The City of Seattle has awarded $849,711 to support 20 community-initiated projects through the Seattle Department of Neighborhoods’ Neighborhood Matching Fund (NMF). Twenty community groups received awards ranging from $18,700 to $50,000 and have pledged $710,588 to match their award through local cash donations, volunteer hours, donated materials, and in-kind professional services. The funded projects represent everything from climate justice to cultural celebrations to community building and beyond, highlighting the power of community to unite around a shared vision and forge their own solutions.

“Delivering on our vision for One Seattle requires seeking thoughtful input from neighbors, ensuring their voices are heard, and leveraging City support to match community commitment toward time, talent, and resources. I’m excited for Seattleites to experience these community-driven, neighborhood-local investments,” said Mayor Bruce Harrell.

The Neighborhood Matching Fund offers grants to organizations committed to fostering and building our community. It has two funds: the Community Partnership Fund, which is currently offered twice a year with awards up to $50,000; and the Small Sparks Fund, which is offered on a rolling basis throughout most of the year with awards of up to $5,000.

Over its 34-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 information about NMF, visit seattle.gov/neighborhoods/nmf/.

“Funding from the Neighborhood Matching Fund allows us to move forward with our Community Climate Justice Project, helping to change the lives of our communities’ youth through free hands-on experiential learning workshops. Through this project, youth will be connected to local climate justice initiatives, build confidence and leadership skills, and improve the community by amplifying climate solutions in their own neighborhoods.” – Julian K. Saint Clair, Executive Director of Renaissance 21

The following community organizations will receive Neighborhood Matching Fund awards for Round One of the 2022 funding cycle:

2022 Community Partnership Fund Awards: Round One

$50,000 to Eritrean Association of Greater Seattle for Community Center Improvements to address pressing issues in the parking lot and main hall.  Repairs in the parking lot will include removing trees and repairing concrete and fencing; regrading and asphalting to improve drainage; and replacing the exit gate that has been vandalized. Improvements in the main hall will replace old, inefficient windows; repair the surface of the stage; and repaint two walls.  (Community match: $32,525)

$50,000 to API Food Fight Club for the 2022 Chinatown International District Block Party to help continue the daylong celebration that includes Asian American Pacific Islander performances, food vendors, and art. The event will be held in August 2022 and will offer expanded features including a film screening, food walk, and live entertainment. (Community match: $44,800)

$50,000 to the Ethiopian Community in Seattle for Art for Ethiopian Village to create a façade on the building’s walls. The Village is currently under construction and will have 90 units of affordable senior housing and a renovated and expanded Ethiopian Community Center. The art project will cover a total of 880 square feet of the residential building facing Rainier St and S Rose St. (Community match: $25,000)

$50,000 to Friends of I-5/King Street for Jackson St. Mural & Colonnade Restoration Project to facilitate the design and installation of a mural along the wall underneath I-5 just north of Jackson St. The project will work with Urban Artworks to repaint the red and yellow columns along Jackson St., which are graffitied and fading due to sun damage. The repainting will include layering the lower 10 feet of columns with an anti-graffiti coating. (Community match: $67,284)

$50,000 to Belltown United for Place Making & Community Connections to host community-driven, creative placemaking events that will result in the creation of public street, traffic box, and sidewalk art installations. The art will contain visuals and imagery that identify the distinct character of the Belltown neighborhood, from a collective community perspective and reflect Belltown’s history and cultural significance. (Community match: $28,200)

$50,000 to Discovery Park 50^th Anniversary Partners for Discovery Park 50^th Anniversary Celebrationon October 1. The celebration will feature a series of events focused on stewardship, education, and history. Activities will include bird-walks, historical tours, display materials, and presentations at the park’s visitor center as well as Daybreak Star Indian Cultural Center. (Community match: $26,615)

$50,000 to Lake City Pioneer Days Parade Association for Lake City Summer Festival and Parade on August 6. The festival is free, family-friendly, and one of the oldest Seafair sanctioned community events. The parade and festival have brought together and celebrated the diverse cultures in the neighborhood for decades and will be one of the first in-person events in the neighborhood since the start of the pandemic. (Community match: $51,930)

$50,000 to Sail Sand Point for A Community Boathouse for All in Magnuson Park, a welcoming, inclusive, and ADA accessible community boating center. The funds will support site surveys, permitting, tribal and other stakeholder consultation, and community outreach. (Community match: $30,000)

