• • Easy Application for Facilities offers awards of up to $9,900 to cover expenses for reopening the facility you use or historic property you steward, even if you do not own the facility. Examples of permitted use of these funds include, but are not limited to:
    • PPE (personal protective equipment such as masks) for staff and volunteers. PPE for patrons may only be included if it is specifically required based on the programming you provide.
    • Installation of Plexiglass barriers to comply with safe distancing requirements.
    • Sanitizing stations for staff, volunteers and patrons.
    • Sanitizing products and equipment to maintain your facility.
    • Signage to communicate safe distancing and sanitizing requirements.
    • Training for front-line staff for managing patrons, adhering to public health guidelines, and de-escalation.
    • Software upgrades to allow for timed ticketing or other systems to control visitorship. Subscription-based software expenses are eligible only if they were incurred as a direct response to COVID-19. Only subscription fees for services from March 1, 2020 to December 15, 2020 are eligible.
    • Design and construction to adapt historic buildings, districts, and spaces to social distancing requirements, while following historic preservation guidelines and regulations
    • Marketing and advertising specifically to announce your reopening and/or to share the steps your organization is taking to allow for the safe return of patrons.
    • Other expenses required to respond to COVID-19 public health restrictions that could not have been foreseen prior to the public health emergency.

• Full Application for Facilities covers the same types of expenses as above, with an increased maximum award of $24,000. This application requires additional information, offers fewer awards, and will be more competitive than the Easy application. Grantees awarded $10,000 and more will be required to attend an online training and submit additional documentation when requesting reimbursement to comply with Federal guidelines.
• Alternate Application for awards up to $7,500 to organizations that have COVID-19 related expenses but who do not use a facility for public programs that is forecasted to reopen before June 2021.

• For organizations: Your organization’s primary mission must relate to the arts, heritage, or preservation. If you are awarded funds and your organization is not a nonprofit, municipality, or public development authority, you must find a fiscal sponsor before you can claim your award.
  OR
• For landmarks: You are an individual, businesses, organization, or local government that is either the owner or long-term leaseholder of a historic property in King County. Your property must be designated as an official landmark at the city or county level, or a contributing building within a locally designated historic district. Properties listed in the National Register of Historic Place are eligible only in jurisdictions without a local historic preservation ordinance.
  AND
• You must have a minimum 2-year track record of programming or activity.
• You must be located in and serve the residents of King County, Washington.
• You must not be a 4Culture staff member or a 4Culture Reopen Fund panelist during the period of review.
• You must not be a K-12 school, a school district, or a religious institution.

Proposed programs and public benefit

• The applicant demonstrates that the funds requested will allow it to provide a cultural experience to King County audiences.
• The proposed activities will either have a deep impact on a specific community, or will have a wide reach throughout the county with effective marketing to publicize the program.
• The proposed public benefit meets a community need and is proportionate with the level of funding requested.
• The organization can reach its intended audience as demonstrated through its 2019 program attendance or an alternate quantitative measure.

COVID-19 impact

• The funds requested will go directly to expenses that were not foreseen before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Priority factors

• Priority will be given to organizations/landmarks that have a track record serving a community disproportionately impacted by COVID-19.
• Priority will be given to organizations/landmarks that have not yet received COVID-19 related funding from 4Culture.
• Priority will be given to organizations/landmarks located in, or that provide a majority of their public programs or services within, a census tract designated as “40% highest need” by the 2018 Communities of Opportunity Composite Index. Managed through the Prevention Division of King County Public Health, Communities of Opportunity is a partnership and initiative of the Seattle Foundation and King County. It is used to identify areas in King County experiencing the highest levels of need. Organizations with an annual budget over $3.5 million do not qualify for this priority category.
• Priority will be given to organizations/landmarks located within King County but outside the City of Seattle.
• Priority will be given to organizations/landmarks that primarily serve tribal members or county residents with a disability.

• Please make sure that your Account Profile is up-to-date, especially contact information, as well as demographic information for your organization. The demographic information is optional—we use this to help us understand how well we are doing in our efforts to serve all communities in King County. This demographic information will not be used to determine awards for this program.
• The application requires answering basic questions about your organization, your work in the cultural field, and the communities you work within and/or support.
• You will be asked to answer the following questions in the application narrative:
  • What activities will this funding allow you to do in the next year? Who will these activities reach? What public benefit will you provide along with these activities?
  • How many visitors/patrons did your organization/landmark serve in 2019? An estimate is acceptable.
  • Do you primarily serve a community that has been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19? If yes, briefly explain your history working with/in this community.
  • You’ll be asked to select which categories of expenses you plan to submit for reimbursement if you receive an award.
  • What was your total annual operating budget for the fiscal year ending in 2019? An estimate is acceptable.
  • What date did your facility close to public visitors, or if you do not have a public facility, what date did you begin experiencing COVID-related disruptions to your operations? What is your estimated economic loss your organization experienced from March 1 through July 31 of this year?
  • If you are applying for more than $9,900 in funding, attach your written reopening plan. Your plan should detail, at minimum, how you are preparing your facility, staff, and volunteers to reopen your facility. Also, share how you are communicating COVID-19-related measures with your patrons. All information sent to 4Culture is subject to public disclosure laws.