Responsive, Accountable Local Government in Philadelphia
If an application has already been started in response to this RFP, please visit the Proposals in Progress section in the Grants Portal to view and/or continue the application process.
Why is the William Penn Foundation (WPF) prioritizing this objective?
Philadelphians see the impact of local government on their lives every day. For example, local government determines whether trash gets picked up from the curb each week, how the schools are run, the cost of property taxes each year, and which local businesses are approved to open on a block. Despite the significant influence of local government on people’s lives, a small minority of voters participate in local elections. Voter turnout is often below 35% in Philadelphia when it comes time to vote for Mayor, and it can be even less for other offices like City Controller or District Attorney
Studies show that voters don’t turn out to vote if they feel like the government doesn’t take their opinions into account when making decisions.1 In Pew’s 2025 Resident Survey, 55% of Philadelphia residents who responded said they believe that city government “rarely or never” listens to people like them when it makes decisions about what to do. 2
Through this funding opportunity, we hope to help Philadelphians have their voices better heard by local government. In this RFP, WPF is focusing on helping people – those who work within government and outside of it - to build a local government that is more responsive to the needs of Philadelphians. WPF tracks progress on the objective stated above through a periodic survey to understand change over time. You can see the 2025 baseline data here.
- https://www.ipsos.com/en-us/news-polls/medill-npr-nonvoters-2020
- https://www.pew.org/-/media/assets/2025/06/prpi/2025-philadelphia-resident-survey-topline.pdf
What types of projects will get funded?
The Foundation seeks to support efforts that help Philadelphia’s local government be responsive to residents’ needs and accountable to constituent priorities. For the purposes of this RFP, “local government” includes:
- City of Philadelphia departments, agencies, boards and commissions
- All municipal elected officials
- The School District of Philadelphia
Projects may be developed and led by local government staff as an “inside” strategy for improvement, may be developed and led entirely by nonprofit organizations as an “outside” strategy, or may be a partnership between the two. We expect to fund a mix of inside and outside strategies through this RFP.
The Foundation recognizes that there are many different tactics or approaches that could be used to advance the objective stated above. Some examples of proposals could include:
- City government staff engaging with community to make government more responsive to resident needs
- Advocacy for policy reforms
- Journalism or reporting to hold government accountable
- Technical support or assistance to government
Other tactics for advancing the objective are also welcome.
What has to be in my proposal?
We are requesting proposals for up to 24 months of funding.
Successful proposals will describe the relevance of their project to the current local political climate, tactics for accomplishing change, and feasibility of achieving their goal.
Civic education efforts will not be funded unless they include strategies for participants to use newly developed knowledge and skills to make local government more responsive to residents during the grant period and after the grant period concludes.
If proposals seek to create a resource for a government agency or office, they must describe how you have determined the need for the resource, how it will be utilized, and who – within the relevant agency – has been involved in developing the project.
Proposed projects must occur in Philadelphia. Voter registration activities are not eligible for funding.
How much money is available?
The Foundation has $2.5 million available to advance this objective through this RFP. Any grant request through this RFP should be less than $500,000. While the maximum request amount is $500,000, proposals requesting $300,000 and under will be most competitive.
Full Request for Proposals (RFP) and Application
Download the full RFP packet for more information about this opportunity including eligibility, review criteria, learning and insights, budget, and link to an application template.
All applications must be submitted through the Grants Portal.
Webinar
Interested organizations are invited to participate in an optional informational webinar on Wednesday, September 16, 2026 at 3:00PM ET.
Following the live webinar, a recording will be posted to this page.