Community Accelerator Grant

ArtsFund is pleased to partner with Allen Family Philanthropies (former known as 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 third year, it awarded 930 grants to organizations in Washington’s 39 counties. Funding provides 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 closed. All applicants have been notified of their award status, and awards will be disbursed by October 1, 2025.

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Funded by Allen Family Philanthropies, year 3 of the Community Accelerator Grant program provides 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, highlighted updates to the 2025 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 took place in April 2025 and incorporated the following accessibility features: ASL interpretation, visual descriptions, and live ASR captions.  

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

All applicants have been notified of their award status, and awards will be disbursed by October 1, 2025. If you have any questions about your award status or disbursement, please contact accelerator@artsfund.org.

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

The Community Accelerator Grant invests 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.