• Capital projects, consider applying for Building for Equity: Facilities or Building for Equity: Project Development.
• Newly formed organizations, consider applying for Launch.

• Discipline-focused Services and Public Programming: your organization’s primary purpose is aligned with the discipline selected in your application (arts, heritage, historic preservation, or science & technology); your organization offers services and programs available to the public aligned with your mission and goals and pertaining to your discipline.
• Public Benefit: your organization offers substantial public benefit, including but not limited to: reduced cost or free admission, events, programs, or services offered to members of the public. Your organization has a focus on increasing access to arts, heritage, historic preservation, or science and technology experiences in King County.
• Community Engagement and Impact: your organization engages with your community; your organization provides community access to your programs and services; your organization has demonstrated responsiveness to your community’s needs/interests; your organization benefits local community through economic impact.
• Advancing Equity: 4Culture’s mission focuses on racial equity and envisions a county where culture is essential and accessible to all. Your organization’s focus is on marginalized communities, especially communities that are disproportionately impacted by structural racism (e.g. serving Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities, engaging BIPOC leaders within a community, etc.). Meeting this criterion is not a requirement to be eligible for funding.
• Management and Sustainability: your organization has paid and/or unpaid staff, volunteer, and board expertise and experience to manage your organization; your organization has goals for internal operations in 2026 and over the next two to three years; your organization has demonstrated organizational adaptability to changes in your community and in the field.

• Providing the public with access to your creative work, project, or program for free or at a reduced rate.
• Providing educational programs and experiences at cultural organizations, schools, or other venues accessible to the public.
• Exploring ways to expand and broaden your creative work and activities for the education and entertainment of the public.
• Participating in collaborative relationships with other cultural organizations, individuals, and groups to extend the reach and impact of a project or program for the benefit of the public.
• Organizational or individual capacity-building projects or activities that provide meaningful public benefits not otherwise achievable.
• For cultural organizations: providing, through technological and other means, services or programs in locations other than an organization’s own facilities.

• Have a mission that includes a focus on one of our four disciplines:

  • Arts: includes organizations focused on creative place-making, cultural festivals, dance, design, film, folk and traditional arts, literary arts, multidisciplinary arts, music, theater, and visual arts.

  • Heritage: includes organizations focused on the preservation and transmission of local history; ethnic history; Native cultures; folklore and intangible cultural heritage; and historic and archaeological resources.

  • Historic Preservation: includes organizations focused on advocacy or assistance to preserve, promote, and sustain historic places; education about our historic built environment; or stewarding historic properties that serve as a venue for cultural activities.

  • Science and Technology: includes organizations focused on natural and social sciences, characterized by a formalized framework that entails the reproducible testing and revision of falsifiable ideas based on observable facts, as well as formal and applied sciences, such as mathematics and engineering. Applicants that are zoos or aquariums must also be accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.

• Have your primary location in King County and a significant portion of your activities occur in King County.

• Have a board of directors, or an advisory council or equivalent decision-making body.

• Have a proven two-year record of providing heritage, historic preservation, or science & technology experiences or services to the residents and visitors of King County. Arts organizations must have a proven three-year record of providing arts experiences or services to the residents and visitors of King County.

• If your organization is a Local Arts Agency (LAA) or a municipal historic preservation program, please contact your Program Manager before beginning your application.

• If you are using a fiscal sponsor to apply for this grant, you must have prior approval by 4Culture staff. You will need to indicate if you are applying with a Fiscal Sponsor in your application, and 4Culture will review both you and your fiscal sponsor’s eligibility to receive funding. Please review our Fiscal Sponsorship page.

• If you are a Science and Technology organization, please review the additional information below.

• K-12 schools and school districts.

• Individual practitioners.

• This grant may not be used for religious worship or instruction.

• Staff salaries.

• Utilities.

• Supplies.

• Fees.

• Services.

• General costs related to arts, heritage, historic preservation, and science & technology programs and activities accessible to King County residents and visitors.

• Fundraising.

• Capital projects. Please see our Building for Equity: Facilities or Building for Equity: Project Development grants.

• Be incorporated in the state of Washington.

• Be recognized by the IRS as a 501(c)(3) OR be working with an eligible Fiscal Sponsor.

• Be based in and conduct a majority of your mission-based, public-facing activities in King County with a primary focus on science and technology.

• A university, college, or institution of higher education.

• An agency of the state or any of its political subdivisions.

• A municipal corporation.

• An organization that raises money for redistribution to multiple cultural organizations.

• A radio or television broadcasting network or station, cable communications system, Internet-based communications venture or service, newspaper, or magazine.

• Health and Wellbeing: medical and public health practice, broadly defined rather than only legally defined, including but not limited to medical treatment; medical instruction; medical or nutritional advice as well as mental health or wellness advice; life coaching; or personal growth instruction.

• Training: vocational training, general professional development, or programs intended to assist adults in obtaining employment. Professional development specific to staff and volunteers of science organizations providing experiences to the general public is eligible.

• Pseudoscience: the promotion of any system of beliefs or concepts that exhibits characteristics including but not limited to the inability in principle to be falsified by observable facts, lacking a research framework that tests and revises ideas based on observable facts, and/or has been demonstrated to be false by observable facts

• Research: the conduct of primary research not directly providing educational experiences to the general public

• Social Services: the delivery of social services, including but not limited to such services as food banks and pantries, affordable housing, or disability assistance

• Incidental Programs: science and technology projects, events, or activities by organizations that do not meet the eligibility criteria for a science organization

• Lobbying: including grassroots lobbying or advocacy that promotes grassroots lobbying

• Organization budget size.
• Panel score.
• Additional funds for organizations that meet Geographic and Equity Investment criteria.

