GrantmakersPennsylvania

Pennsylvania Humanities Council

Philadelphia, PA · EIN 23-2007911. Reported 181 grants totalling $4,131,705 to 131 organizations across tax years 2020-2023, on Form 990 Schedule I.

131organizations funded
$16,000median reported grant
$4,131,705granted, 2020-2023
74%of grantees funded again the next year
3%of dollars to its largest recipient

Does this grantmaker accept applications?

Its tax return does not say, and we will not guess. Private foundations file Form 990-PF, which asks outright whether they fund only organizations they select themselves -- 78% say yes, and that one answer is what lets the rest of this site tell you which foundations are worth approaching. Grantmaking charities like this one file a regular Form 990 instead, and the IRS never puts the question to them. Anyone claiming to know the answer from the filing is inventing it.

Three things in the filing do bear on it:

  1. What kind of organization it is. For Pennsylvania Humanities Council, the IRS classifies it under arts & culture rather than as a grantmaker (NTEE A700) -- it is an operating charity that also makes grants.
  2. How spread out its giving is. 131 distinct organizations, with 3% of the dollars going to the largest single recipient. That is genuinely spread out -- the mark of a funder making many independent decisions rather than underwriting one institution.
  3. How much its list changes. 74% of one year's grantees are funded again the next, across 3 year-to-year transitions. That is well above the 57% median for grantmaking charities, and above the 67% private foundations manage. This list is close to settled, so a newcomer has to displace someone rather than fill a gap.

How big are its grants?

The median reported grant is $16,000. Half of what it reported fell between $13,040 and $25,000; the smallest was $5,220 and the largest $55,000. If you are asking for materially more than the top of that range, you are asking the wrong organization.

Schedule I only reports grants over $5,000. Form 990 requires a charity to list recipients it paid more than that and lets it omit the rest, so every grant-size figure on this page describes the grants it reported, not all of them. Its real median is lower and its real recipient count is higher. This is also why these numbers cannot be compared with the private-foundation figures elsewhere on this site -- Form 990-PF has no reporting floor, so the two are different populations rather than two samples of one.
$5,000 - $10,000
33 grants
$10,000 - $25,000
95 grants
$25,000 - $50,000
11 grants
$50,000 - $100,000
42 grants

Every organization it funded

This is the complete list from its filings, largest first. Recipients are grouped by the EIN the filer reported, not by name, so an organization that was typed differently in two years appears once rather than twice.

