4Culture

Updated Guidelines and Application for 2012 will be posted 6 weeks before the deadline

Who Can Apply

Nonprofit organizations located in King County holding historic collections in the public trust

Nonprofit organizations may submit one application annually to the Heritage Collections Care program.

Eligible Applicants Include King County-Based:

Nonprofit heritage and historical organizations, such as museums, archives, public agencies, and community associations that collect, preserve, and hold in public trust, historic artifacts, photographs, documents, ephemera, etc.

The program gives priority to basic collections issues and provides institutions with support to evaluate collections needs and to implement resulting recommendations.

Eligible Projects Must:

Focus primarily on the collection, documentation, and/or preservation of King County heritage resources
Address at least one of the following heritage disciplines, as they relate specifically to King County's past: archaeology; indigenous and traditional cultures; ethnic, community, or regional history and heritage; historic preservation; or folklore
Demonstrate a public benefit to King County residents and visitors

What Gets Funded

Cataloging, planning, training, assessments, inventories, and materials

Project funds may be used to:

Support projects including, but not limited to:

Cataloging and improving access to archaeological collections
Improving archival or artifact collection conservation or access
Purchasing collections management software
Training staff and volunteers in preventive maintenance of collections
Conducting research that documents heritage resources or information access aids
Performing collections needs assessment surveys and implementing recommendations
Instituting and improving security methods for safeguarding collections
Developing emergency preparedness plans to protect collections during catastrophic events
Hiring trained professionals for collections care projects
Compensating qualified interns for collections care activities
Bridging a funding gap to conduct MAP, CAP, or StEPs assessments
Completing inventories, descriptive catalogs, and/or condition surveys of collections
Hiring professional assistance in development of comprehensive collections policies
Preserving historic photos through duplication of images
Building a collections database for electronic access to minimize handling of original materials

Eligible costs include:

Fees for conservators, collections care or heritage specialists, professional consultants or services
Materials and consumable supplies used for collections care purposes
Direct activities costs, which may include transportation, documentation, and other items and fees specifically described in the application

Program funds may NOT be used for:

Major equipment purchases, construction or fabrication projects
General operating support, indirect or overhead costs and fees, employee benefits or any regular staff salaries
Elements of projects completed before the awarding of funds
Services for events in which fundraising is a primary purpose
Applications from religious institutions
Applications from schools (schools should contact Heritage 4Culture for information regarding partnerships for projects in the Cultural Education Program)
Activities lacking a specific focus on King County's history and heritage
Support of collections that are privately held or not regularly accessible to the public
Restoration of historic structures, the preservation of the built environment, or the stabilization of archaeological sites

Confused by language we use? Check out our glossary of terms

When

2012 Program Deadline: June 27

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How Awards are Made

Competitive selection process with evaluation criteria

Applications to the Heritage Collections Care program are reviewed by staff for eligibility, accuracy, and completeness. An independent peer review panel, composed of heritage specialists, museum professionals, and other community representatives, meet to review applications. The panel will select and recommend the most highly qualified proposals for funding based on the following criteria:

Quality and Qualifications

Clarity of proposed project description, including goals, timeline for completion, and significance
Thoroughness and completeness of responses to application queries, and quality of writing
Quality of proposal, including its alignment with professional standards, best practices, and methodologies for ensuring successful implementation
Experience and qualifications of applicant and project personnel in collections care
Relationship of proposal to the applicant's mission and goals, and to existing or needed resources

Feasibility

Applicant's preparedness to develop, administer, and complete proposed activities within budgetary, logistical and time constraints described in the application
Appropriateness of overall budget and request, including applicant's ability to use 4Culture funds to leverage private or other public funding and support for the proposal
Applicant's presentation of a well-developed plan for raising funds needed to complete the proposed activities

Project Impact and Public Benefit

Contribution to the development and preservation of the historical record in King County
Potential to raise the visibility of heritage collections care and preservation
Ability to preserve heritage resources held in the public trust
Ability to generate broad and/or lasting public benefit

Heritage Priorities

Proposed activities which contribute to the protection and preservation of endangered historic and heritage resources
Proposed activities which address preservation of neglected or unique aspects of King County heritage, such as those defined by theme, ethnicity, or geography

Evidence of Preliminary Planning

An institutional strategic plan which includes collections care as a key element
Participation in or completion of a collections needs assessment survey

Note: Priority will be given to projects that serve underrepresented geographic areas or ethnic groups, if above criteria are met.

