Building for Equity: Anchoring Community
Funds and fosters equitable development for organizations buying, building, or renovating buildings and specialized spaces that make cultural experiences possible. Organizations with project budgets of $10 million and above are invited to apply.
How to Apply
How to Apply
All eligible organizations with facility project budgets over $10 million are welcome to submit a Letter of Interest in July 2025. After a review and interview process, those invited will apply online from September 4 to November 6.
Funding cycles for this grant may vary. Please contact Maya Santos, Building for Equity Program Manager, at for details.
What Makes this Program Unique
What Makes this Program Unique
Aimed at cultivating a community of equitable development practitioners in King County, this program prioritizes participatory processes, measurable outcomes, and evaluation efforts that advance social equity, centering those disproportionately impacted by systemic racism.
Foundational to this grant is King County’s Building for Equity initiative to support cultural building projects and create a pathway to racial equity in cultural facilities funding. The Building for Equity program provides a combination of funding, technical support, and strategic partnerships geared toward dismantling racism in cultural facilities funding and fostering equitable development throughout the county.
For more resources on equitable development visit our Building for Equity Field Resources page.
Helping You Succeed
Helping You Succeed
Field Resources
No matter where you are in your process, we are here to help. Visit our Building for Equity: Field Resources page, for an ongoing list of resources to help you achieve your facility project goals.
Contact Us
Please contact us early if you are interested in this new program. We look forward to getting to know your facility project.
Maya Santos, Building for Equity Program Manager
(206) 263-0691
Lauren Miles, Building for Equity Support Specialist
206-263-3210
Current Cultural Space Partnerships
Current Cultural Space Partnerships
Stronger Together –Strategic partnerships create a more equitable cultural sector
In 2019, the King County Council approved Building for Equity, an initiative to support cultural building projects and create a pathway for us to evolve our funding practices toward more equitable outcomes. This gave us the unique opportunity to re-envision a facilities grant that increases the economic viability of BIPOC-led arts and cultural organizations.
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Seattle Opera and Tasveer enter partnership under 4Culture grant
For four years, 4Culture and King County have administered a partnership to provide Cultural Facilities grants to remedy systematic racial inequity, and the current model for this program is called Building for Equity. The program provides funding, technical support, and strategic partnerships between specially-paired organizations such as Seattle Opera and Tasveer, and between the Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience and the Korean American Historical Society.
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