$50,000 OCA Asian Pacific Advocate of Greater Seattle for Passage to Seattle’s Chinatown International District, 1849-2022, a project that will convert the 2019 OCA-GS intern film “Gum Saan to Golden Spike” into a comic strip and add a sequel focusing on the AAPI protest of the Kingdome construction 50 years ago. (Community match: $70,900)

$49,950 for Sundiata African American Cultural Association for Festival Sundiata Black Arts Festival, a celebration of African and African American culture and Black arts. The festival will share performances by nationally recognized entertainers, dance, history, food, local musicians, and a much-anticipated vendor marketplace. (Community match: $67,560)

$49,850 for Center for Linguistic and Cultural Democracy for 2022 Caribbean Sea Fest, a pan Caribbean, family-oriented arts and cultural event. This year, the event will be relocated to Waterfront Park and include additional work to address and highlight ocean and runoff water environmental issues. (Community match: $38,800)

$47,890 for Friends of the Jackson Park P-Patch for Community Building at Jackson Park, a project to build community, not only among the gardeners at Jackson Park P-Patch, but especially within the community that exists around the garden. A pumpkin patch will be added on the South side of the garden and a children’s garden consisting of pollinator friendly flowers will be added on the West side of the garden. (Community match: $35,100)

$47,000 to Tasveer for Reflection Through HEART – a CommUNITY Open Mic Event that will include South Asian artists presenting prose, poetry, comedy, music, performance art, improv, and other forms of artistic expression. The event will have curated segments and non-curated segments which will allow both established and new artists to participate. (Community match: $25,620)

$43,000 to Renaissance 21 for Community Climate Justice Project by Star Tech Global Academy, a new educational content series focused on engaging youth in intersectional climate justice efforts in local neighborhoods. The free workshop-series will include both virtual and in-person participation in three Teen Centers across Seattle with high access to BIPOC youth. (Community match: $25,220)

$35,000 to Friends of Picardo Farms P-Patch for Expansion of Accessible Raised Beds to expand the number and variety of accessible raised beds in a newly vacated area of the garden. This addition will work to meet the demand and wait list for accessible beds and work toward the group’s goal of being a public, welcoming, inclusive, and safe space for their 500+ gardeners and visitors. (Community match: $19,200)

$33,000 to U District Advocates for U District, Seattle’s Most Walkable Neighborhood to create a design plan for NE 42nd St to implement prioritized community strategies on the designated “green street.” Working with a consultant team, the group will host a series of three stakeholder workshops to understand conditions, explore options, and decide direction for the redesign of two blocks of NE 42nd St. (Community match: $28,754)

$30,200 to Shared Spaces Foundation for Heron’s Nest Community Kitchen Phase 1 to work toward developing an outdoor community kitchen facility on a parcel of land working to be repatriated to the Duwamish Tribe. With preliminary plans to build the kitchen in the shape and style of a traditional Duwamish Longhouse with cedar beams and roof already completed, these funds will support permitting costs, foundation work, utility hook ups, and design consultation. (Community match: $50,480)

$25,221 to Haken Media for Re-Engaging & Revitalizing Tigrean Community to reengage, remobilize, and strengthen the Tigrean community by boosting morale among members and working to revert the community to the stature held prior to COVID and the civil war and conflict in Ethiopia. The project will conduct culturally and linguistically appropriate talking circle sessions; upgrade the capacity of community media outlets; provide digital skills training to community members; and improve the community’s involvement in the neighborhood’s affairs. (Community match: $16,100)

$19,900 to Unity in the Community Committee for Unity in the Community Block Party to bring together individuals and families to participate, observe, and congregate. The event will bring fitness and proper nutrition awareness to BIPOC families with a focus on building relationships, providing entertainment, and allowing BIPOC vendors an opportunity to highlight their exhibits. The event will be held at the Rainier Beach Community Center and Yesler Community Center. (Community match: $12,850)

$18,700 to Filipino Chamber of Commerce of the Pacific Northwest for Seattle Filipinos Conference Participation Project held August 18-20.This event and initiative will bring together local Filipino community leaders and members to promote engagement and participation in the USA-Philippines International Trade Conference here in Seattle. (Community match: $13,650)