Questions about your proposal or its eligibility? Contact Eric Taylor at 206 296.8688.

Funding from 4Culture programs is awarded on a competitive basis. The following opportunities are available to help applicants plan projects and prepare applications:

Free workshops are presented by program staff to identify the types of projects eligible for funding, explain how funding decisions are made, provide a step-by-step review of the application, and offer tips for preparing your proposal.
Applications from previous years are available for review at the 4Culture offices.

Requirements and appeals

Learn about the legal requirements of award recipients, and about the process for appeal of a 4Culture award here.

Ready to Apply

How to prepare your application

STEP 1 - Read all of the above sections
STEP 2 - Prepare your information

You are required to submit your application using the online form. In this section, you will find tools for preparing your information, and the supplemental materials you are required to submit with your application.

Application Preview with Help Notes

The online application will ask you for information that you should prepare before you login to apply. To prepare your information, we suggest you review the Application Preview, a facsimile of the online application with helpful notes and tips from staff. You can access the Application Preview here.

If you do not have the Adobe Acrobat software required to view this document, you can download a free Adobe® Acrobat viewer.

Supplemental Materials Guide

You are required to submit the following during the "upload" step of the online application (do not mail):

Project Budget (Required)

Download the budget form provided here. Enter your estimated project costs in the Expenses column. Enter your sources of income for the project in the Income column.

Project Budget

Board List (Required)

Submit a list of your organization's board members and their affiliations. Preferred file formats are Word and PDF.

Operating Budget (Required)

Submit your organization's most current annual operating budget. Preferred file formats are Word and PDF.

Note: The online application system will not allow uploads of individual files larger than 2MB.

You are encouraged to mail us copies of any of the following:

Additional Support Materials (Optional)

Portion of long range plan showing priorities for collections care (5 pages maximum)
First five pages of current collections policy
Resumes of project personnel, including professional consultants
Letters of support from organizations or individuals providing in-kind contributions to the project, participating in the project as partners, or supportive of project outcomes
Collection content inventories, descriptions or condition reports (5 pages maximum)
Samples of standard forms to be used (5 maximum)
General plan and timeline for implementation of the proposed project

Mail/Deliver Instructions

Mailed materials must have a United States Postal Service postmark of June 29, 2011, or be delivered by 5:00 p.m., June 29, 2011, to:

Eric Taylor
4Culture
101 Prefontaine Place S
Seattle, WA 98104

STEP 3 - Begin your online application

Note: Once you have started the process of applying online, you can hit "save" after completing the required fields in each section, log out, and your application will remain saved as a draft. You can then return to your application any time before the deadline to continue working or to make changes by logging in with the username and password you created. Once you hit "submit," you will still be able to see your application, but you will not be able to make any further changes

For technical questions about the online application system, contact staff member Brandi Link at 206 296.8707.

This funding opportunity is currently closed. We will reopen the application for this opportunity at least 6 weeks before the next deadline.

START YOUR APPLICATION

Upcoming Workshops

All applicants are encouraged to attend a workshop prior to submitting your application. These free workshops provide you an opportunity to ask questions, understand specific guidelines, and be taken through a step-by-step review of the application process.

There are no scheduled workshops at this time. Check back 6 weeks before the deadline.

2011

Applicant	Project Title	Award
Black Heritage Society of Washington State	Collections Move Project	$1,129
Center for Wooden Boats	Historic Vessel Preservation Cradles	$1,170
Duvall Historical Society	Duvall Historical Society Collections Care	$2,000
Fall City Historical Society	Taking Stock	$1,200
Highline Historical Society	Rehousing Collections	$2,215
Issaquah Historical Society	Full Access: Issaquah History Museums Online Collection	$4,000
Jack Straw Productions	Jack Straw Image Archive	$3,375
Museum of History and Industry	Century 21 In Motion: Preserving Priceless Films of the Seattle World's Fair	$3,000
Nordic Heritage Museum	Cataloging the Isaacson Iron Works Collection	$3,250
Northwest African American Museum	Documenting and Preserving NAAM's Heritage Collections	$2,797
Northwest Railway Museum	Conservation Now!	$2,595
Puget Sound Maritime Historical Society	PastPerfect User Manual Development and Object Data Review	$3,700
Redmond Historical Society	Create a Museum Growth Plan	$4,000
Renton Historical Society	Digitizing the museum's film and oral history collections	$3,354
Richard Hugo House	Zine Archive & Publishing Project (ZAPP): Catalog Upgrade	$3,000
Sammamish Heritage Society	Catalog and Preservation of Sammamish Historical Collection	$2,500
Southwest Seattle Historical Society	2011 Log House Museum Collections Care	$2,215
The Steven J. (Jesse) Bernstein Archives	The Steven J. (Jesse) Bernstein Archives Project	$3,500
Tukwila Historical Society	Tukwila Historical Society Collection Preservation	$1,500
Washington State Holocaust Education Resource Center	King County Holocaust Heritage Artifacts Cataloging Project, Heinz Schwarz Collection	$2,000

