Building for Equity: Facilities Grant (Washington)

The Building for Equity: Facilities grants provide funding for building, remodeling, and buying specialized space that houses and facilitates culture, science and technology-based experiences in King County.

Donor Name: 4Culture

State: Washington

County: King County (WA)

Type of Grant: Grant

Deadline: 04/17/2025

Size of the Grant: $500,000 to $1 million

Grant Duration: Grant Duration Not Mentioned

Details:

The Building for Equity: Facilities grants help organizations acquire, build, or renovate the brick-and-mortar buildings and spaces that make culture, science, and technology experiences possible. Projects with budgets of $10,000,000 and under are eligible.

Funding Information

Approximately $4.7 million is available in the funding pool for this cycle.

For project budgets $250,000 and under:
- You can request 80% of your project budget.
For project budgets $250,001–$1,000,000:
- You can request $200,000 plus 30% of your project budget over $250,000.
For project budgets $1,000,001–$10,000,000:
- You can request $400,000 plus 15% of your project budget over $1,000,000, up to a $1,000,000 maximum request.

Eligible Expenses

Land acquisition costs
Property acquisition costs
Demolition and site prep costs
Appraisals
Environmental site assessments
Inspection costs
Closing costs
Building zoning and permitting fees
Project manager fee (up to 15% of the total project cost; only 1099 contractors; no FTE staff costs)
Architectural costs
Engineering costs
Building and construction costs
Construction-phase rentals
Landscaping costs
LEED or SEED certification costs
Project-associated legal costs
IT infrastructure (only if it is built into the walls)
Built-in security systems
Safety and fire suppression system costs
HVAC systems
ADA accessibility upgrades
Permanently affixed signage
Roof replacement
Fiscal sponsorship costs (only the costs associated with this grant)
Capital debt service payments, including interest (only in select cases; must provide loan documentation for 4Culture approval).

Eligible Criteria

Building for Equity: Facilities grants are available to King County-based, federally recognized nonprofit arts, cultural, heritage, historic preservation, science and technology organizations; public corporations, Tribal governments, and public agencies; or culture or science organizations that are fiscally sponsored by a 501(c)(3) partner organization. Applicants must have at least a two-year operating history and demonstrated long-term control of a physical site.

To apply, your organization must demonstrate it meets all of the eligibility requirements stated below:

Your organization is based in and conducts a majority (51% or more) of your mission-based, public-facing activities in the County
Your organization is a federally recognized nonprofit organization or an organization that is fiscally sponsored by a 501(c)(3) organization. Please note: If you are using a fiscal sponsor to apply for this grant, you must have prior approval by 4Culture staff
Your organization is not a K-12 school or school district
Your organization has a board of directors, a proven two-year record of providing arts, cultural, or science experiences or services (you will be asked to provide two previous years of financial statements with the application), and the ability to sustain operations after the completion of this facility project
You can, if funded, provide a W-9 form, sign a contract that limits 4Culture’s liability, and provide proof of liability insurance that names 4Culture as additional insured
You have site control of the project location by the application deadline (April 17, 2025). This can mean property ownership or a long-term lease (10 years minimum or 5 years with an option to renew). A partnership agreement or Letter of Intent may be accepted depending on terms of these documents. 4Culture approved documentation will be required in the application
Science and Technology-based organizations must meet these additional eligibility requirements:
- Your organization must be incorporated in the state of Washington as a Nonprofit Corporation
- OR you must be fiscally sponsored by a 501(c)(3) organization incorporated in the state of Washington and your fiscal sponsor also meets all of the Science and Technology-based organization eligibility criteria.