Olympia approves $33,000 grant allocation to support neighborhood projects 

The Olympia City Council approved more than $33,000 in neighborhood matching grant allocations for 2025 to support 10 community-driven projects across the city.  

Brittany Gillia, an associate planner with Community Planning and Economic Development, presented the grant recommendations to the council on Tuesday, April 29.  

The program, which requires a 50% match from neighborhood associations, will generate almost $105,000 in value for the city.  

According to Gillia, the city received 11 applications and more funding requests than available funds. These projects included community events or block parties, park cleanups, site maintenance, food resilience projects, continuing work on pedestrian pathways, and more.  

"It was a competitive grant cycle this year, and the grant review panel is recommending a combination of full and partial funding for 10 of the applications," Gillia told the city council.  

She noted there are two new applicants this year, indicating new neighborhoods are getting engaged and having projects to work on.  

In 2024, the city approved $28,000 in grants for neighborhood associations. The funds were used for a variety of projects, including block parties, graffiti abatement, landscaping and site cleanups, neighborhood outreach, and more.  

Through this program, the $28,000 in funding, combined with 1,400 volunteer hours, generated $89,000 in community value, supporting environmental stewardship, neighborhood beautification, and community connections.  

Currently, there are 30 active neighborhood associations across the city and in the Urban Growth Areas. 

Addressing requests 

Gillia noted multiple neighborhood groups requested an extended project funding window to allow year-round spending, particularly for native plant projects that could be planted in spring and align with community partner schedules.  

"Staff has looked into these comments and found that shifting the grant timeline would not be feasible at this time due to a few different factors, city budget, staff capacity, general logistics with our grant review software," said Gillia, adding that staff are recommending alternatives.  

Neighborhoods could do planting projects in the fall, which could yield similar success rates to planting in spring. Applicants may also request an extension to carry spending into the first quarter of the following year.  

Gillia also highlighted the growing interest in green infrastructure, as some neighborhoods expressed interest in exploring raid gardens and bioswales as potential grant-funded projects. She added that this idea prompted a valuable cross-departmental discussion between Community Planning and Public Works.  

"Even though no rain garden proposals were submitted during the current cycle, it was a great conversation that we hope will lead to future opportunities," Gillia said.  

"Communities have been very engaged with the program and have great feedback that is going to be incorporated in future years of programming," she added.