Download a PDF of this release.
Media Contacts:
ArtsFund: Katy Corella, katycorella@artsfund.org
Allen Family Philanthropies: press@allenphilanthropies.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
$10 million awarded to 930 Washington state arts and culture organizations through the Community Accelerator Grant program
For the first time in the program’s history, awardees represent all 39 Washington State counties.
SEATTLE – August 26, 2025 – Today, ArtsFund and Allen Family Philanthropies (formerly known as the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation) announce $10M in funding to 930 grantees in the third year of the Community Accelerator Grant program. This is the largest slate of awardees in the program’s history, with 19 percent being first-time grantees. Building on the successful $10M pilot investment in 2023, and a second $10M investment in 2024, the program has now infused a total of $30M of unrestricted funding into Washington State arts and culture organizations.
Administered by ArtsFund and funded by Allen Family Philanthropies, the latest round of grants range from $2,500 to $25,000 in response to ongoing needs of arts and culture organizations. The unrestricted $10M in funding will boost organizations’ abilities to invest in their missions and essential roles serving communities across the state.
“Across the three years of this successful partnership with Allen Family Philanthropies, we have seen the breadth and depth of the arts across Washington,” said ArtsFund president and CEO, Michael Greer. “Having access to well-resourced arts organizations in every community impacts livability for all Washingtonians – from economic opportunities to social cohesion and connection. We are proud to support Washington arts and culture organizations and the multi-faceted impacts they make in their region.”
Grants were awarded to every eligible organization that applied. The average award size was $10,753. Approximately 74 percent of grantees reported annual budgets of less than $500,000—this is a five percent increase from 2024, demonstrating the need for low-barrier, unrestricted grant programs for smaller arts and culture nonprofit organizations. For the first time in the program’s history, this year’s distribution includes organizations in all 39 counties throughout Washington.
“The incredible reach of this program into every corner of our state shows just how much this type of flexible funding is needed to bolster Washington’s rich and diverse arts and culture sector,” said Lara Littlefield, executive director of Allen Family Philanthropies. “This community-driven model now supports nearly a thousand organizations and the impact of their creative work, helping to make our local communities more vibrant and healthy.”
The application was designed to be low barrier, so that no organization would find it too cumbersome to apply. The ease and efficiency during the application and distribution process are major reasons that 91% of grantees from 2024 reapplied for this funding.
Participation also increased from every corner of the state with 612 grantees in Northwest Washington, 160 in Southwest, 87 in Eastern, and 51 in Central, including funding for 12 out of 29 (41%) of Washington’s federally recognized tribes. In addition, 18.5 percent of grantees this year are organizations located in rural counties (as defined by Washington State) and the program continues to focus on communities that have historically lacked access to funding.
The leading uses grantees cite for unrestricted funding, in order of priority, are programming; salaries and labor; and rent, mortgage and facility upgrades, with 85% of organizations citing programming or salaries and labor as their top needs. While the program does not require grant reporting, case studies are available that share more about past years’ recipients and how the awards impacted organizations.
See the complete list of 2025 grant recipients HERE.
Community Advisory Panel
A Community Advisory Panel consisting of 15 panelists from around Washington and the nation provided recommendations on the program’s grant application, eligibility criteria, award distribution, and community outreach strategies.
“Being a part of the Community Advisory Panel was a unique and insightful experience that will forever change the way I view how grants are distributed to organizations,” said Teal Sherrer, Community Advisory Panelist and disability lifestyle writer. “So much thought and care was put into making the application process equitable. Beyond the design of the application, the intention to make the funding accessible to all communities across Washington is central to this program. At each stage of development, including the outreach, we focused on how to best minimize barriers so that the unrestricted funds could reach as many eligible arts and culture organizations as possible.”
Applications were considered based on representation of priority communities, geographic location, and alignment with program goals.
