Building for Equity: Facilities Grant

The Building for Equity: Facilities grant, administered by 4Culture and funded by lodging tax and sales tax under King County’s Doors Open legislation, supports the acquisition, construction, or renovation of physical spaces dedicated to arts, heritage, culture, historic preservation, science, and technology in King County, Washington. The program seeks to strengthen the county’s cultural infrastructure by enabling organizations to create or improve brick‑and‑mortar facilities that can host public-facing cultural, scientific, educational, or heritage-oriented activities. With approximately $4.7 million in total funding available for this grant cycle, the program is structured to catalyze capital projects with budgets of up to $10,000,000. The grant is intended exclusively for capital costs — that is, land acquisition, building purchase, construction, renovation, site preparation, professional services (architectural, engineering, legal), environmental assessments, permitting, permanent fixtures (e.g., HVAC, built-in security, ADA accessibility upgrades), and other permanently affixed or depreciable improvements. It explicitly excludes general maintenance, consumables, furniture, portable equipment (computers, light equipment), and regular operating expenses such as staff salaries or program programming costs. Projects solely focused on feasibility studies, early planning, or minor repairs are not eligible; applicants must propose work that leads to a usable cultural facility or a meaningful capital improvement project. Eligible expenses must be incurred on or after January 1, 2024. The program uses a tiered funding cap system based on the total project budget: for projects with budgets up to $250,000, applicants may request up to 80% of their budget; for budgets between $250,001 and $1,000,000, the cap is $200,000 plus 30% of the amount over $250,000; and for budgets between $1,000,001 and $10,000,000, the cap is $400,000 plus 15% of the amount over $1,000,000 — with a maximum request of $1,000,000. For example, a $200,000 project could request $160,000, a $550,000 project up to $290,000, and a $3,000,000 project up to $700,000. The grant does not cover the entire cost of most capital projects, meaning organizations must show additional funding sources or leverage other support. To be awarded, organizations must commit to publicly acknowledging 4Culture’s support, and to contribute a modest time commitment — between three and nine hours — toward supporting the future of the Facilities grant program (e.g., completing a survey, giving a testimonial, participating in a focus group, or presenting at a 4Culture workshop). The number of hours depends on the size of the project budget. Moreover, recipients must deliver public benefit: their facility must be accessible to the public (free or low-cost access), provide cultural or educational programming, offer facility space or technical support to other groups, or otherwise contribute to community enrichment. Projects that more significantly draw on grant funds may also be subject to a “Cultural Space Contribution Requirement,” which entails free or reduced-cost use of the facility for smaller cultural or community groups. The program places a strong emphasis on equity and geographic inclusion. Eligible projects must demonstrate how they will serve historically marginalized communities, communities facing economic barriers, or underserved populations, either through free or low-cost access, diverse staffing and leadership, programming for underserved youth, or other means. Geographic inclusion is encouraged: priority is given to projects located outside the city of Seattle or within designated “Communities of Opportunity” in King County — areas identified as experiencing significant social inequities. Eligible applicants include federally recognized nonprofit arts, cultural, heritage, historic preservation, or science and technology organizations (or entities fiscally sponsored by a 501(c)(3)); public agencies; tribal governments; or public corporations. Applicants must be based in King County, carry out the majority of their mission-based, public-facing activities in the county, and have a minimum two-year operating history. They also must demonstrate long-term control of the project site (through ownership or a long-term lease of at least ten years, or five years with option to renew), provide required financial statements (two prior years), and — if funded — be able to supply a W-9 form and liability insurance naming 4Culture as additional insured. For science and technology organizations, additional restrictions apply: they cannot be a higher-education institution, state agency, municipal corporation, broadcasting entity, or a multi-organization fundraising intermediary; they must either be incorporated in Washington or be fiscally sponsored by a Washington nonprofit. For this grant cycle, organizations needed to contact 4Culture by March 25 to complete an eligibility pre-screening; the application became accessible starting February 20 after pre-screening. The final application deadline was April 17, 2025 at 5:00 pm PDT, via the 4Culture online portal. Award decisions were slated for June 2025, with contracting to begin in September, and eligible expenses required to be incurred on or after January 1, 2024. Applicants could be asked during review to schedule a 15‑minute interview or submit additional written or video materials during the week of May 27–28; follow-up responses were due within approximately one week of notification. Awardees would need to begin their project within 24 months of the award date. Contacts for questions and support during the application process included Maya Santos (Building for Equity Program Manager) and Lauren Miles (Support Specialist), with email and phone provided. 4Culture also offered virtual workshops in February, March, and April to support applicants, and provided application guides and worksheets tailored to project size. The program encouraged organizations to attend workshops or review recorded sessions for guidance. Given the submission deadline has passed, this grant cycle is closed, and there is no publicly announced next cycle or reopening date. However, the program’s emphasis on racial, cultural, and geographic equity, community benefit, and long-term facility stewardship suggests 4Culture views this as part of an ongoing initiative to support cultural infrastructure needs in King County.

Attend workshops; confirm eligibility by March 25; understand funding tier; prepare public benefit narrative