Louisa Hotel Historic Jazz Mural (photo by Randy Wo-Eng)

The City of Seattle has awarded $755,000 to support 14 community-initiated projects through Seattle Department of Neighborhoods’ Neighborhood Matching Fund (NMF). Its Community Partnership Fund offers matching funds of up to $100,000 to community organizations committed to fostering and building our community. These awards range from $17,000 to $100,000 with the 14 organizations pledging over $769,890 in community match involving volunteer hours, locally raised money, donated materials, and in-kind professional services.

The Neighborhood Matching Fund has two funds: the Community Partnership Fund, which is offered three times a year with cash awards up to $100,000; and Small Sparks Fund, which is offered on a rolling basis throughout the year with cash awards of up to $5,000.

“The Chinatown International District is a culturally distinct area of the city that has enjoyed a rich history which included thriving jazz clubs in the 20s and 30s. The Community Partnership Fund award will (help to) preserve and display 100-year-old Jazz murals so that we can use these last traces of history to celebrate and bring together several communities,” said Tanya Woo of the Louisa Hotel Historic Jazz Murals Project, one of this fall’s award recipients.

“The NMF team helped me through every step of the process, and I am eternally grateful for all the work they do unifying our neighborhoods.” – Tanya Woo, Louisa Hotel Historic Jazz Murals Project

The Neighborhood Matching Fund provides more than $3 million each year to local organizations. Over its nearly 30-year history, more than 5,000 projects have been funded in partnership with the NMF Program, and its investment in neighborhoods can be seen across the city. For more information about NMF, visit seattle.gov/neighborhoods/nmf/.

2018 Community Partnership Fund Awards – Fall Cycle

Citywide

• $27,932 to CID-CD Neighbors to develop Redlining History and Culture Trail Walks linking the Chinatown International District, First Hill, and Central District, launch free guided walks, and produce interpretive display panels, outreach materials, brochures, and a webpage. (Community Match: $48,220)
• $20,000 to Reckoning Trades Project to organize women and LGBTQ trades workers by building support systems, hosting educational forums, and organizing social events. (Community Match: $25,400)

District 1

• $31,768 to Concord International Elementary PTA to contract a landscape architect and structural engineering team to prepare the schematic design and permit specifications for Phase II of the Greening Concord International Elementary School project. (Community Match: $22,595)

District 2

• $78,300 to Rainier Beach Link2Lake Open Space Steering Committee to produce 100% bid ready construction documents for community-driven improvements at Beer Sheva Park. (Community Match: $42,090)
• $100,000 to Friends of Hawthorne PTA to begin initial construction of a new neighborhood play space at Hawthorne Elementary that includes new sitting areas, a creative play area, and new entryway. (Community Match: $129,250)
• $25,000 to Friends of Detective Cookie Chess Park to develop 60% Street Improvement Permit (SIP) construction drawings in consultation with a landscape architect and civil engineer to submit to SDOT for permit review by Spring 2019. (Community Match: $10,696)
• $20,000 to Somali Community Services of Seattle to organize a free and open tutoring program for elementary and middle school students from January to June 2019 and four open community workshops on topics such as parenting students and study skills. (Community Match: $21,120)
• $42,000 to Friends of Hip Hop is Green to create holistic community educational programming through the medium of hip hop that focuses on healthier eating and includes youth-led events, community urban farming, musical performances, and a culinary program. (Community Match: $42,040)
• $50,000 to Louisa Hotel Historic Jazz Murals to preserve, restore, and exhibit Prohibition-era murals of the only known speakeasy/jazz club in Seattle with original murals intact that were uncovered during the renovation of the Louisa Hotel after a catastrophic fire. (Community Match: $52,401)

District 3

• $100,000 to Friends of Safe Access: Street to Park to construct Phase I of the community-supported design that includes new stairs, guardrails, and a lower integrated path into Mount Baker Park. (Community Match: $50,003)
• $40,000 to Eritrean Association of Greater Seattle to organize an Eritrean Independence Day Celebration at Seward Park in May 2019 featuring Eritrean music, traditional dances, poetry readings, and more. (Community Match: $39,970)
• $65,000 to friends of Cayton Corner Park to complete final design documents in consultation with a landscape architect and obtain permits for construction of a park at 1831 E Madison St by August 2019. (Community Match: $61,240)

District 7

• $70,000 to Path with Art to produce the collaborative art project Hear and Now: Community Perceptions of Homelessness to draw attention to issues related to homelessness and conceptualize a response to community perceptions of homelessness through music and performing arts. (Community Match: $56,705)
• $85,000 to Downtown Seattle Association to install wayfinding blade signs, historic markers, and sidewalk design features along the pedestrian corridor from the Pike Place Market to the Museum of History and Industry. (Community Match: $168,160)