OrganizationLocationTotal receivedGrantsYears fundedLast
3 Dots DowntownState College, PA$116,000332023
Adams County Arts CouncilGettysburg, PA$116,000332023
Community Partnerships Resource Conservation and Development CouncLewistown, PA$116,000332023
Community Theater Project CorporationPittsburgh, PA$116,000332023
Shamokin-Coal Township Public Library IncorporatedShamokin, PA$116,000332023
Twelve Gates ArtsPhiladelphia, PA$116,000332023
World Affairs Council of HarrisburgHarrisburg, PA$116,000332023
Wyoming County Cultural Center IncTunkhannock, PA$116,000332023
Rainbow Serpent IncPittsburgh, PA$105,000222023
Ujamaa CollectivePittsburgh, PA$105,000222023
Crawford County Historical SocietyMeadville, PA$100,000222023
Culturetrust Greater PhiladelphiaPhiladelphia, PA$100,000422023
Jefferson County Historical and Genealogical Society IncorporatedBrookville, PA$100,000222023
Keystones Oral HistoriesNew Cumberlnd, PA$100,000222023
Knoxville Library AssociationKnoxville, PA$100,000222023
Preservation Alliance for Greater PhiladelphiaPhiladelphia, PA$100,000222023
Susquehanna Valley Mediation IncSelinsgrove, PA$100,000222023
The Cooperage ProjectHonesdale, PA$100,000222023
The Legacy Arts Project IncPittsburgh, PA$100,000222023
The National Road Heritage CorridorWashington, PA$100,000222023
Washington County Historical SocietyWashington, PA$100,000222023
Indigenous Peoples Day Philly IncPhiladelphia, PA$66,000332023
Chester Cultural Arts and Technology CenterChester, PA$65,993222022
Chester Cultural Arts and Technology CenterChester, PA$50,000112023
Tidioute BoroughTidioute, PA$36,250332022
Mansfield BoroughMansfield, PA$35,000112023
Port Allegany BoroughPort Allegany, PA$35,000112023
The Free Library of PhiladelphiaPhiladelphia, PA$32,000222021
Borough of YoungsvilleYoungsville, PA$25,000222022
City of CarbondaleCarbondale, PA$25,000112020
Commissioners of Wyoming CountyTunkhannock, PA$25,000112020
Venango Area Chamber of CommerceOil City, PA$25,000112023
Warren Library AssociationWarren, PA$24,000222021
Borough of EtnaPittsburgh, PA$22,500112023
Andrew Carnegie Free LibraryCarnegie, PA$16,000112021
Artwell Collaborative IncPhiladelphia, PA$16,000112021
Assemble IncPittsburgh, PA$16,000112021
B F Jones Memorial LibraryAliquippa, PA$16,000222021
Barnstone Art for KidsPhoenixville, PA$16,000112021
Beyond the Bars IncPhiladelphia, PA$16,000112021
Blair County Historical SocietyAltoona, PA$16,000112021
Bottle Works-Ethnic Arts CenterJohnstown, PA$16,000112021
Bradbury-Sullivan Lgbt Community CenterAllentown, PA$16,000112021
Brandywine Workshop and Archives IncPhiladelphia, PA$16,000112021
Cambria Library AssnJohnstown, PA$16,000222021
Carnegie Free LibraryBeaver Falls, PA$16,000112021
Catholic Social ServicesPhiladelphia, PA$16,000222021
Citizens for the Arts in PennsylvaniaYork, PA$16,000112021
City of Asylum PittsburghPittsburgh, PA$16,000112021
Cliveden of the National TrustPhiladelphia, PA$16,000112021
College of Physicians of PhiladelphiaPhiladelphia, PA$16,000112021
Conservation Center for Art and Historic ArtifactsPhiladelphia, PA$16,000112021
Cosacosa Art at Large IncPhiladelphia, PA$16,000112021
Da Vinci Art AlliancePhiladelphia, PA$16,000112021
Dreamwrights Youth & Family TheatreYork, PA$16,000112021
Erie Art MuseumErie, PA$16,000112021
Erie Center for Arts and Technology IncErie, PA$16,000112021
Forbes Avenue FoundationPittsburgh, PA$16,000112021
Frick Art & Historical Center IncPittsburgh, PA$16,000112021
Greensburg Hempfield Area LibraryGreensburg, PA$16,000222021
Historic Germantown PreservedPhiladelphia, PA$16,000112021
International Visitors Council of PhiladelphiaPhiladelphia, PA$16,000112021
Jefferson Educational Society of ErieErie, PA$16,000112021
Johnstown Area Heritage AssociationJohnstown, PA$16,000112021
Just Act IncPhiladelphia, PA$16,000112021
Knox Public LibraryKnox, PA$16,000112021
Kulu Mele African American Dance Ensemble IncPhiladelphia, PA$16,000112021
Landis Valley AssociatesLancaster, PA$16,000112021
Lemoyne Community CenterWashington, PA$16,000112021
Library Company of PhiladelphiaPhiladelphia, PA$16,000112021
Literacy Council of Norristown IncNorristown, PA$16,000112021
Literacy Council of Southwestern PaWashington, PA$16,000112021
Liveconnections OrgPhiladelphia, PA$16,000112021
Mercyhurst UniversityErie, PA$16,000112021
Mighty WritersPhiladelphia, PA$16,000112021
Millersville University of PennsylvaniaMillersville, PA$16,000112021
Northeastern Pennsylvania Educational Television AssociationPittston, PA$16,000112021
Nueva EsperanzaPhiladelphia, PA$16,000112021
Painted Bride Art Center IncPhiladelphia, PA$16,000112021
Pennsbury SocietyMorrisville, PA$16,000112021
Pennsylvania Western University - Pennwest ClarionClarion, PA$16,000112021
Philadelphia Jewish Film and MediaPhiladelphia, PA$16,000112021
Rock to the FuturePhiladelphia, PA$16,000112021
Rodef Shalom CongregationPittsburgh, PA$16,000112021
Samuel S Fleisher Art Memorial IncPhiladelphia, PA$16,000112021
Society to Preserve the Millvale Murals of Maxo VankaPittsburgh, PA$16,000112021
St Marys Public LibrarySaint Marys, PA$16,000112021
Sunrise of PhiladelphiaPhiladelphia, PA$16,000222021
Taller Puertorriqueno IncPhiladelphia, PA$16,000112021
The Mattress FactoryPittsburgh, PA$16,000112021
The Memorial Library of Nazareth and VicinityNazareth, PA$16,000112021
The National Society of Colonial Dames of America in PaPhiladelphia, PA$16,000112021
The Scribe Video Center IncPhiladelphia, PA$16,000112021
Theatre PhiladelphiaPhiladelphia, PA$16,000112021
Three AkshaPhiladelphia, PA$16,000112021
Upper Darby Township & Sellers Memorial Free Public LibraryUpper Darby, PA$16,000222021
West Philadelphia Cultural AlliancePhiladelphia, PA$16,000112021
Wilma Theater IncPhiladelphia, PA$16,000112021
York County Library SystemYork, PA$16,000112021
Zelienople Area Public LibraryZelienople, PA$16,000112021
Saint Vincent CollegeLatrobe, PA$15,987112021
Gettysburg FoundationGettysburg, PA$15,767112021
Bradford Area Public LibraryBradford, PA$15,500222021
Monongahela Area Library IncMonongahela, PA$15,485112021
Oil Region Library AssociationOil City, PA$15,000222021
Whitemarsh Community Art CenterConshohocken, PA$14,787112021
Ebenezer Maxwell Mansion IncPhiladelphia, PA$14,400112021
Images of the Motherland Interactive TheaterPhiladelphia, PA$14,240112021
Pennsylvania Humanities CouncilPhiladelphia, PA$14,000222021
Sayre Public LibrarySayre, PA$14,000222021
USA 250Philadelphia, PA$13,947112021
Lower Merion Library SystemArdmore, PA$13,840112021
Philadelphia Area Consortium of Special Collections Libraries IncDoylestown, PA$13,560112021
Trustees of the University of PennsylvaniaPhiladelphia, PA$13,220222021
Tredyffrin Township Library FoundationStrafford, PA$13,040112021
Borough of AmbridgeAmbridge, PA$12,500112022
Wyck AssociationPhiladelphia, PA$12,033112021
Awbury Arboretum Association IncPhiladelphia, PA$12,000112021
Centro Nueva Creacion-New CreationPhiladelphia, PA$12,000112021
Journey ArtsPhiladelphia, PA$12,000112021
FidgetPhiladelphia, PA$11,016112021
Little Lake Theatre CompanyCanonsburg, PA$10,000112021
Reading Public Library FoundationReading, PA$9,600112021
North Wales Area LibraryNorth Wales, PA$8,480112021
Community Arts CenterWallingford, PA$8,000112021
Farm Arts Collective IncDamascus, PA$8,000112021
Hollidaysburg Area Public LibraryHollidaysburg, PA$8,000112020
Laughlin Memorial Free LibraryAmbridge, PA$8,000112021
Muhlenberg Community Library AssnLaureldale, PA$8,000112020
Priestley Forsyth Memorial LibraryNorthumberlnd, PA$8,000112021
Hamlin Memorial LibrarySmethport, PA$6,560112021

