factors are critical to children’s healthy development and academic success. This program will include funding for:  

• High quality early childhood learning and out-of-school learning opportunities
• Ensuring that schools have the teachers they need
• Family supports – such as maintaining stable housing, access to public benefits, parenting supports
• Mental and behavioral health supports for children
• Increased and equitable public funding for the programs and services that support children

3. Environment and Public Space (formerly Watershed Protection) – Increase access to the benefits of natural areas, public spaces, and community assets while decreasing harmful impacts on the environment. This will include:

• Expanding opportunities for residents to engage with the outdoors and each other
• Increasing access to community spaces that are safe, well maintained, and active – such as parks and trails, recreation centers, libraries, and playgrounds
• Reducing illegal dumping, untreated sewage, and other pollutants in our most impacted communities
• Increasing the greening and climate resilience of communities

4. Democracy and Civic Initiatives – More and expanded investment to build trust and participation in democratic processes (such as voting, the census and redistricting processes), particularly in underrepresented communities, increase philanthropic investment in the Philadelphia region, and respond to important city and region-wide needs and initiatives.

5. Workforce Training and Services – New funding to reduce the barriers that prevent people from completing workforce training and securing higher paying jobs that provide economic mobility for themselves and their families.

Each of the programs will have a set of specific and measurable objectives that we heard are important to stakeholders in our region and that will help us all to understand the progress we are making together. We will share all the objectives next month.

Sharing a high-level overview of the new programs is just a first step. We know there will be many questions about how we might be able to work together. We are developing several ways for you to learn more beginning in late June and throughout July. These will include a new website that will house information about the new programs and how to apply, community briefings, webinars, and opportunities for individual conversations with Foundation staff. We will be sending more information in the coming weeks about how to access these learning opportunities. If you received our announcement email directly, you will receive those future messages. If this was forwarded to you and you’d like to subscribe to future communications, you can do so here.

SIMPLIFYING OUR GRANT APPLICATION PROCESS

We heard you. Applicants and grantees want a simpler way of applying for grants, more clarity on our goals and criteria, more transparency about the process, more interaction with WPF staff, and more opportunity to familiarize our staff with your organizations and communities. So, we’re changing our process and introducing Requests for Proposals (RFPs) as a new way of applying for grants to address those areas, and to introduce a more uniform process for grant seekers across all our programs. Our hope is these changes will make the process more straightforward for applicants and decrease the time spent preparing applications, allowing you to spend more time thinking about the work in your communities and less time thinking about us.

Each RFP will be issued in relation to a specific objective in one of our five programs and will ask for your best ideas about how to advance the objective. The benefit of this is that it allows ideas to emerge from the field, from the community, from you, rather than being directed by us.

RFPs will be shared widely so that:

• The way we work is more transparent. Each RFP will clearly state the objective to be advanced, specific criteria that will be used to evaluate proposals and award grants, the amount of funding available, and the timeline for the process.
• Organizations that are new to WPF as well as those we have funded previously have the same opportunity to apply for grant funding.

After RFPs are shared and made available on our website, there will be opportunities to ask questions of WPF staff. Applicants who advance past the review of the written application will be asked to take part in a site visit so that staff can learn more about your organization and proposal. We expect that it will take about 90 days from the time a written application is due until our Board makes a final decision about grant awards.

Please note that our first set of RFPs will open on July 1.

While the majority of our grant budget will be awarded through RFPs, we will also continue to welcome inquiries and ideas outside of the RFP process. This will ensure that we continue to learn from the field and can incorporate emerging ideas and best practices. Proposals submitted outside of the RFP process will still have to clearly advance a specific objective but will be considered to fill gaps that applicants identify or to address time-sensitive opportunities that would otherwise be lost.

MISSION, VALUES, AND PRIORITIES

An outcome of our strategy revision over the last year is a new Mission Statement and set of Values and Priorities that are guiding our grantmaking.

Our new mission statement provides a clear, overarching purpose for our work:

• The William Penn Foundation is committed to expanding access to resources and opportunities that promote a more vital and just city and region for all.
   

In implementing that mission, our values lead us to:

• Prioritize opportunities for communities that have been most affected by economic inequity, racial discrimination, and other forms of injustice.
  • In a just and equitable city, there are resources and opportunities for all. We fund efforts that open up those things, particularly for people from communities that have been excluded from them.
• Elevate community voice.
  • No one knows a community better than the people who live there. We design grantmaking strategies informed by community perspectives. We fund organizations and initiatives built on that input, and we encourage collaboration across communities.
• Value partnership, collaboration, and transparency.
  • We accomplish more together. We work with other funders – locally, regionally, and nationally – and bridge public and private sectors. We engage regularly with grantees and community stakeholders to exchange information and maximize impact. We share openly the goals and guidelines for our work and make sure our staff is available to the community.
• Minimize and respond to the impacts of climate change.
  • The stakes of climate change run high, particularly in communities with fewer financial resources. We fund work to protect communities and their residents from environmental threats.
• Leverage our leadership to advance important citywide and regional initiatives and to respond to changing needs of the city and region.
  • Complex problems require clear positions. We train a spotlight on the issues, convene and fund problem-solvers and stakeholders, and remain nimble to balance long-range and short-term needs. We do this work in a nonpartisan way and without lobbying.
• Share our learning locally and nationally.
  • Learning is best done in the company of others. We share expertise, experiences, and lessons learned – from grantees, staff, and the research and evaluations we fund – so that we can all learn together and make the world better for everyone.

SAVE THE DATES

We will be hosting a series of informational events designed for past, current, and prospective grantees/grant seekers to come together and learn about our updated funding priorities and application process. Click this link to RSVP and join us for informative discussions, networking opportunities, and refreshments as we collectively embark on this journey to create meaningful change in Philadelphia.