The Creative Entrepreneur Accelerator Program is designed to pair access to existing small business consulting services with financial resources for creative entrepreneurs who aspire to start their own for-profit business or who operate an existing for-profit micro business. 

 The Program’s purpose is to help creative entrepreneurs to grow their business, audience, and revenue. The Program will advance the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts’ overarching value of diversity, equity, and inclusion and prioritize investments to creative entrepreneurs who identify Black, Indigenous, or people of color ("BIPOC") and those who are located in low-income communities, according to the CDFI Fund New Markets Tax Credit (<80% AMI) map.

Application Deadline

Applications will be accepted from May 1 - May 31 at 11:59pm. 

All applicants must meet with a designated referral coordinator to be eligible for funding. Please plan accordingly. Find your referral partner at the bottom of the CEA webpage. 

Note: Applicants using the Gannon SBDC as a referral partner must submit the Request for Consulting application by May 3rd to be considered, and meet with a consultant by May 10th. 

Applicants will be notified of funding decisions by July 31.

Grant Amounts
     Grants are $2,000. Funds must be used by December 2024.

Eligibility
Creative entrepreneurs, if funded, are eligible to reapply for the Creative Entrepreneur Accelerator Program once every three years.

     Applicants must:
     1. Be at least 18 years of age and a current resident of Pennsylvania for at least one year.
     2. Have a business with gross revenue less than $200,000.
     3. Be a creative entrepreneur intending to form a business or operating a business in Pennsylvania within one or more of the following creative industry areas:

• Marketing – Advertising and marketing agencies & professionals
• Architecture – Architecture firms & architects
• Visual Arts & Crafts – Galleries, artists, artisans & makers
• Design – Product, interior, graphic, and fashion design firms and designers
• Film & Media – Film, video, animation, TV & Radio businesses
• Digital Games – Companies, programmers & individuals producing games.
• Music & Entertainment –Producers, venues, musicians & performers
• Publishing  – Print or electronic businesses & content creators, editors & writers

Eligible Uses of Funds
     Funds must support business formation or development. Eligible uses of grant funds include:

• Professional fees for workshops, consultants, and career coaching.
• Participation in events, trade shows, festivals, etc. that offer access to audience and revenue generation potential.
• Business development fees for courses or seminars for business skills.
• Research and development.
• Marketing and promotion.
• Development or upgrades to technology related to business practices.
• Studio/rehearsal/retail space rent.
• Reasonable fees for supporting/collaborating artists.
• Purchase of supplies and equipment.

Grants funds cannot be used for the following:

• Activities outside the grant period.
• Activities that have a religious purpose.
• Payments to lobbyists.
• Activities for which academic credit is given.
• Offsets to regular business operating costs, including regular salary or wages.
• Hospitality, food, or beverages.

Step 1:
Before applying, all applicants must first have a consultation with a Referral Coordinator. The Referral Coordinator assists with the logistics of starting a business including the development of a business plan and continued growth strategies. Referral Coordinators for Erie Arts & Culture can be found at the bottom of this webpage.
Step 2:
     Upon receiving a referral form from a designated Referral Coordinator, applicants may submit application materials through Erie Arts & Culture. Submissions must include the creative entrepreneur’s application form, business plan, 12 month budget projection, referral form, and description of the intended use of funds. 

Tips: 

• Be specific about how you intend to use the grant funds. Include exact items to be purchased, prices, quotes, etc. 
• Communicate the impact of this investment: why are you choosing to use the funds in this way, and what will change for your business as a result of the grant funding? 
• If you include relevant 12 month business goals in your application, also include your present position. This helps contextualize your proposal.       
  
  
  
   

Questions? Contact Casey Corritore, Program Officer of Capacity Building: casey@erieartsandculture.org | 814-452-3427 x 108

Erie Arts & Culture seeks grant review panelists to help create panels to review applications submitted to the organization for funding consideration throughout the year, including grants for individual artists as well as those for arts organizations. Panels are integral to the grantmaking process, providing a critical review, comments, and scores of all applications to a particular grant program.

We work hard to balance the composition of these panels by artistic discipline, race/ethnicity, ability, arts experience, and gender expression. Panels are composed of individuals who represent a broad range of artistic and cultural viewpoints and geographic and ethnic diversity. Panelists may be experienced in a specific art form or be a person that is knowledgeable about the arts but not engaged in the arts as a profession. We welcome you to apply to share your expertise and talent as a grant panelist.

As a panelist, you will have the opportunity to develop connections with peers who share your passion for art and culture while supporting your community. Panelists are a vital force in the decision making process, get an up-close look at the grantmaking process and learn about the many ways artists and art organizations make a difference across the community.

Panelist Responsibilities

• Attend an orientation meeting to get familiar with the grant program, review process, scoring criteria, and Submittable platform.
• Read and rate each grant application according to the review criteria. Reading the grant applications must be done in advance of the panel meeting on your own time. You should expect to spend several hours reading, reviewing, and scoring the applications.
• Attend the panel session. The panel meeting is typically 2-3 hours and is a one-time commitment where you will discuss the applications and make a funding recommendation with your fellow panelists.