2010

Applicant	Project Title	Award
Ballard Historical Society	Preserving Ballard History Through Improved Archival Practices	$1,325
Center for Wooden Boats	Complete CWBs Collection Catalogue	$2,000
Eastside Heritage Center	Preserving the Voices of Our Past	$2,134
Fall City Historical Society	Building on Strength	$1,500
Highline Historical Society	Appropriate Storage Media	$3,000
Historical Society of Federal Way	Historical Society of Federal Way Needs Assessment for Facilities & Collection Management	$1,950
Issaquah Historical Society	Increasing Collections Information & Accessibility (cont'd)	$3,550
Jack Straw Productions	Seattle History: The Student Perspective	$1,765
Kenmore Historical Society	Collections care and management	$3,971
Museum of History and Industry	Restoration of a WPA Mural by Kenneth Callahan	$4,000
Nordic Heritage Museum	Collections Records Digitization Project	$3,770
Northwest Railway Museum	Recording heat and hygro today for a better collection tomorrow	$3,010
Puget Sound Maritime Historical Society	Ship Plans Preservation Project	$4,000
Redmond Historical Society	Historical Records Preservation	$2,400
Renton Historical Society	Cataloging and Digitizing the Renton History Museums Oversize Photograph Collection	$3,375
Vashon-Maury Island Heritage Association	VMIHA Collection Standards Initiative: Upgrade Photograph Storage	$2,000
Washington State Holocaust Education Resource Center	King County Holocaust Heritage Artifacts Cataloging Project	$3,000
Washington State Jewish Historical Society	Professional Maintenance of the Jewish Historical Society Artifacts Collection	$2,000
White River Valley Museum	Improvements in Textile Storage	$3,750

2009

Applicant	Project Title	Award
Burke Museum Association	Preservation of the Viaduct: An Archaeological Collection	$4,000
Center for Wooden Boats	Preservation of Lake Union's Blanchard Junior Knockabout Sailboats	$3,264
Densho: The Japanese American Legacy Project	"Unfinished Business": Japanese American Internment Case Interviews	$4,000
Issaquah Historical Society	Increasing Collections Information & Accessibility	$2,500
Jack Straw Productions	KRAB Audio Archive: Preserving Seattle History	$3,000
Museum of Flight	Boeing Field (King County International Airport) History Archival Project	$3,750
Nordic Heritage Museum	Textile Collections Re-Housing Project	$2,000
Northwest African American Museum	NAAM Collections Catalog Development Project	$2,471
Northwest Railway Museum	Northwest Railway Museum small object cataloging	$4,000
Redmond Historical Society	Redmond Oral History Project	$1,500
Renton Historical Society & Museum	Moving the collection to new off-site storage	$3,564
Skykomish Historical Society	Preserving the Story of the Iron Goat Trail	$3,500
Snoqualmie Valley Historical Museum	We Did It Right! What's Next?	$2,380
Southwest Seattle Historical Society/Log House Museum	Creating Storage Solutions for Archive and Artifact Collections and Cataloging	$1,936
Vashon-Maury Island Heritage Association	VMIHA Collection Standards Initiative - Upgrade Artifact Storage	$3,435
Washington State Holocaust Education Resource Center	King County Holocaust Heritage Artifact Preservation Project	$3,200
White River Valley Museum	Cataloguing & Assessment of Collections for Mary Olson Farm	$4,000

