A new report released by TDC of Boston underscores the need for Philadelphia’s arts and culture groups, service organizations, and funders to address capitalization needs within the nonprofit sector. The William Penn Foundation and The Pew Charitable Trusts commissioned the study, entitled Getting Beyond Breakeven: A Review of Capitalization Needs and Challenges of Philadelphia-Area Arts and Culture Organizations. The study’s findings indicate that a large number of Philadelphia’s cultural groups face significant capitalization challenges, and its insights provide organizations as well as funders with a new lens through which to see how these challenges can be combated. The report creates a framework to find common ground toward building a stronger cultural sector.
TDC will spend the next several months working with area cultural groups to design tools they can use to better understand their capitalization needs and structure. A convening of local cultural groups is planned for the fall of 2009 to discuss the report and the new TDC-developed tools.