COVID-19 continues to impact every aspect of our lives and work. Each day presents new challenges, and as we move forward, our top priority is keeping our community informed and feeling supported as best we can.

Most recently, we’ve been working to figure out how to adapt our Sustained Support grant to the challenges cultural organizations are facing. Our grant managers know that many of the program’s normal application requirements—a two-year programming scope, fiscal projections, reviews by onsite visitors, and more—would be impossible for most organizations to provide right now.

We also know that the unrestricted, reliable funding that Sustained Support provides is more critical than ever, and only increasing. During the current 2019-2020 grant cycle, the program has provided funding to over 400 cultural organizations, local arts agencies, and municipalities.

To help balance these needs, we are making the following changes to Sustained Support for the upcoming 2021-2022 cycle:

• This year’s application cycle for 2021 funding: current Sustained Support recipients can submit a simple application in order to receive extended funding for a one-year period.
• Next year’s application cycle for 2022 funding: all current and potential Sustained Support recipients will go through our normal application process in the fall of 2021.

To organizations not currently receiving Sustained Support: we understand these changes will be disappointing. Earlier in the year, we had anticipated running Sustained Support—a core program that we’ve been thrilled to see grow steadily the past several years—like normal. As the effects of this pandemic continue to expand and evolve, however, it’s our hope that this compromise helps alleviate some of the stress organizations are facing and provides support for gradual reopening and recovery during the coming year. We hope, too, that organizations not currently in the Sustained Support funding pool have been able to access 4Culture support through our early emergency COVID-19 funding efforts and other grants. We’re currently working on plans for COVID-19 support in 2021.

As always, we want to hear your questions, concerns, and input—particularly if your organization has not yet applied for or received Sustained Support funding and/or COVID-19 Relief o Reopen funding. Please reach out to us at hello@4culture.org, (206) 296-7580, or TTY: 711, or contact our Sustained Support grant managers:

Heritage: Chieko Phillips
chieko.phillips@4culture.org, 206-477-6811

Preservation: Brandi Link
brandi.link@4culture.org, 206-263-1593

Arts: Bret Fetzer
bret.fetzer@4culture.org, 206-263-1599