The Pennsylvania Partners in the Arts (PPA)

Pennsylvania Partners in the Arts (PPA) is a partnership between local organizations and the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts (PCA). Operating in all 67 counties in Pennsylvania, PPA re-grants funds to support a wide variety of local and community arts activities. Since its creation in 1996, PPA has demonstrated enormous success in achieving the PCA’s mission: to strengthen the cultural, educational, and economic vitality of Pennsylvania’s communities through the arts by providing thousands of artistic activities, arts services and arts programming within the Commonwealth of PA.

Combined Partnership Regions
Arts in Education
Folk & Traditional Arts

aie NEPA is a regional partner agency of the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts. Through the Partners in the Arts program, the aie NEPA with the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts to evaluate proposals and distribute grant awards for projects or programs involving artists throughout Lackawanna, Luzerne, Pike, Susquehanna, Wayne, and Wyoming Counties.

This program enables the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts to reach a wider audience by increasing access to funds for organizations and artists across the state, thereby increasing statewide audience exposure to arts activities.

Pennsylvania Partners in the Arts grants are divided into two categories:

Creative Entrepreneur Accelerator Program

The Creative Entrepreneur Accelerator Program is designed to pair access to existing small business consulting services with financial resources for creative entrepreneurs who aspire to start their own for-profit business or who operate an existing for-profit micro business.

Creative Entrepreneur Accelerator Program Guidelines

Creative Entrepreneur Accelerator Program Overview

Creative Sector Flex Fund

The Pennsylvania Council on the Arts (PCA) is excited to introduce a new grant program, the Creative Sector Flex Fund (CSFF), for the 2023-2024 grant year. The CSFF is designed to address the changing needs of dynamic PA arts organizations with average annual revenue between $10,000 – $200,000. 

This grant program incorporates the current needs of the field by offering grantees the flexibility to use $5,000 grants in ways that ensure the most significant impact for their organizations and communities. Eligible uses of funds are flexible, including the support of applicants’ administrative, programmatic, and project-related expenses.

Please note: The PCA has retired Pennsylvania Partners in the Arts’ (PPA) Entry to Program Stream, and Program Stream grant programs. The decision to retire these programs resulted from the PCA’s consideration of conversations, feedback, observations, insights, research, and data review with state and industry leaders, panelists, grantees, and community members. The goal of this retirement is to enable the PCA to provide a funding avenue that better aligns with industry trends and the goals of our strategic plan.

Important Dates:

  • Application open:  August 1, 2024
  • Application due date:  September 1, 2024
  • Internal Review:  September 2024
  • Panel Review:  October 11, 2024

Learn more about the Creative Sector Flex Fund here.