Narrative Questions in the Sustained Support Application Form

Discipline-Focused Services and Public Programming: please describe your organization’s services and public programming. For example:

• How do your organization’s services and public programs help advance your mission and strategic goals?
• Share at least one example of a public program or service you produced in the last two years that you are most proud of and why.
• How does this programming align with your chosen primary discipline selected in your application (arts, heritage, historic preservation, or science & technology)?

Please note: panelists will review the Programs/Events/Activities List below, in conjunction with this narrative question to evaluate the Discipline-focused Services and Public Programming criterion.

Public Benefit: please describe your public benefits – defined in program guidelines as “including but not limited to: reduced cost or free admission, events, programs, or services offered to members of the public to increase access to arts/heritage/historic preservation/science and technology experiences in King County.” These may be ongoing, or specific to 2026/2027. Please note: these Public Benefit examples may be utilized in the language of your contract, if awarded.

Community Engagement and Impact: please describe your organization’s community engagement and impact. For example:

• Describe your community as it pertains to your organization’s members, visitors, and/or the audiences you reach.
• How does your community access your programs and services?
• How do your programs/events/activities demonstrate your organization’s responsiveness to community needs/interests? Examples of this may include access to content and/or improved access for historically underserved communities and/or disabled communities.

Please note: panelists will review the Economic Impact questions, in conjunction with this narrative question, to evaluate the Community Engagement and Impact criterion.

Advancing Equity: please describe your organization’s efforts in advancing equity. For example:

• Does your organization focus on or take well-considered measures towards serving historically marginalized communities, especially communities that are disproportionately impacted by structural racism (e.g. serving Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities, engaging BIPOC leaders within a community, etc.)?
• Describe existing efforts, partnerships, collaborations, projects, or programs your organization is involved with that engage historically marginalized communities.
• For Science & Technology organizations, please share more about how you serve communities historically and currently underrepresented in scientific fields and denied the benefits of scientific research. This can include, but is not limited to your work with women, LGBTQ+, persons with disabilities, Black, Latine/x, and Native communities.

Complete this question to the best of your ability and in alignment with your organization’s readiness to engage in and share your equity work. If these questions do not apply to your organization, you may simply state so. The answer to this question is not a requirement to be eligible for funding. However, panelists will review your response to evaluate the Advancing Equity criterion, and your response will be considered in determining Equity Investments.

Management and Sustainability: please describe your organization’s management and sustainability efforts. For example:

• Please share the goals for your organization’s internal operations in 2026 and over the next two to three years. These might reflect your organization’s ability to adapt to unforeseen circumstances; how they were informed by best practices in your field; and/or reflect staff, volunteer, board, and/or community involvement.
• We understand organizations have a multitude of operational needs. Can you please share what financial needs your organization is currently experiencing and how this grant can potentially support these efforts? This might include pay for staff salaries, rent, or mortgage payments, etc.

Please note: panelists will review the Organizational Board List, in conjunction with this narrative question, to evaluate the Management and Sustainability criterion. It is important for 4Culture funding that your organization has a decision-making body that is part of your organizational structure. Please refer to the guidelines for more information.

Public Benefit: General, Equity Inclusion, and Geographic Inclusion

Please select up to three General Public Benefits and up to three Equity Inclusion and Geographic Inclusion Public Benefits your organization provides throughout the year. If you are awarded funding, these public benefits may appear in your contract; only select the public benefits on which you would like to report.

Economic Impact

Your organization stimulates the local economy through spending on wages, goods, services; promoting tourism and visitor-related spending at local businesses; and contributions to community well-being and quality of life, which have indirect economic benefits. The following measurable figures help demonstrate your direct economic impact.

1. Enter the number of full-time equivalent staff (FTE) your organization employed in your last fiscal year. _____
   Please only include staff that receive either salary or hourly pay; individuals receiving stipends should not be included. This number should reflect the full-time employment equivalency, not the total number of staff. For example, two (2) staff who work ½ time = 1.0 FTE.
2. Enter total earned revenues from the last complete fiscal year. Include mission-based events, programs, ticket sales, and membership. Do NOT include contributed revenue, such as grants or donations.
3. Enter the percentage of your in-person attendees who are visitors to King County.
4. How did you determine the percentage of in-person attendees who travel from outside King County (either option is acceptable)? Attendee Verification/Organization Estimates

Required Support Materials in the Sustained Support Application Form

Programs/Events/Primary Activities list: please submit a list of your organization’s primary programs, events, and/or activities from the last 12 months. Please include date or date range, location, and attendance. This list is not meant to be all inclusive. Instead, please share a range of programs/events/activities that best represent the narrative sections in your application and items you want to highlight for the panel review.

Organizational Board List: you must submit a list of your organization’s board members, their terms, and their employment or community affiliation in this section of the application.

Additional components to complete your Account Organization Profile

Make sure you have completed these components BEFORE submitting your application, if you have not completed these components your application is considered INCOMPLETE.

Demographic Information: your organization profile in our application portal must provide demographic information for your board and staff for the current year. We use this information to help us understand how well we are doing in our efforts to reach all communities in King County. Read our privacy policy for information about how we protect your information. Your application is not complete if your demographic information is not updated for the current year.

Not sure how to complete your demographics information? Watch a tutorial video on how to complete your organization’s demographic survey. Substitulos en Español | 中文字幕（繁體)

Financial Information: your organization profile in our application portal must provide your organization’s most recent IRS 990 form. Make certain it is up to date and confirm the accuracy of your address. If you have never provided us with this information, please include your two-three most recent years (2022, 2023, and 2024). If you do not file IRS 990, please use the financial information you have to complete the form in the portal.

Not sure how to find your organization’s 990? Watch this tutorial video. Substitulos en Español | 中文字幕（繁體)