PA SHARP

Recovery and Growth Grants

Introducing our PA SHARP recovery and growth grantees

PA SHARP (Sustaining the Humanities through the American Rescue Plan) is a $1.4 million recovery and growth program by PA Humanities providing funding to strengthen and grow the humanities across the state. The 92 recipients represent museums, historical societies, libraries, and other vital cultural institutions sustaining our communities during the pandemic. In addition to funding, these organizations join the new PA SHARP Learning Network, a  statewide learning group that fosters resource sharing, networking, professional development, and mutual support.

Grantee Spotlights

“PA SHARP’s support will allow Esperanza Arts Center to complete production of the first four episodes of our LuminArias series. LuminArias fills a void that currently exists in high-quality, bilingual online educational content featuring contributions of Latino leaders in a variety of disciplines."

- Bill Rhoads, Senior Vice President, Esperanza Arts Center

Esperanza Arts Center

LuminArias video series at Esperanza Arts Center spotlights the history and contributions of Latino artists. Our first LuminArias four-episode video series, produced in collaboration with Esperanza Charter Cyber School, Esperanza College, Impacto Media, and Global Philadelphia, will spotlight the arts and provide a platform for Latino artists to tell their stories and share the history of their art form from a Latino perspective. The series will be made available to middle and high schools around the country, filling a vacuum that currently exists in school curricula on Latino contributions and historical perspective in the arts, and providing a source of pride and inspiration for Latino youth in our community and across the state.

“The opportunities for connecting, discussion and understanding that humanities provide to our community are invaluable. We are grateful to be able to continue offering humanities programs with help from this grant funding.”

-Erica Rogler, Executive Director

Wyoming County Cultural Center

Funding from the PA SHARP grant will be used to support a variety of humanities programs at the Dietrich Theater. These programs including foreign, independent and art film festivals and post-showing discussions, local history presentations, Wyoming County Reads, a program in which area residents are invited to read acclaimed books and watch and discuss the adapted films, and Reading Meeting Writers, which gives local sixth grade students the opportunity to meet an author, read their book and learn not only about the history presented in the novel but also how the writing process works.

“Support from the PA Humanities will enhance YCL’s strategic priority to strengthen diversity, equity, and inclusion in our humanities mission. This grant will provide us with the digital tools to ensure our collections and resources represent the communities we serve and provide perspectives from diverse groups and cultures.”

- Robert F. Lambert, President, York County Libraries

York County Libraries

York County Libraries prides itself on its connections with the community, both through providing resources and offering valuable programming. YCL serves York County via 13 public libraries sharing a vast array of resources for the public’s use, including 700,000 books, audio, and digital resources, over 200 public computing access points, internet and Wi-Fi, and delivery and loan systems. Additionally, YCL offers over 4,800 programs to patrons countywide each year. The mission of the York County Libraries is to strengthen the York County community and to enrich individual lives by supplying information, providing recreation, promoting literacy, encouraging lifelong learning, and serving as the hub of their communities.

“This PA SHARP grant will allow us to continue providing free programs to in-person and online audiences across Pittsburgh and the state. At a time of isolation and polarization, the humanities have been instrumental in helping communities stay connected and in dialogue.”

- Andrés Franco, Executive Director

City of Asylum

City of Asylum was founded in 2004 to provide a safe home to exiled literary writers. It has evolved over the years to become the world’s largest exiled writer and artist sanctuary. In 2017, we opened City of Asylum @ Alphabet City cultural center to create a regional cultural hub with a literary-based identity. At Alphabet City, we present more than 150 arts and humanities programs each year to build social equity through cultural exchange.

"This funding will enable us to extend our historical outreach and impact a community that will benefit from growing exposure to an uncovered shared past.”

- Johnny Johnson, President, Burleigh Legacy Alliance

Mercyhurst University

Launched in 2017 as a partnership between Mercyhurst University’s Public History program, the Burleigh Legacy Alliance and Erie Yesterday, A Shared Heritage is a local community history project that publicly celebrates the culturally rich, historically courageous and socially dynamic history of African Americans in Erie County as belonging to all citizens. Funding from the PA SHARP grant will allow these partners to commemorate sites and stories highlighted by the driving and walking tour through engaging interpretive historical wayside public exhibits, publish historical content through the Jefferson Educational Society’s e-publications and the Journal of Erie Studies, and facilitate public forums to build community consensus on the relevance of teaching and learning African American history.

