Cultural Equipment grants fund the purchase and installation of equipment that can be considered as fixed assets, including computer hardware. You can request a minimum of $1,000 to a maximum of $10,000 for this grant. Applicants often receive partial funding of their request.

Criteria

We fund all of our grants through a competitive process, carefully evaluating each application.

Public Benefit: Why It Matters

Every time a visitor to Washington State stays in a hotel, they pay a Lodging Tax—this is where our funding comes from – and our mission is to put it back into the community. As you work through your application, tell us exactly how your fellow King County residents will be able to enjoy and learn from your work. Read about public benefit more in depth here. Here are some ways you can provide public benefit with equipment:

• Use of the equipment to create free or low-cost performances, exhibitions, workshops, screenings, or readings, or to take care of collections that reflect all of King County’s residents.
• Use of the equipment by groups serving marginalized communities including, but not limited to, Black, Indigenous, and People of Color in King County, people with disabilities, people with low-incomes, youth and senior groups, residents in rural or suburban King County, and/or other historically marginalized groups.
• Use of the equipment to broaden your ability to reach individuals with disabilities or to make your programs or facility more accessible to them.
• Use of the equipment that prioritizes public health benefits (i.e., air filtration units, or equipment related to remote online programming)
• Sharing the equipment with other cultural groups at no cost or low cost.

Equity Investments

In order to combat inequities in our grantmaking, 4Culture has implemented Equity Investments. This practice incorporates indicators of structural inequity into our panel process, including geographic location, income, operating budget, audiences served, and project focus. By prioritizing these factors, we intend to more equitably distribute funds to communities that have historically been excluded from cultural funding.

Each of our grant programs implements an Equity Investment system tailored to the specific needs of its applicants; please read the After You Submit section of this page for details on how Equity Investments will function for this grant. This organization-wide practice—and what we learn about its impact—is an important step towards more equitable funding at 4Culture and throughout the King County cultural sector.

You

• Cultural Equipment grants are available for King County-based, tax-exempt, nonprofit cultural organizations and public agencies with a primary mission focus on arts, heritage, or preservation.
• You must have a legally-constituted board of directors, have no ongoing and continual deficits in your operating budget, and have the ability to demonstrate a minimum two-year operating history of offering public benefit to the residents of King County.
• If funded, you’ll be required to provide a W-9 form, sign a contract, and provide proof of liability insurance that names 4Culture as additional insured.
• Equipment purchased using these funds must be stored in a secure location.
• K-12 schools and school districts are not eligible for this grant.
• Equipment purchased with this grant may not be used for religious worship or instruction.

Your Project

Cultural Equipment funds may be used to pay for the following:

• Purchase of equipment that can be considered as fixed assets intended to be held for 10 years or more, such as machinery, equipment, or computer hardware.
• Installation fees if they are under 10% of your total request.
• Smaller items that are less than $200 per unit, if you demonstrate that the item is essential to the functionality of the larger equipment requested.
• Your total request should be a minimum of $1,000 and no more than $10,000.

Cultural Equipment funds may not be used to pay for the following:

• Facility design, engineering, purchase, or remodeling of a facility.
• General equipment maintenance or repairs.
• Installation fees that are over 10% of your total request.
• Purchase of materials and supplies that are less than $200 per unit and have expected useful life of less than 12 months, such as lightbulbs and small tools.
• Purchase of warranties, subscriptions, or computer software.
• Items purchased before December 7, 2023.
• Fees directed to staff unless their work on the project is outside their regular job duties and payment is above and beyond their regular compensation structure.

Workshops

Workshops can make a significant difference in the success of your application. We find that the strongest applications often come from people who have attended a workshop! All workshops will be held remotely. Please register via the links provided to receive Zoom meeting information.

This grant is currently closed. Workshops will be posted 6-8 weeks before the next deadline date.

If you are unable to attend a workshop, this workshop recording is available for you to view:

Tutorial Video

Watch this step-by-step application tutorial video to assist you through the process of creating an account, starting your application, and saving it for later.

Resources

View last cycle’s Arts, Heritage and Preservation applicants on our Past Grants page. This worksheet is available to help you with your application. Download the worksheet: Word or PDF

You can also read through the application questions before getting started:

Contact

We’re here to help! Please contact us if you have a question about this program, or if you would like have your application draft reviewed by a 4Culture staff member.

Arts
Melissa Newbill
melissa.newbill@4culture.org
206-263-1603

Heritage
Megumi Nagata
megumi.nagata@4culture.org
206-263-3474

Preservation
Dana Phelan
dana.phelan@4culture.org
206-263-1604

Translation and Assistance

The guidelines, a detailed explanation of how to apply, and the application are in English. If this is a barrier that stops you from understanding the grant or applying due to limited English writing ability, visual impairment, or you would like to request assistance to create an application, please contact hello@4culture.org or call (206) 296-7580 or TTY 711, and we will make sure you get the support you need.
 
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Timeline

The deadline for this grant is August 30, 2023 at 5:00 pm PDT. Equipment requested through this grant program may not be purchased before December 7, 2023.

Panel Process

Every cycle of equipment proposals has a different pool of projects, and every grant is made by a panel consisting of working professionals in the fields we fund, and who represent all parts of King County, sizes of organizations, and different points of view. The panel comes together to talk about the proposals and recommends funding for selected proposals to 4Culture’s Advisory Committees and Board based on the criteria outlined above. The 4Culture Board then approves the final list of awards. Applicants will be notified soon after the Board’s approval, which will take place December 7, 2023.

The Equity Investment for this program is a dollar amount added to the proposed award to projects that meet one or more of the following requirements. Organizations with an annual budget over $3.5 million do not qualify for this additional Equity Investment funding.

• The applicant is outside of the City of Seattle.
• The applicant is in Seattle in a U.S. Census tract area with a Communities of Opportunity index percentile of 60% or greater.
• OR your application scores highly on the Advancing Equity criterion.

Contracts and Payment

If we select your project for funding, we will notify you after our Advisory Committees and Board give final approval for funding, and your program manager will work out a scope of service contract that reimburses you for your purchases.

Requirements and Appeals

Learn about what will be required if you are awarded a grant, and about the process for appeal of a 4Culture decision.

You will apply through our online grant portal system at apply.4culture.org. If you have applied to 4Culture in the past, please make sure your organization profile is up to date. If you’ve never applied to 4Culture, you will need to request an account before you can access the application. Once you’ve logged in, make sure that you are applying to the correct program by selecting the Cultural Equipment Application.

Once you’ve started your application, you can save after each step and sign out—your application will be saved as a draft that you can continue to work on 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 the process.

What’s in the Application

You are required to answer the five narrative questions. In addition, we will not consider your application without the materials listed here. We strongly recommend assembling them before you login and begin your application and encourage you to call or email us with any questions as you work on these materials.