Pennsylvania Creative Industries, powered by Pennsylvania Council on the Arts (PCA), announced new and expanded opportunities to support projects and programs that raise the visibility of and strengthen the creative sector.
“We are excited to have the opportunity to support our Commonwealth’s creative industries,” said Council Chair Susan S. Cohen. “In the coming months, we will continue to develop even more programs and events that will elevate and amplify Pennsylvania as a leader in innovative creative sector support.”
The following grant programs will begin accepting applications on a rolling basis, beginning April 1, 2026, with the agency’s governing Council voting on funding recommendations at its quarterly meetings:
- Innovation and Impact Grant Program – grants for bold, new, multi-year strategies that empower, connect, and amplify creatives and creative industries and their contributions to Pennsylvania’s communities, economy, and workforce. Grant sizes will range from $100,000 – $150,000. How to apply: Creative Innovation and Impact Grant Program
- Creative Catalyst grants – grants for new initiatives and opportunities that advance strategies for empowering, connecting, and amplifying creatives and creative industries and their contributions to Pennsylvania’s communities, economy, and workforce. Maximum grant amount: $25,000 per organization. How to apply: Creative Catalyst Grants
Pennsylvania Creative Industries’ current strategic framework highlights five key areas of investment and program development: asset development, workforce development, community development, visibility, and policy. To identify these key areas, Council conducted extensive planning and listening processes across the Commonwealth, including collecting more than 800 survey responses, engaging over 150 participants across nine regional listening sessions, collaborating with stakeholders, and undertaking a landscape analysis of national and global creative industries strategies and policies.
This extensive process is just one illustration of the agency’s continuing commitment to transparency, public access, and fiscally responsible processes, as it works to expand and design opportunities for the Commonwealth’s creative sector.
Smaller organizations, which represent nearly 40 percent of Pennsylvania’s arts and culture nonprofits, remain a priority. While many PCA grant programs continue to be open to organizations of all sizes, including those with budgets under $100,000, a new general operating support program is currently under consideration to provide additional support for arts organizations and programs with average annual revenues between $10,000 and $100,000.