“By serving as a dynamic, intersectional space for spontaneous and creative collaboration, with the support from the PA SHARP grant we will be able to introduce the humanities to those who would not traditionally see themselves as focused on the humanities."

- Erica Quinn, Executive Director of 3 Dots Downtown

3 Dots Downtown

3 Dots is a trusted convener for an inclusive intersection of groups doing work in equity throughout our community. Through our Social Justice Cultural Catalyst program, 3 Dots hosts a series of public programming in partnership with a specific set of Social Justice community organizations, all free of charge. This initiative empowers these groups to use 3 Dots as a platform for change and connection in our community.

"Because of funding from PA Humanities, Awbury Arboretum is able to connect our communities with history through meaningful, hands-on events."

- Heather Zimmerman, Executive Director, Awbury Arboretum Association

Awbury Arboretum

With this grant, we will be supporting two of our major programs. The first is our Ambassadors program, in which people hired from the near neighborhood welcome visitors on the weekends and pass out maps and walking guides and inform visitors of events and the historical background of the house and grounds. The second is our humanities programming, consisting of events and lectures, focusing in the coming year on our annual theme of birds: the history of ornithology and birding in the area, the history of the interaction between birds and buildings in Philadelphia in the last century, and the historical participation of Black birders. We also take part in the Revolutionary Germantown Festival every year, with a presentation on colonial herbal medicine.

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$1.4 M

awarded

92

total
grantees

586

jobs created
/preserved

21

BIPOC serving organizations

No Data Found

new applicants

38%

No Data Found

budget under $1.5 M

79%

No Data Found

general operations
grants

43%

grants by organization type

Library or Archive

16

Cultural Organization

11

Community Arts Center

10

Community Center or Organization

9

Performing Arts

9

Historic Site or Organization

8

Museum (exc. Art Museum)

8

Arts-related organization

5

Colleges/Universities

4

Youth or Social Services

4

Film or Media Organization

3

Literary Organization

2

Other (Incl. Govt Agency, Foundation, Membership Org, Other, & N/A)

3

No Data Found

PA SHARP Learning Network

From lifelong learning and youth development to civic engagement and cultivating a sense of belonging, the tools and outcomes of the humanities are essential for Pennsylvanians to reconnect and heal. The PA SHARP Learning Network will address the urgent need for the humanities by bringing together people passionate about creating inclusive, engaged communities and ready to lead the statewide recovery alongside PA Humanities. PA SHARP Learning Network activities will include community of practice meetings, informational webinars, and other professional development and networking opportunities.

PA Humanities assembled a diverse team of 46 cultural professionals from across the state to review applications to ensure that funding was distributed equitably and geographically. Sixteen Philadelphia-based organizations serving BIPOC and new immigrant communities were funded by Spring Point Partners (yellow markers).