According to the Arts and Cultural Production Satellite Account, produced by the National Endowment of the Arts and the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the creative sector in Washington State contributes approximately $79 billion to the state’s GDP and is among the top in the nation. However, Washington State arts public spending falls 57 % behind the national average according to ArtsFund’s Livability Impact Study of the Arts. Amidst the shifting landscape of arts funding, the Community Accelerator Grant program is intended to spur revenue generation for awardees. Applicants were asked to what degree they felt this grant might positively impact their ability to build capacity and increase their sustainability: Organizations anticipate raising an additional $2.70 for every $1 of their grant, resulting in a potential program impact of $27 million.
###
About ArtsFund
ArtsFund supports the arts through leadership, advocacy, and grantmaking in order to build a healthy, equitable, and creative Washington. ArtsFund was originally founded to bring corporate and civic leaders together to help establish and sustain our region’s arts and cultural institutions. Over its grantmaking history, ArtsFund has granted approximately $130MM to over 1,000 organizations reaching all 39 of Washington state’s counties. Through ArtsFund’s advocacy work, including its longstanding arts impact research reports, which provide essential research on the value of the arts; and its leadership programs, like Board Leadership Training, which grow skills and build capacity among arts and cultural organizations, ArtsFund supports the health and wellbeing of our communities. Learn more at www.artsfund.org.
About Allen Family Philanthropies
Founded in 1988, Allen Family Philanthropies, formerly known as the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, invests in communities across the Pacific Northwest and beyond to strengthen arts and culture, empower the next generation of changemakers, and support a global network of partners working to advance biodiversity and human well-being. In addition to its core program areas of arts & culture, youth, and environment, the foundation funds bioscience via the Paul G. Allen Frontiers Group and contributes to a wide range of community grants across Washington state. Learn more at www.allenphilanthropies.org.
Fast Facts
• A total of $10M has been awarded to 930 organizations.
• 19% of groups were first time applicants to the program.
• 59% of grantees received grants across all three years of the program.
• 100% of eligible applicants received a grant.
• Arts and culture organizations across all 39 counties received funding.
• Grants range from $2,500 to $25,000 and are unrestricted.
• The average grant size is $10,753.
• Award averages were higher among groups from rural communities and other communities who have historically lacked access to funding.
• Approximately 74% of grantees reported their annual budget at less than $500K.
• A third (33%) of all awardees had a budget between $25,000 and $100,000, meaning smaller groups are getting the funding.
• All counties with average award size over $12,500 have a population density of less than 100 people per sq. mi.
• The program was informed by a Community Advisory Panel who advised ArtsFund on the application design, outreach, evaluation and outcome, and included 15 panelists who represent geographic and demographic diversity.
• Grantees anticipate a 2.7: 1 revenue generation for every $1 of their grant, resulting in a potential program impact of $27 million.
Community Representation
The Community Accelerator Grant process was developed to support cultural organizations from communities that have historically lacked access to mainstream funding. In order to measure the degree to which organizations are serving those various communities, the application asked for geographic location, representation of staff and Board, and programming focus.
• Organizations in all 39 Washington counties received funding, the first time in the program’s history.
• Participation increased from every corner of the state with 612 grantees in Northwest Washington, 160 in Southwest, 87 in Eastern, and 51 in Central.
• 12 out of 29 (41%) of Washington’s federally recognized tribes received funding.
• In addition, 18.5% of grantees this year are organizations located in rural counties (as defined by Washington State).
Washington’s Arts and Cultural Organizations
• Of the 12 discipline options, the top five ranked include Music (24%), Cultural Heritage (16%), Multidisciplinary (12.5%), Visual Arts (12%), and Theatre (11%).
• Organizations cite the top uses for funding, in order of priority, include programming (46%); salaries and labor (39%); rent, mortgage and facility upgrades (9%); communications and marketing (3%); and other (4%), with 85% of organizations citing programming and salaries and labor as their top needs.
• Approximately $79 billion in value was added to the Washington State economy through the arts in 2023,according to the Arts and Cultural Production Satellite Account, produced by the National Endowment of the Arts and the Bureau of Economic Analysis.