Community Accelerator Grant

ArtsFund is pleased to partner with the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation on the third round of funding for the Community Accelerator Grant, a $10 million investment in Washington state’s arts and culture sector. The program, now in its third year, provides unrestricted grants to cultural nonprofit organizations across Washington state. In the program’s second year, it awarded 811 grants to organizations reaching 37 of Washington’s 39 counties. Funding will provide essential capital to Washington’s cultural organizations, including fiscally sponsored organizations and tribal entities, with primary missions of producing or supporting arts and cultural activities. The funds are intended to boost arts organizations’ ability to invest in their missions and essential roles serving communities across the state.

Applications for the 2025 Community Accelerator Grant are now closed. All applicants will be notified of their award status by September 1, 2025, and awards will be disbursed by October 1, 2025.

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Funded by the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, year 3 of the Community Accelerator Grant program will provide unrestricted grants for cultural organizations across Washington state in amounts of $2,500 to $25,000.

The Community Accelerator Grant informational webinar walked interested applicants through the application process, offered insight into eligibility changes for 2025, highlights updates to this year’s application, and provided an opportunity for a question-and-answer session with ArtsFund staff.

Accessibility:
ASL interpretation
Visual descriptions
Auto-generated closed captioning* 

*The recording of this webinar has professional captions in English, French, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Portuguese, Russian, Somali, Spanish, Tagalog, and Vietnamese.

The recording of the informative webinar has professional captions in English, French, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Portuguese, Russian, Somali, Spanish, Tagalog, and Vietnamese.

The Community Accelerator Grant is intended to fund Washington State’s arts and culture sector. 501(c)(3) public charities, organizations fiscally sponsored by a 501(c)(3) public charity, and state or federally recognized tribal entities are eligible to apply. In addition, organizations must: 

– Have a primary mission to produce or support arts and cultural activities.  

– Have existed for three or more years. 

– Have an average annual operating budget of $25,000 or greater over FY2023, FY2024, and FY025 (budgeted). 

Applicants considered ineligible include:  

– Individuals 

– Private foundations

– For-profit organizations 

– Political advocacy organizations 

– Organizations located outside of Washington State 

– Churches and religious organizations 

– Government entities, except tribal governments 

The virtual info session in April 2025 incorporates the following accessibility features: ASL interpretation, visual descriptions, and live ASR captions.  

The application portal will be tested for screen reader compatibility. A copy of the application is available for download here. 

If you have any additional access needs or questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to the grantmaking team at accelerator@artsfund.org.

All applicants will be notified of their award status by September 1, 2025, and awards will be disbursed by October 1, 2025.

The program will be informed by a Community Advisory Panel that represents geographic and demographic diversity. The panel will work to ensure decision-making is as close to the impacted communities as possible.

The Community Accelerator Grant will invest in a stronger, more inclusive and thriving arts and cultural sector for Washington state by allowing organizations to self-determine how best to utilize their funding. The funds are intended to boost arts organizations’ ability to invest in their missions and essential roles serving communities across the state. 

The Community Accelerator Grant is now closed. You can reach ArtsFund’s grantmaking team via email at accelerator@artsfund.org.