Full PA SHARP Grantee List

Organization Award Region County
3 Dots Downtown $16,000NCCentre
Adams County Arts Council $16,000SCAdams
Andrew Carnegie Free Library $16,000SWAllegheny
ArtWell $16,000SEPhiladelphia
Assemble $16,000SWAllegheny
Awbury Arboretum Association, Inc. $12,000SEPhiladelphia
Barnstone Art for Kids $16,000SEChester
Beyond the Bars $16,000SEPhiladelphia
Blair County Historical Society $16,000SWBlair
Bottle Works Ethnic Arts Center $16,000SWCambria
Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center $16,000NELehigh
Brandywine Workshop and Archives $16,000SEPhiladelphia
Carnegie Free Library of Beaver Falls $16,000SWBeaver
Centro Nueva Creacion $12,000SEPhiladelphia
Chester Cultural Arts Center $15,993SEDelaware
Citizens for the Arts in Pennsylvania $16,000SWBlair
City of Asylum Pittsburgh $16,000SWAllegheny
Clarion University of Pennsylvania $16,000NWClarion
Cliveden of the National Trust, Inc $16,000SEPhiladelphia
Community Arts Center $8,000SEDelaware
Community Partnerships $16,000SCMifflin
Conservation Center for Art & Historic Artifacts $16,000SEPhiladelphia
COSACOSA art at large, Inc. $16,000SEPhiladelphia
Da Vinci Art Alliance $16,000SEPhiladelphia
DreamWrights Center for Community Arts $16,000SCYork
Ebenezer Maxwell Mansion$14,400SEPhiladelphia
Erie Art Museum$16,000NWErie
Erie Center for Arts & Technology $16,000NWErie
Farm Arts Collective Inc$8,000NEWayne
Fidget$11016SEPhiladelphia
Fleisher Art Memorial$16,000SEPhiladelphia
Forbes Avenue Foundation$16,000SWAllegheny
Frick Art & Historical Center Inc. $16,000SWAllegheny
Gettysburg Foundation$15,767SCAdams
Hamlin Memorial Library$6,560NWMcKean
Historic Germantown$16,000SEPhiladelphia
Images of the Motherland$14,240SEPhiladelphia
Indigenous Peoples’ Day Philly Inc.$16,000SEPhiladelphia
Intercultural Journeys $12,000SEPhiladelphia
International Visitors Council of Philadelphia$16000SEPhiladelphia
Johnstown Area Heritage Association$16,000SWCambria
Just Act, Inc.$16,000SEPhiladelphia
Kelly Strayhorn Theater $16,000SWAllegheny
Knox Public Library $16,000NWClarion
Kulu Mele African Dance & Drum Ensemble $16,000SEPhiladelphia
Landis Valley Associates $16,000SCLancaster
Literacy Council of Norristown $16,000SEMontgomery
Literacy Council of Southwestern PA $16,000SWWashington
Little Lake Theatre Company $10,000SWWashington
LiveConnections DBA World Cafe Live $16,000SEPhiladelphia
Lower Merion Library System $13,840SEMontgomery
Memorial Library of Nazareth and Vicinity $16,000NENorthampton
Mercyhurst University $16,000NWErie
Mighty Writers $16,000SEPhiladelphia
Monongahela Area Library $15,485SWWashington
North Wales Area Library $8,480SEMontgomery
Nueva Esperanza, Inc. $16,000SEPhiladelphia
Painted Bride Art Center $16,000SEPhiladelphia
Philadelphia Area Consortium of Special Collections Libraries, Inc. $13,560SEBucks
Philadelphia Jewish Film and Media $16,000SEPhiladelphia
PHILADELPHIA250$13,947SEPhiladelphia
Reading Public Library Foundation $9,600SCBerks
Rock to the Future $16,000SEPhiladelphia
Rodef Shalom Congregation$16,000SWAllegheny
Saint Vincent College$15,987SWWestmoreland
Scribe Video Center$16,000SEPhiladelphia
Shamokin-Coal Township Public Library $16,000NCNorthumberland
Society to Preserve the Millvale Murals of Maxo Vanka$16,000SWAllegheny
South Central PaARTners at Millersville$16,000SCLancaster
St. Marys Public Library$16,000NWElk
Stenton, NSCDA/PA $16,000SEPhiladelphia
Taller Puertorriqueño$16,000SEPhiladelphia
The College of Physicians of Philadelphia $16,000SEPhiladelphia
The Jefferson Educational Society of Erie$16,000NWErie
The Lemoyne Community Center$16,000SWWashington
The Library Company of Philadelphia $16,000SEPhiladelphia
The Mattress Factory$16,000SWAllegheny
The Pennsbury Society$16,000SEBucks
The Wilma Theater $16,000SEPhiladelphia
Theatre Philadelphia $16,000SEPhiladelphia
Three Aksha $16,000SEPhiladelphia
Tredyffrin Township Library Foundation $13,040SEChester
Twelve Gates Arts $16,000SEPhiladelphia
Warren Library Association $16,000NWWarren
West Philadelphia Cultural Alliance/Paul Robeson House & Museum $16,000SEPhiladelphia
Whitemarsh Art Center$14,787SEMontgomery
World Affairs Council of Harrisburg $16,000SCDauphin
WVIA$16,000NELuzerne
Wyck Association$12,033SEPhiladelphia
Wyoming County Cultural Center, Inc. $16,000NEWyoming
York County Libraries$16,000SCYork
Zelienople Area Public Library $16,000SWButler

Funding for PA SHARP comes from PA Humanities’ federal partner, the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), as part of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. Additional funding comes from Spring Point Partners to support 16 organizations that serve Philadelphia’s BIPOC and new immigrant communities.

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