2008

Applicant	Project Title	Award
Center for Wooden Boats	Updating CWB Collection Policies	$3,000
Densho: The Japanese-American Legacy Project	Saving History: Rescuing Rare Tapes of Japanese-American Redress Hearings	$4,000
Fall City Historical Society	Falls City Needs Assessment for Facilities and Collection Management	$2,500
Highline Historical Society	Photograph Digitization Project	$1,800
Hip Hop Congress	"Our Story" King County Hip Hop Heritage Project Assessment	$1,950
Issaquah Historical Society	Operation Auto Freight: Collections Inventory and Triage	$4,000
Kirkland Heritage Society	Archival Storage Materials and Collections Display at Heritage Hall	$1,000
Museum of History & Industry	Collections Initiative - Artifact Inventory	$4,000
Northwest Railway Museum	Chapel Car 5 Condition Assessment/Collection Care Report	$4,000
Northwest Seaport	Digitization of NWS Archival Collections	$2,000
Redmond Historical Society	Redmond Historical Society Collections Planning and Implementation	$1,900
Renton Historical Society & Museum	Preservation of Glass Plate Negative Images of Renton, ca 1910	$2,500
Richard Hugo House	Zine Archive and Publishing Project	$2,000
Snoqualmie Valley Historical Society	Let's Do It Right!	$3,500
Southwest Seattle Historical Society	Collection Archival Rehousing and Cataloging	$4,000
Wash. State Jewish Historical Society	Professional Management of the Jewish Historical Society Collection of Artifacts	$4,000
White River Valley Museum	Making a Community Museum's Archive Collections Accessible	$4,000
Wing Luke Asian Museum	Preserving Historical Images from the Takano Photography Studio	$2,350

So you've been approved to receive 4Culture funding for your project. What now? Here's what to expect

Notification

4Culture will send a letter to notify you of your award when it has been approved by our Board of Directors.

Contract Packet

In order to receive your funds, you must sign a Contract or Letter of Agreement with 4Culture, dependent on the amount of your award, making your organization the "Contractor". The Contract contains a "Scope of Services" that spells out the phases of your project, explains the services and the public benefits your organization will provide, as described in your application.

4Culture will prepare the forms and mail you a Contract Packet as soon as possible. We're often doing dozens of contracts at once, so please be patient. The Contract Packet will contain:

Check List - Outlining what is included and required
Two (2) copies of your Contract or Letter of Agreement (form used depends on the amount of your award)
Invoice Form(s) - includes your contract information.

Depending on your project and the status of any forms we already have from you on file, the Contract Packet may also contain:

One (1) W-9 Form

After you receive and review the Contract Packet, please:

Sign and return both copies of your Contract or Letter of Agreement
Fill out and return any additional required forms (i.e. W-9 forms). Please note: You will complete and mail in your invoice/s only when you are ready to be reimbursed for your project.

Once the Contract/Agreement and required forms are received by 4Culture, we will:

Return one signed copy of your Contract or Letter of Agreement for your records
Review all other forms and make sure they are filled out correctly

Requirements as you prepare to present or publish your 4Culture-supported project:

Please acknowledge 4Culture funding to help ensure that funds will continue to be available in the future! You must include this logo on project acknowledgements, brochures, press releases, programs, posters, flyers, advertisements, signage, etc.
Send Information about your project, including public presentations, to Brandi Link. We may be able to post information about your project on our blog and assist you with outreach. You will also be asked to submit digital images of your project at the close of your contract. Please consider collecting these images as the project unfolds. 4Culture prefers people/action shots.

Getting Paid

Complete, sign and return your invoice/s, after completing each project phase as outlined in your Scope of Services

Finishing the Contract

In order to receive your final payment and close out your contract you must submit the following by the deadline date indicated on your Contract or Letter of Agreement document. If you cannot complete your project and public benefit by that date, please contact Eric Taylor for a possible contract extension. Final documents include:

Image documentation - 5-8 images of your project (digital on DVD or CD-ROM), along with a Word document giving 4Culture permission, including parental, to publish the images. Please include captions and credit information. For more information on our image criteria, please review our Photo Documentation Guidelines.
Other project documentation includes copies of any materials produced, such as CDs, DVDs, books, with proof of your acknowledgement of 4Culture funds.

Best Practices

Let us know if we can provide you with any of the following

Other funding resources
Sample press releases
Tips on contacting your legislators and King County Council members. Your elected officials should know you make an impact in your community!

Stay in touch with us throughout this process

Let us know what your plans are and if you have any questions or concerns along the way. We are proud to support your organization and we hope we can assist you in making your project a success! Please contact Eric Taylor for guidance.

APPLY