Last year, the City of Seattle awarded $1,077,003 to support 24 community-initiated projects through the Seattle Department of Neighborhoods’ Neighborhood Matching Fund Community Partnership Fund. Twenty-four community groups received awards averaging $41,597 and have pledged $977,217 to match their award through local cash donations, volunteer hours, donated materials, and in-kind professional services. This was the second round of awards for the 2024 Community Partnership Fund. To see a list of the first round grant recipients visit: frontporch.seattle.gov/2024/06/21/city-of-seattles-neighborhood-matching-fund-invests-1123111-in-27-community-led-projects/
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 of 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.
Beginning in 2024, the Department of Neighborhoods re-instituted a community review process. The five community review team members reviewed, evaluated, and provided recommendations for this round of Community Partnership grants. The Department of Neighborhoods is grateful for their commitment to Seattle and all of our communities.
Over its 35-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, click here.
2024 Community Partnership Awards -Round 2
$50,000 to ADEFUA Cultural Education Workshop for Friends of ADEFUA, a vibrant celebration of African culture and heritage. The festival aims to educate, inspire, and provide a space for meaningful cultural engagement. It will include rich array of music and dance presented by local and guest artists and an African Marketplace featuring arts, crafts, and food from various West African countries. (Community match: $28,010)
$50,000 to Belltown United for Portal Park, a neighborhood activation and public art engagement project that provides a vibrant community green space. The funding will support a community engagement and public access initiative and a series of onsite public art activations. (Community match: $30,400)
$50,000 to Black and Tan Project for Celebrating Juneteenth 2025 to host a gathering Juneteenth weekend with a special performance of the Stage Musical Reparations: “The Trial of Thomas Jefferson” with a celebratory community potluck and talk-back following the show. (Community match: $26,660)
$50,000 to Ase Theatre for Dispersed: The Womxn of Region Six (A Ritual Poetic Drama) Project to host a workshop series where community members will become performers, guided by teaching artists. By exploring themes of Black identity and storytelling, the project will foster discussions about personal and collective experiences, amplifying the stories of Black folks in Seattle as a community and place. (Community match: $74,335)
$50,000 to Freakout Records for Freak Out Festival 2025, amulti-venue music festival that in Ballard to serve as a launching pad for emerging artists with a special focus on performances by artists from Mexico & Latin America. Celebrating its 13th year, the festival hosts a variety of music and will include more programming that is free to the general public in 2025 to expose Seattleites to new music, meet new friends from all walks of life and offer access to global culture. (Community match: $31,930)
$50,000 to Heal The Hood Committee for Heal The Hood Community Events, five community events promoting engagement, relationship building, and physical, mental, and social well-being among underrepresented groups, non-native English speakers, and communities of color in King County. Events include a basketball tournament, a community BBQ, a back-to-school supply giveaway, a cancer awareness event honoring local heroes, and a senior storytelling and basket giveaway. (Community match: $25,000)
$50,000 to HomeSight for 2025 Othello Park International Festival, a celebration of and for the members of the Othello community to develop a neighborhood identity where people get to know one another and feel part of the community as a whole. Festival activities will include an art creation station, face painting, ethnic dance performances, a petting zoo, carnival activities, live music, vendors, information booths, and food vendors/trucks. (Community match: $25,000)
$50,000 to Organizacion Centro Americano for FESTIVA CENTROAMERICANO 2025, a gathering to celebrate the various cultures of Central America. The festival will include a day of cultural performances, cultural expression, and cultural exchange in Westcrest Park. (Community match: $1,000)
$50,000 to Refugee Artisan Initiative for Refugee Artisans Connect, a community arts project consisting of 10 free public workshops on upcycled crafts led by 38 refugee women artisans. The project also includes the creation of a 6-feet-long Peace Dove Sculpture, which will be designed and constructed by a lead artist and a team of artisans and covered with 1,000 peace-message-feathers made by community members. (Community match: $26,500)
$50,000 to Renaissance 21 for Project 3-DRIP (3D Revolution In Progress) to develop 3D Creator Spaces in three underserved Teen Centers across Seattle: Garfield, Rainier Beach, and Southwest Teen Life Center. Free educational workshops will teach community participants to use 3D printers and community members will be recruited and trained to lead the hands-on workshops. The project will culminate in a 3D Creator Showcase that celebrates the participants innovative creations and builds new connections with Seattle’s broader community of makers. (Community match: $25,536)
$50,000 to Somali Community Services of Seattle for Guts, Resilience, Ingenuity, and Tenacity (GRIT) Project to offer 30 youth, 14 to 24 years old, intensive training on essential self-care practices needed for overall well-being, and a violence-free life. Training will include related discussion groups, a 60-hour media and podcasting workshop, and the production of three podcasts where GRIT grads can share their wellness wisdom with their peers. (Community match: $26,250)
