Seattle is a really cool place to live. We have an incredibly vibrant collection of community-driven projects, where residents act on their passions for sustainability, public art and usable public space to create everything from public orchards to street murals to ballfields. Sometimes, these projects require more resources than the participants can offer up, and this is where Neighborhood Matching Funds grants provide a huge leg up.
There are 3 levels of grants within the NMF program, each designed for different sizes of community projects and requiring varying amounts of planning and effort. The Large Projects Fund awards up to $100,000 per project including large-scale programs like the Salmon Bay School Playgrounds Renovation Project in Ballard. The Small & Simple Projects Fund (up to $20,000) funded the 46th Street Mural in Wallingford. The Small Sparks Fund awards up to $1,000 in matching funds for small-scale efforts and community events that aim to build foundations for larger projects in the design and planning stages. Check out this great video highlighting some of the more recent NMF projects.
Deadlines for these grants are staggered throughout the year:
- Small Sparks Fund grants are awarded throughout the year.
- Small and Simple Projects deadlines are March 12th and October 8th, 2012.
- Large Projects Funds applications are due on July 16th, 2012.