Environment and Public Space- Improvement of Public Spaces in the Greater Philadelphia Region Grant

Environment and Public Space- Improvement of Public Spaces in the Greater Philadelphia Region Grant

Status: ACTIVE
Funder: William Penn Foundation
Last Updated: June 25, 2025

Summary

The William Penn Foundation is dedicated to enhancing public spaces in the Greater Philadelphia region through strategic funding. With a focus on fostering community engagement, improving safety, and ensuring equitable access, the foundation aims to support projects that activate and diversify public spaces. Grants will prioritize organizations with budgets under $1 million and those led by historically marginalized groups. The foundation has $4.5 million available for this initiative, encouraging collaborative proposals that leverage community strengths.

Overview

William Penn Foundation We’re a family foundation and one of the largest funders in the region and the country. Our focus is on connecting more people to more opportunities in the Philadelphia region. Our Mission The William Penn Foundation is committed to expanding access to resources and opportunities that promote a more vital and just city and region for all. Improving Public Spaces in the Greater Philadelphia Region The William Penn Foundation (WPF) aims to support efforts that will contribute to public space improvements in a variety of ways, including by increasing activation and stewardship, expanding and diversifying usership, and improving the quality of facilities. We hope to fund improvements that will help to produce safer, better maintained, more active, welcoming, and higher-quality public spaces. Public spaces are defined by WPF as those that are managed, free, and open to the public. Public spaces include but are not limited to urban gardens, urban farms, parks, parklets, recreation centers, libraries, and community centers. The Foundation does not include right-of-way areas like sidewalks or bus shelters as eligible for public space improvement funding. Grants made through this RFP will focus on the need for better and more equitable improvements through capital investments, maintenance, operations, and programming of existing public and community spaces. We are also eager to support work focused on improving the long-term stewardship of existing public spaces through investments in the physical site and/or at an organizational level through staffing, governance, and personal changes. We are requesting proposals for one to three-year projects to improve public spaces in Philadelphia. After reviewing proposals, WPF will conduct site visits and gather additional information from a limited number of organizations. Organizations that propose projects in partnership with other applicants will be considered on their individual merits. However, the Foundation recognizes that making significant progress on the objective is difficult and believes that the most competitive proposals are likely to be those that include robust partnerships that leverage complementary strengths, resources, and expertise. Furthermore, the Foundation recognizes that there are many different tactics or approaches that could be used to advance the objective stated above. All proposals that meet the review criteria described below are encouraged. WPF has $4.5 million available to advance this objective currently. There is no minimum or maximum that organizations may request but we aim to attract and fund a range of projects. The grant amount requested should be commensurate with the contribution that the project will make to the overall objective. At least one third of the total amount awarded under this RFP will be reserved for grants to organizations that have budgets under $1 million per year and/or are led by individuals who are members of groups with a history of discrimination or exclusion. Projects that demonstrate a diversity of funding sources will also be more strongly considered.

Eligibility

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