Philadelphia Foundation

🎨 Meet the 2026 Forman Family Fund grantees, leading the way in youth arts education across Greater Philadelphia!

Managed by Philadelphia Foundation, the Fund honors Nessa R. Forman, a longtime WHYY leader and former Arts and Leisure Editor of the Philadelphia Bulletin who championed arts education throughout her life. Her legacy lives on through grants in photography, architecture, and the written arts.

Congratulations to ArtWell, Asian Arts Initiative, Centro de Cultura Arte Trabajo y Educacion (CCATE), Healthy NewsWorks, Mentor Leaders Produce Mentor Leaders, Philadelphia Film Society, Fleisher Art Memorial, The Big Picture Alliance, The Village of Arts and Humanities, and WHYY! 🎉

From camera skills to storytelling, these programs give students the mentorship and hands-on experience to find their creative voices. We can't wait to see what they create next. 📸✏️

Learn more: https://www.philafound.org/philadelphia-foundation-announces-2026-forman-family-fund-grantees/

Applications are now open for the final 2026 DAO Forfeiture Fund grant cycle, offered through our partnership with Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office.

This cycle supports Philadelphia-based nonprofits working in three areas:
🤝 Elder Safety: keeping older adults safe and connected
💙 Community Mental Health: expanding access to mental health and wellness services
🏪 Safe Business Corridors: strengthening the safety and economic vitality of neighborhood commercial districts

Community groups with small to medium-sized budgets will get priority. If your organization is doing this work, we encourage you to apply by October 8. Questions? Email [email protected].

Apply here: https://app.ui3.smarterselect.com/programs/112112-Philadelphia-Foundation?from=v1

For many researchers, the current funding climate has left them worried about when and how they'll be able to fund their research.

Philadelphia Foundation's Brody Family Medical Trust Fund fellowship has long supported researchers through moments like this. This year's fellowship gave the 2026 Brody Fellows, Dr. Brittney Allyn and Dr. Lucas Restrepo of the University of Pennsylvania, two years of dedicated funding to continue their research, giving them both a sense of security.

In a recent interview with WHYY, the fellows shared that the fellowship gives them room to keep doing the work they're passionate about, even as many of their peers face layoffs and funding cuts elsewhere.

Read the full story: https://whyy.org/articles/philadelphia-science-funding-federal-rule-change/

Have you registered yet? 🎟️

Philadelphia is hosting the Asset Funders Network 2026 National Grantmaker Conference, October 6 to 8, bringing philanthropic leaders from across the country to our city to dig into economic opportunity, equity, and what it really takes to build shared prosperity.

Philadelphia Foundation Chief Impact Officer Philip Fitzgerald will serve as conference co-chair, connecting the national conversation to what we're seeing happen right here at the community level.

There's no better city to host this conversation, and no better moment to reimagine what place-based, systems-level philanthropy can accomplish.

Register now: https://assetfunders.org/afn-national-grantmaker-conference/

A vacant lot in Germantown that's sat empty for over 20 years is becoming a pocket park! 🌱

Thanks to funding through our partnership with Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office, West Central Germantown Neighbors received a grant through the latest violence prevention microgrant cycle, which focused on neighborhood beautification across Philadelphia. With the funding, they'll remove aging concrete and add raised planter beds, new pathways, and benches at a long vacant corner lot at Walnut Lane and Germantown Avenue.

This is what neighborhood beautification can do, turning an overlooked public space into somewhere a community can gather and take pride in. It's one of 26 projects funded through this partnership, work that plays a role in addressing the root causes of violence across Philadelphia.

Read more from The Chestnut Hill Local: https://chestnuthilllocal.com/stories/new-pocket-park-project-in-germantown-gets-funding,41821

New pocket park project in Germantown gets funding - The Chestnut Hill Local West Central Germantown Neighbors (WCGN) has received a grant for its new pocket park project coming to 6100 Germantown Ave.

Calling all nonprofit leaders in Greater Philadelphia! 📣

As part of our ongoing partnership with The Main Line Chamber of Commerce, Philadelphia Foundation is sponsoring the upcoming "Leadership Profiles for Nonprofits: Driving Growth and Impact." Supporting events like this reflects our commitment to investing in the leaders and organizations doing essential work across our region.

The afternoon opens with a fireside chat featuring leaders from Urban Affairs Coalition and JEVS Human Services, followed by a panel discussion on funding strategies with our own Chief Impact Officer, Philip Fitzgerald, alongside leaders from KeyBank and United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey.

Join us on Wednesday, October 14, 2026, 3:00 to 6:30 PM at Radnor Valley Country Club.

✍️Register today: https://my.mlcc.org/mlccevent-calendar/Details/leadership-profiles-for-nonprofits-2026-1840830?sourceTypeId=Website

Anyone can open a donor advised fund, so what makes our donors choose Philadelphia Foundation? 🏛️

For most of our fundholders, it's not about fees or tax advantages, those look similar no matter where you go. It's a civic instinct. They want to know their gift is going somewhere real and connecting to something bigger already happening across the region.

That kind of knowledge comes from being on the ground for more than a century. Our team maintains direct relationships with nonprofits across Greater Philadelphia, so when a fundholder wants to act on something they care about, they're not starting from scratch.

In 2025, that trust showed up in the numbers too. Donor-directed giving through our funds rose nearly 41% year over year, as our fundholders stepped up when their neighbors needed it most.

Read more about what makes PF donors unique: https://www.philafound.org/what-sets-philadelphia-foundation-fundholders-apart/

Through our partnership with the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office's Office, 26 community-based nonprofits have received microgrants to support neighborhood beautification across Philadelphia. 🌱

These grants support organizations revitalizing underutilized public spaces and bringing environmental justice efforts to their communities, work that plays a critical role in building safer, more resilient neighborhoods. Investing in community-led solutions is what helps drive lasting change in our region.

Read more: https://phillyda.org/news/district-attorney-larry-krasner-awards-240000-in-violence-prevention-grants-to-26-local-non-profit-groups-focused-on-neighborhood-beautification-throughout-philadelphia/

Summer offers donors room to think. Without year end deadlines crowding the calendar, it's a good moment to step back and consider your charitable goals before December.

❓ A few questions worth asking yourself: Have you reviewed your giving budget for the year? Have your priorities shifted in the past six months? Are you ready for a multiyear commitment to a cause you care about?

Philadelphia Foundation's advancement team works with fundholders year-round to think through exactly these questions, bringing the tools and know-how to help your giving go further.

Read more: https://www.philafound.org/midyear-check-in-five-questions-fundholders-should-consider/

Philadelphia Foundation is proud to count Knight Foundation among our longtime philanthropic partners.

On September 9, join Knight Foundation in Philadelphia for The First at 250, an evening featuring Governor Josh Shapiro and Utah Governor Spencer Cox in an honest, lively conversation about the First Amendment, free expression and civil dialogue. Set against the backdrop of America's 250th birthday, the conversation will explore what unites and divides us, why the way we speak to one another matters, and how learning to disagree better can help strengthen our democracy.

The event is presented by Knight Foundation in partnership with Disagree Better and the National Constitution Center.

📅 September 9, 2026
🕠 5:30 PM
📍 Kimmel Center, Philadelphia
🎟 Free tickets: https://www.ensembleartsphilly.org/rent-our-spaces/special-events-and-performances/the-first-at-250