City dollars maintained for Philadelphia Cultural Fund in 2016

It’s a victory for the Philadelphia Cultural Fund (PCF), the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance announced this week, thanks in part to events, rallies, and a social media campaign to #SavePHLArts organized through its grassroots advocacy arm, Groundswell (launched in early 2013).

In April, BSR covered Groundswell’s Arts Advocacy Day rally at City Hall, which aimed to let City Council members know what a proposed 40 percent cut to PCF’s funding in the City’s Fiscal Year 2016 budget would mean to arts and culture groups on the ground throughout the region and the people they serve. On April 7, members of many arts groups across the city, from Piffaro Renaissance Band and Anna Crusis Women’s Choir to the Mural Arts Program, gathered in the central City Hall courtyard for songs, signs, speeches, and activities.

According to the Cultural Alliance, on June 18, City Council approved an amended City budget that leaves PCF’s funding intact at $3.14 million. These dollars are key to operational support for many local cultural organizations. “Cultural Fund grants go to groups all over the city, including small and volunteer-run organizations that provide essential services to their communities,” says PCF interim executive director Lois Welk.

In the same statement from the Cultural Alliance, president Maud Lyon particularly praises Councilwoman Marian Tasco for spearheading support for maintaining PCF funding. “It’s wonderful to see that the City Council will continue to value the social, educational and economic impact of the arts and maintain PCF funding for another fiscal year,” she says. The Cultural Alliance invites supporters to a celebration at The Oval's beer garden on July 30 (details TBA).