The Evergreen Playhouse, Mineral School, the Southwest Washington Dance Center, Tenino Young-at-Heart Theatre and the Fire Mountain Arts Council were among the 811 Washington state arts and culture organizations to receive a total of $10 million from the ArtsFund and the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, according to a news release published on Tuesday.
The money was awarded through the Community Accelerator Grant program, which is in its second year.
The allotments build on the program's 2023 pilot investment in Washington’s arts and culture sector that provided $10 million in funding to 671 organizations.
Administered by ArtsFund and funded by the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, the new round of grants range from $2,500 to $25,000 in response to ongoing needs of arts and culture organizations.
The unrestricted $10 million in funding will boost organizations’ abilities to invest in their missions and essential roles serving communities across the state.
“ArtsFund is grateful for the second year of partnership with the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation on the Community Accelerator Grant,” said Michael Greer, president and CEO of ArtsFund. “Our ability to distribute $10 million of unrestricted funding to such a wide and representative group of nonprofit arts and cultural organizations throughout 37 counties in Washington will add resources to groups whose work creates a better quality of life for communities across the state.”
Grants were awarded to every eligible nonprofit organization that applied. Approximately 70 percent of grantees reported annual budgets of less than $500,000 and average awards were $12,330. This year’s distribution includes organizations in 37 counties throughout Washington, representing 99.8% of the state’s population. The top five disciplines represented in the grantee pool include music, cultural heritage, multidisciplinary, theater and visual arts.
“From the Olympics to the Palouse, every corner of our state is brimming with diverse and rich cultural activity, and we are incredibly heartened by the extensive reach and continued impact of this program,” said Lara Littlefield, executive director of partnerships and programs for the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation. “We are proud to partner again with ArtsFund and the Community Advisory Panel, who have continued to administer this novel, community-driven model that distributes capital quickly, equitably, and efficiently to these organizations that are so essential for building our vibrant and healthy communities.”
Local grantees include:
The full list of grantees can be found at https://www.artsfund.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/2024-CAG-Grantee-List.pdf.
