Yesterday evening, the U.S. House Interior Appropriations Subcommittee, which sets the initial funding level for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), approved a $2.5 million increase for the NEA in its FY 2011 spending bill. Chairman Jim Moran (D-VA), a longtime champion of arts and culture, presided over his first Interior spending bill as [...]

Mayor Nutter announced new cuts to the city budget that directly impacts arts and culture in this city.  This includes a 35% reduction to the Philadelphia Cultural Fund (or $1,120,000), the Recreation Fund, and the Community Land Care Program run by the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (or $840,000). This is a stark contrast to statements made [...]

Governor Rendell’s Pennsylvania State Budget for Fiscal Year 2010-2011 eliminated many arts and culture line items and drastically cut the few that remained. Funding for museums, public television, zoos, non-state universities, and arts professional development training are all greatly effected by the new budget. In addition Pennsylvania Council on the Arts (PCA) Administrative Budget was [...]

Council members Greenlee and Clarke have introduced Bill Number 100267, amending Section 9-703 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled “Special Assembly Occupancies,” by imposing various requirements on promoters of events at special assembly occupancies. In essence, it would require the submission of applications 30 days in advance to the Chief of Police proving entertainment licenses, contracts [...]

To celebrate its launch on XFINITY TV from Comcast in Greater Philadelphia, Ovation, the only television network dedicated to  art and contemporary culture, has partnered with the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance and the City of Philadelphia Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy, to create a new, innovative program designed to support Philadelphia’s cultural  [...]

Governor Rendell at a recent joint session of the PA legislature presented his proposal for the FY2010-2011 state budget. The budget, as Rendell proposed, tops out at $29 billion, and relies on $2.7 billion in continued federal stimulus money. In particular, Rendell asked the General Assembly to to rewrite the state’s sales tax structure, reducing [...]

Pennsylvania’s FY2010 state budget is only three months old. However, on the normal budget calendar, this is considered to be halfway through the year. According to Governor Rendell, revenues are far less than projected. In December, he announced the budget would be “frozen”, or trimmed by $162 million.  Last week, the details of the cuts [...]

The Philadelphia area non-profit community kicks off the New Year with good news. Feather Houstoun, president of the William Penn Foundation, announced today that John C. Haas, the senior member of the Haas family, has directed $747 million to the Foundation, with instructions that it be used in perpetuity for the advancement of the Greater [...]

From the Mayor’s Office… The City of Philadelphia’s Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy, in partnership with the Department of Commerce announces a new grant program to support job creation in Philadelphia’s creative sector. Grants will be available to nonprofit and for profit creative businesses for facility projects linked to job creation such [...]

In the current debate on health care reform, nonprofit employers run the risk of being excluded from reform package provisions that could ease the burden of high health care costs on employers and their workers. Earlier in October, the Senate Finance Committee approved health care bills that do provide help to nonprofit employers. The Senate [...]