The City of Bellevue Art and Cultural Facility Grant Program to fund capital projects by arts and cultural organizations in Bellevue, WA
Donor Name: City of Bellevue
State: Washington
City: Bellevue
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 08/19/2024
Size of the Grant: $100,000 to $500,000
Grant Duration: Grant Duration Not Mentioned
Details:
Capital Projects include acquiring property, building new facilities, acquiring specialized equipment and other major building renovations. Facility Maintenance includes preventative maintenance and repairs to help preserve existing arts and cultural facilities.
The City of Bellevue’s Art and Cultural Facility Grant Program includes two grant opportunities, one for Capital Projects and another for Facility Maintenance.
Public Funding Requires a Public Benefit Washington law requires that individuals or organizations who receive public funding must provide public benefits. Examples of public benefits are:

Free or reduced-fare tickets to public performances, exhibitions, workshops, screenings, or readings.
Free scholarships to ongoing, fee-based arts education or training programs
Accommodating services that expand access to arts and culture to underrepresented groups.
Free, electronically accessible materials, including literary publications, audio, or video recordings.

Funding Information

For Capital Projects, eligible applicants can request any amount up to $499,999 for major building renovations and capital equipment purchases. For projects including land acquisition, existing facility acquisition, or construction of a facility, the request may be higher but must not exceed forty (40) percent of the total estimated project budget.
For Facility Maintenance, eligible applicants can request any amount up to $499,999.

Project Eligibility 
Must be in Bellevue, Washington.

Site control in various forms, depending on the project, will be required.
For projects above $500,000 (Capital Projects for acquisition and construction), the applicant must attest to owning and operating facility for a minimum of ten (10) years after the application date. For acquisition, site control can include an executed purchase and sale agreement with the owner of the site with a closing date that is not more than twenty-four (24) months from the date of the applicant’s application.
For projects below $499,999 (Capital Projects for renovation or capital equipment and Facility Maintenance), the applicant must attest to owning and operating facility for a minimum of five (5) years after the application date. If the applicant does not own the real property on which the subject facility is located, the applicant must attest in the application that the applicant has a long-term lease of at least five (5) additional years at the date of applying with options to review with the landlord, pursuant to which the applicant is responsible for maintenance and repair of the leased premises and attach a copy of such lease. Applications will not be considered for maintenance by landlords who may own a cultural facility leased out to an art or cultural nonprofit.
Eligible Capital Projects include design, architectural, and engineering work; building permit fees; archaeological and historical review; construction labor and materials; demolition and site preparation; construction management (from external sources only and does not include grant writers, project managers or employees of the grantee); ADA accessibility or environmental improvements; historical preservation; information technology infrastructure (cables and wiring); acquisition of real property, explicitly purchased as part of a “turn-key,” construction or renovation project, as well as its associated costs (appraisal fees, title opinions, surveying fees, real estate fees, title transfer taxes, easements of record, and legal expenses); capitalized equipment specifically for art and cultural uses such as spring floors, stage lighting, or gallery display equipment, and building furnishings with a ten (10) or more year lifespan.
Eligible Facility Maintenance projects include regular maintenance on existing building systems and structures such as a new roof, interior or exterior paint, HVAC, plumbing, elevators, and non-specialized and capitalized equipment replacement such as regular building lighting and flooring.

Eligibility Criteria

Must be a nonprofit organization in good standing for at least two years. “Good standing” means the nonprofit is financially solvent, current on its filings with the State of Washington and the IRS, has not filed for bankruptcy, and none of its members, directors, or officers have been criminally convicted or debarred from participating in federal contracts.
Must attest to having a sustainable long-term financial model that is not dependent on any City funding to sustain the staffing of the applicant’s operations and that is not dependent on City funding to pay the cost of maintaining and repairing the facilities the applicant currently owns or intends to own.
Must offer at least one cultural program or service open to the public and serving Bellevue residents.

For more information, visit City of Bellevue.