Cultural Relief Fund: Individuals

Grants of up to $2,000 are available to help support necessities including housing, utilities, groceries, and childcare to those who contribute to the cultural and creative industries within King County, Washington.

UPDATE: Between April 1 and July 15, 4Culture allocated $510,500 in COVID-19 relief funding to cultural workers in King County. Since that time, we have we have been entrusted with an additional $500,000 from King County to distribute federal CARES Act funds to cultural workers who are suffering financial losses due to the COVID-19 public health crisis.

Steps to Apply

1 About the Cultural Relief Fund

Applicants must be residents of King County in Washington State and work in the fields of one or more of 4Culture’s program areas: arts, heritage, historic preservation, and public art.

Cultural workers who received or applied for 4Culture’s previous COVID-19 Emergency and Creative Response funds are eligible to apply to this grant opportunity.

You will need to fill out a simple application; the estimated completion time is 30 minutes. It includes questions about your need for funding, which was unforeseen prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

For purpose of this application, “cultural worker” is defined as an individual whose current or primary occupation, paid or unpaid, is within 4Culture’s program areas: arts, heritage, historic preservation, and public art. This can include but is not limited to:

Those working in the fields of heritage and historic preservation including, public history, cultural/ethnic heritage, archives, collections, curation, museum (education, interpretation, exhibits), restoration (historic preservation and art), archeology, and research.
Staff of arts, heritage, and historic preservation organizations.
Artists/Individuals working in the disciplines of public art, dance, theater, music, media, literature, and the visual arts.

Important Information about CARES Act Funding

The funds for this grant program were secured by 4Culture through a partnership with King County, which is a recipient of a CARES Act grant. The CARES (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security) Act is a federal funding source created to provide fast and direct economic assistance for American workers and families and small businesses, and to preserve jobs for American industries. As a subrecipient of these federal funds, King County and 4Culture are required to abide by federal regulations for these dollars. All CARES Act requirements will be strictly enforced. Details about relevant requirements are provided below and in the application.

2 Are You Eligible?

All applicants must:

Be an individual who can demonstrate current and ongoing work in the fields of arts, heritage, historic preservation, or public art.
Reside full-time in King County, Washington.
Be at least 18 years old.
Not be 4Culture staff, Advisory Committee member, Board member, consultant, or an Emergency Relief Fund panelist during the period of review.
If selected, be able to complete required contract documents by December 15, 2020. If these documents are not completed and returned to 4Culture by this date, funds will not be awarded due to CARES Act funding deadlines.

All eligible applications will be reviewed using the following selection criteria:

Applicant demonstrates a direct financial impact from the outbreak of the COVID-19 virus including but not limited to: loss of income (e.g. wages, commissions, gigs, ticket/art/book sales, clients, etc.) or loss of opportunity (e.g. cancellation of a contract, fellowship, residency, performance, screening, reading, exhibition, etc.), AND
Applicant demonstrates an urgent need and use of grant funds for living expenses.

Grant funds may not be used to pay or compensate for costs reimbursed under any other federal or state program including, but not limited to the Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) and the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).

A note about equity: applicants who reside outside of Seattle but within King County and/or are identified as low-income will receive the highest priority.

3 Helping You Succeed

Translation and Assistance

If you anticipate a barrier to your participation due to limited English writing ability, visual impairment, or would like to request assistance to access this application, please contact us at hello@4culture.org, 206-296-7580, or TTY 711.

Si usted cree que pueda tener un obstáculo para participar debido a su capacidad limitada de escritura en inglés, discapacidad visual o si desea solicitar asistencia para acceder a esta aplicación, contáctenos en hello@4culture.org, en el (206) 296-7580 o TTY 711.

如需要英语阅读写作协助、因视力障碍或任何残疾而需协助填写或其他说明材料、或需要其他关于申请表格的协助服务，请通过电话(206 296 7580 或 TTY 711)或电邮(hello@4culture.org)与我们联系。

Support

4Culture offices and gallery are closed due to recommendations from King County Public Health; however, we are working remotely and are available by email and phone to assist you if you may have questions or feel unclear about something. Please don’t hesitate to contact us!

Contact

General information and technical support:
Jackie Mixon
hello@4culture.org
(206) 296-7580
TTY: 711

Arts:
Heather Dwyer
206-263-1597

Melissa Newbill
206-263-1603

Heritage:
Megumi Nagata
206-263-3474

Preservation:
Brandi Link
206-263-1593

Public Art:
Kelly Pajek
206-263-1606

4 After You Submit

Timeline

All applications for this grant must be submitted by midnight, October 28, 2020. On or before December 7th, you will receive an email letting you know whether or not you have received funding. Contracts will be issued and must be signed electronically by all parties prior to December 15, 2020. Due to CARES Act restrictions, contracts not signed by December 15, 2020 will be cancelled, and funds will not be paid. Exceptions and extensions cannot be offered.

Selection Process

4Culture will facilitate a review process of eligible applications. Reviewers comprised of cultural workers will evaluate and score applications for funding based upon the stated criteria.

Contracts and Payment

If your application is awarded funding, the staff listed in these guidelines will ensure you receive a contract and will help you access payment by December 30, 2020.

Requirements

The funds for this grant program are from the CARES Act, a federal funding source created to provide fast and direct economic assistance for American workers and industries. All CARES Act requirements, including eligibility, use of funds, completion of documents, and deadline dates must be strictly enforced.

5 Apply

Step 1: Access Your 4Culture Account

If have not previously applied to 4Culture, be sure to start you’re your application early and REQUEST AN ACCOUNT. If you already have a 4Culture account, go ahead and login.

Step 2: Complete Your Demographic Profile

In your 4Culture account, under “YOUR PROFILE” you will find your DEMOGRAPHIC profile. Please complete this or make updates and be sure to click SUMBIT when you have completed the questions. This is a required step for this grant.

This information will not be a determining factor in decision-making, but it is required as we use this to understand how well we are doing in our efforts to serve all communities in King County.

Step 3: Start Your Application

Once you’ve started your application, you can save it as a draft and continue to work on it up to the deadline. Once you click “Submit,” your application is final. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions during this process.

What’s in the Application?

This application will require that you submit your name, contact information, and some demographic information.
The application requires answering basic questions about you and your work in the cultural field and the communities you work within and/or support.
Applicants must answer several questions about their financial status and resources being pursued at this time. Only financial loss unanticipated prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, between March 1 – December 30, 2020 will be considered for this grant. Applicants who have received federal funding through Unemployment benefits or Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) or previous 4Culture Emergency funding must demonstrate their financial need exceeds the support from these resources. Please note, if selected you may be required to provide documentation to support your claims of loss and income.
The need for financial support during this time is greater than we’ve experienced in our 50+ year history. Given our limited resources, applicants will be asked to request support in the amount of $1,000 or $2,000. Recipients may receive less than their request in an effort fund a greater number of applicants.
You must submit one to four samples of past or in-process projects that demonstrate your work within the cultural field. Accepted formats include up to two URLs for links to videos, audio files, or websites and up to two uploads including text documents or images (2 MB max).

Support

General information and technical support:
Jackie Mixon
hello@4culture.org
206-296-7580
TTY: 711