$50,000 to Tasveer for Desi Improv Festival including an improv workshop and a main improv event to help participants develop skills in adaptability, active listening and effective communication. The project is designed to introduce participants to the art of improvisation through engaging scenes, games and exercises in a fun, supportive environment, and empower them to feel more confident, connected, and better equipped to navigate diverse environments. (Community match: $30,150)
$49,975 to Mini Mart City Park for Indie Film Screening Series, a free-of-cost, monthly series of film screenings and workshops that will be hosted at Mini Mart City Park. A roster of local community curators and partner organizations will facilitate 10 months of film programming centering diverse people, their communities, and the physical spaces with which they identify. Screening will include facilitated conversations between community members, artists, and local organizations about the themes in the films. (Community match: $30,455)
$49,907 to Seattle Griot Project for Black Legacy Exhibits, including The Black Legacy Exhibit at the Washington State Black Legacy Institute and the Call to Conscience Exhibit at Rainier Ave Radio. Both exhibits celebrate and preserve the rich history of Washington state’s Black communities and offer a powerful tribute to Black resilience, leadership, and cultural contributions, enriching public understanding and appreciation through accessible, interactive formats.(Community match: $43,400)
$48,900 to Freeway Park Association for Meeting at the Balance: Illuminating Art, Pathways and History Project, which includes three complementary projects in the park: incorporating foundational winter lighting for safety and enjoyment of the park after dark; an illuminated art event with installations, performances, and art making workshops; the creation of public education materials about the social and political history of the park and information about the upcoming renovation. (Community match: $30,112)
$47,564 to Friends of Estelle St Community P-Patch for Estelle St Community P-Patch Improvement and Safety Project, a partnership with the UW School of Architecture’s Neighborhood Design Build Studio to create a community gathering shelter, fencing, storage and three formal “spirit gates” to reinvent this public thoroughfare into a safer and more beautiful source of pride to the greater community. (Community match: $76,320)
$45,732 to Phinney Neighborhood Association for Artistic Signal Boxes to strengthen community identity and provide shared cultural landmarks by transforming functional infrastructure into compelling public art, celebrating diversity and enriching the urban environment. The project will support 19 artists to design artwork aligned for signal boxes in Phinney Ridge and Greenwood. (Community match: $45,100)
$45,732 to Seattle-Isfahan Sister City Advocacy for Persian New Year Celebration to celebrate the art, culture, and traditions from the spectrum of local immigrant co-celebrant Persian-heritage cultures including Iran, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, and Turkey. The event will feature displays of traditional and modern Persian artwork, craft demonstrations, and lively performances of dance, music, and song with speakers from across the diaspora and elected officials. (Community match: $45,100)
$42,302 to Gifts of Hope for Hope for Christmas Community Event, a collaborative gathering celebrating African American culture and fostering unity among individuals of diverse backgrounds. This inclusive and free event took place in December 2024 and welcomed all members of the public to create a sense of togetherness and shared celebration during the holiday season. (Community match: $52,531)
$39,640 to Velocity Dance Center for Elysium – Leviticus or Love and to walk amongst HUMANS: Book II project, a weekend of free community performances created by and for Black communities hosted at Kubota Garden in South Seattle. This site-responsive performance will lead audiences through a journey of death and revival to find themselves in a world where Black bodies are the blessed and dying to oneself is a rite of passage. (Community match: $161,290)
$29,261 to West Seattle Junction Association for 2024 Hometown Holidays, a vibrant, all-inclusive community event in the heart of West Seattle’s downtown offering a joyful celebration for the entire community. The event, held in December, featured a main stage with family-friendly entertainment, a dazzling tree lighting ceremony, 24 holiday-themed vendors, and lighted holiday wreaths adorning our central streets. (Community match: $30,630)
$29,200 to Friends of Fishbowl for a Guest Curator Project to provide three QTBIPOC artists with minimal curatorial experience the opportunity to grow their professional development while providing the greater community with meaningful art exhibitions on social justice themes centering diverse voices. Artists will learn how to curate a 1- to 2-month long show and will be responsible for selecting the theme and leading the art exhibition from start to finish, including opening/closing receptions, artist talks, artwalks, and workshop/events that are free and open to the public. (Community match: $40,450)
$26,000 to Turkish American Cultural Association of Washington for International Children’s Friendship Festival 2025, a vibrant multiday festival and year-round arts programs that fosters cultural understanding and empowering Seattle Youth. Youth collaborate in art, public speaking, and civic advocacy to build a more inclusive future through youth arts. (Community match: $58,450)
$22,790 to New Holly Youth & Family P-Patch for a Garden Fence around the 390-foot exterior perimeter of the garden to protect garden plots and produce. (Community match: $13,608)
