Monday Matters: National Nonprofit Day, and a Changing Funding Landscape

Graphic promoting SWAN Pennsylvania’s Commonwealth Funding Week, August 17–21, a five-day series for Pennsylvania’s small and midsized nonprofits. Daily topics include National Nonprofit Day and Pennsylvania’s changing funding landscape, choosing the right Pennsylvania Creative Industries grant, understanding reimbursement funding, determining whether an organization is competitive for a grant, and building a sustainable funding strategy. The bottom of the graphic invites readers to follow the official SWAN Blog and includes a QR code.

Today, August 17, is National Nonprofit Day, which makes it an especially appropriate Monday to talk about the organizations that keep our communities moving and the resources they need to do that work.

Sherita J. Herring founded National Nonprofit Day, and we've observed it annually since 2017 to recognize nonprofit organizations and the people behind them. But the date goes back much further. August 17 marks the anniversary of the Tariff Act of 1894, which exempted charitable organizations from federal taxation. More than a century later, the basic idea behind that distinction remains important: nonprofit organizations exist to serve purposes that benefit the public and our communities.

National Nonprofit Day is a good opportunity to recognize that work. It is also a good opportunity to talk about what nonprofits need to keep doing it.

That is particularly important for Pennsylvania's small and mid-sized organizations right now.

Over the past year, the Commonwealth's approach to supporting the arts and creative sector has changed substantially. The Pennsylvania Council on the Arts now operates as Pennsylvania Creative Industries, and that change has brought a significantly different funding structure. New programs, different eligibility considerations, different funding levels, and important practical considerations mean organizations need to understand these before deciding where to invest their limited grant-writing time.

For small organizations in particular, that last point matters.

A grant opportunity isn't automatically a good opportunity just because your organization is eligible to apply. Organizations also need to consider whether the funding fits their mission, whether they have the capacity to administer the grant, whether they can meet reporting requirements, and, increasingly, whether they have enough cash on hand to participate in reimbursement-based programs.

That is why SWAN PA is dedicating this week to Commonwealth funding opportunities for Pennsylvania's small and mid-sized nonprofit and creative organizations.

We will break down several of the opportunities currently available through Pennsylvania Creative Industries, including the new Spotlight Program, which offers grants of up to $5,000 specifically for smaller creative arts organizations and programs; the Creative Asset Program, which offers anticipated awards of $10,000 to $15,000 for small and mid-sized creative organizations; and the larger Creative Catalyst and Creative Innovation and Impact programs.

We will look beyond the dollar amounts and ask the questions that smaller organizations actually need answered:

Who is this funding really designed for? What kinds of organizations are competitive? What does reimbursement-based funding mean when your organization has limited cash flow? Which opportunities are worth pursuing now, and which might be something to build toward?

Because funding strategy should never simply be about finding more grants.

It should be about finding the right grants.

On National Nonprofit Day, we celebrate the organizations doing extraordinary work in communities across Pennsylvania. For the rest of this week, we'll talk about something equally important: helping those organizations find the resources that can make that work sustainable.

Happy National Nonprofit Day from SWAN PA.

Coming this week: SWAN PA's guide to Pennsylvania's changing creative-sector funding landscape.

Commonwealth funding opportunities: https://www.pa.gov/agencies/coa/current-opportunities

#MondayMatters #NationalNonprofitDay #SWANPA #PennsylvaniaNonprofits #NonprofitFunding #GrantFunding #PennsylvaniaArts #CreativeIndustries #NonprofitLeadership #GrantStrategy

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