38 of 131 (29%) received money in more than one year over the 4 years we hold. Remember the $5,000 floor: an organization funded every year at $3,000 shows up here as never funded at all.

What the money was for

Taken verbatim from the purpose column of its filings, largest first. This is the closest thing to a statement of what it funds, in its own words.

What kind of organizations it funds

By each recipient's own IRS classification, for the 84 of 131 recipients we could match to a registered organization. These are assigned categories, not our guesses -- Schedule I reports the recipient's EIN, so this is a lookup rather than a name match.

Arts & Culture
52 orgs
Education
15 orgs
Community Improvement
4 orgs
Human Services
3 orgs
Environment
2 orgs
Crime & Legal
2 orgs
Recreation & Sports
2 orgs

Giving by year

Tax yearGrants reportedTotalMedian grant
202019$211,000$8,000
2021107$1,505,705$16,000
202227$1,162,500$50,000
202328$1,252,500$50,000

Tax years, not calendar years, and the most recent year is usually incomplete -- Form 990 arrives about a year after the year it covers, so a low final year means late paperwork rather than a grantmaker winding down.

Where its money goes

Philadelphia, PA
$1.0M
Pittsburgh, PA
$560K
Washington, PA
$232K
Tunkhannock, PA
$141K
Gettysburg, PA
$132K
State College, PA
$116K
Lewistown, PA
$116K
Shamokin, PA
$116K

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Funders that support the same organizations

These grantmakers and private foundations gave to organizations this one also funded. Shared grantees are the strongest signal available that two funders have overlapping priorities -- and a funder already backing your peers is a far warmer prospect than one that merely lists your cause.

The Philadelphia Cultural Fund Inc30 shared recipientsFidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund29 shared recipientsDonor Advised Charitable Giving Inc27 shared recipientsThe William Penn Foundation25 shared recipientsThe Philadelphia Foundation25 shared recipientsNational Philanthropic Trust25 shared recipients

How to approach this grantmaker

  1. Look for a published programme first. Unlike most private foundations, organizations of this kind often do run open, deadlined grant cycles with written guidelines. Its own website is the authority on that; this page is the authority on who it has actually paid.
  2. Check you are its size. The median reported grant is $16,000 -- and because grants under $5,000 need not be reported, it very likely writes smaller cheques than this page can see.
  3. Check you are in its geography. Its giving concentrates in Pennsylvania.
  4. Read the recipient list for organizations like yours. If nothing on it resembles your work, that is a real answer and a cheap one to get.

Related guides

Foundations funding arts & culture in PennsylvaniaEvery funder in this group, rankedFoundations funding education in PennsylvaniaEvery funder in this group, rankedFoundations funding human services in PennsylvaniaEvery funder in this group, ranked

Where these numbers come from

Everything above is taken from Pennsylvania Humanities Council's own Form 990 Schedule I filings, which the IRS publishes in bulk. We used 4 returns (tax years 2020-2023). Nothing here is scraped, inferred or estimated.

On its most recent return it told the IRS it made grants to 33 section 501(c)(3) organizations and 9 other organizations. That is the filer's own count for one year; the totals above cover every year we hold.

Address of record on the latest return: 230 South Broad Street Suite 403, Philadelphia, PA, 19102.

EIN 23-2007911 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this

This is history, not an open call. Form 990 is published about a year after the tax year it covers. Nothing on this page is a deadline. It is a record of who this organization has actually funded, which is the best available predictor of who it will fund next.

Is something here wrong about your organization? Email [email protected] and we will correct it.