Building for Equity: Field Resources

Building for Equity serves organizations with a focus on arts, science, heritage, and historic preservation that seek to build, remodel, and acquire spaces that facilitate their programs in King County.

We support organizations implementing their facilities projects in ways that contribute to racial equity and equitable development. No matter where you are in your process, we are here to help. Here, we’ve compiled an ongoing list of resources for Building for Equity applicants to help you achieve your facility project goals.

These resources are intended to be used as a starting point in your journey towards a long-term facility goal. Please do not hesitate to reach out for help in finding specific resources you do not see here.

About Equitable Development

About Equitable Development

We encourage organizations to consider what role they can play in fostering equitable development through their facilities projects.

Equitable development and construction practices build economic resilience in underserved communities and help sustain the cultural and science sector.

Equitable development (is) public and private investments, programs, and policies in geographic areas that take into account the history and current conditions to meet the needs of marginalized populations and to reduce disparities so that quality-of-life outcomes are equitably distributed for both existing residents and new residents to create strong communities.

Equity drivers include:

  • Advances economic mobility and opportunity for residents;
  • Prevents residential, commercial, and cultural displacement;
  • Builds upon and protects local cultural assets that anchor communities;
  • Supports organizational capacity building;
  • Promotes transportation mobility and connectivity; and
  • Enables equitable access for all communities.

* source: DCHS-King County Equitable Development Initiative Implementation Plan Phase 1

Things to consider before pursuing a Facilities Project

Things to consider before pursuing a Facilities Project

Check out the Cultural Space Handbook a guide through stages like “getting ready”, “ownership models”, “when you find a property”, “rehabbing your space”, and much more by the Cultural Space Agency.

Based on the following milestones, Building for Equity grants focus on organizations planning and building a facility.

Milestones toward completing a Facilities Project

About Racial Equity

About Racial Equity

Established in 2019 as a joint initiative between 4Culture, Executive Dow Constantine, and the King County Council, Building for Equity was created to support cultural building projects and create a pathway to racial equity in our facilities funding.

With a focus on racial equity, 4Culture funds, supports, and advocates for culture to enhance the quality of life in King County. We acknowledge that systematic inequity takes many forms—racism, sexism, ableism, transphobia, heterosexism, and more. Our focus on racial equity provides us with tools we can use to dismantle all oppressions. As we work to make our practices more racially equitable, we encourage your organization staff and leadership to assess their personal knowledge of interpersonal and systemic racism and how it permeates the work of your organization and your project.

We compiled some resources to get you started.

To learn more about 4Culture’s work in racial equity visit Racial Equity at 4Culture.

Build your Equitable Development Practice

Build your Equitable Development Practice

Building for Equity facility project applications with project budgets over $10m must have an equitable development practice in place for their proposed projects.

The following resources include professional development opportunities, as well as tools for planning and measuring the impact of your project on surrounding communities.

Certification, Programs, Tools and Credits

  • Build Art Space Equitably (BASE) (Cultural Space Agency)
    • This 20-person annual cohort explores a curriculum centered on the intersection of commercial real estate, community development, and the arts
  • Pathways to Equity (Open Architecture Collaborative)
    • An interactive program designed to introduce designers to methods for equity in practice, historical and systemic racism within the built environment, self-reflective and community building practices, and strategies for community engagement.
  • Pilot-Credits IPpc89: Social equity within the community (LEEDuser)
    • A starting place for participating LEED green building projects to understand their relationships to the impacted community and implement targeted strategies that address social equity.
  • SEED Evaluator (SEED Network)
    • A free online tool to help designers, project developers, community leaders and others who desire a common standard to guide, measure, evaluate and certify the social, economic and environmental impact of design projects.
  • Building Environmental Justice Tool
    • Environmental justice (EJ) & social equity issues are different and nuanced from project to project with no cookie-cutter solutions. With that in mind, this toolkit provides the data, resources, and framework to identify pressing issues and document your journey to accounting for more equitable design.

Best Practices

Resources

Looking for Consultants?

Looking for Consultants?

Capacity Building

Development and Pre-Design Support

Looking for Equitable Funding opportunities?

Looking for Equitable Funding opportunities?

State and Federal-level funding opportunities that focus on cultural and community facilities projects:

 

Looking for a Space immediately?

Looking for a Space immediately?

Find art, rehearsal, event, exhibition, and meeting spaces at Spacefinder

Not finding resources here near you?

Not finding resources here near you?

While we continue to develop this page to broadly serve all of King County, below are places to look for resources more local to you if not found here yet.

Your local government is a great place to start for resources and opportunities near you. Find your council district by visiting: King County Councilmembers and districts – King County, Washington

Local Arts Agencies (LAAs) provide cultural services for suburban and unincorporated communities in King County. 4Culture facilitates a network of 26 LAAs through direct funding and bi-monthly meetings, which foster innovative avenues for collaboration. Visit: Local Arts Agencies | 4Cultureto find your LAA.

Contact 4Culture Building for Equity

Contact 4Culture Building for Equity

Please get in touch with us if you have any questions or requests. We look forward to getting to know your organization and facility project!

You can contact us about:

  • Questions regarding Building for Equity grants (applying, contracting, reimbursement/payments).
  • Review of draft Building for Equity grant applications.
  • Scheduling a site visit or a meeting.
  • Requests for a presentation on Building for Equity funding programs
  • Paid and volunteer opportunities at 4Culture.
  • Finding specific consultants, contractors, or other resources not found here.

Maya Santos, Building for Equity Program Manager maya.santos@4culture.org

Lauren Miles, Building for Equity Support Specialist lauren.miles@4culture.org