Over 20 proposals for Inspire Olympia funding for nonprofit funding of arts, culture, heritage, and sciences

As of March 14, Inspire Olympia received 23 applications for funding, program manager Marygrace Goddu reported at the Arts Commission meeting on Thursday, March 14.

As the deadline for submissions of proposals closed today at 5 p.m., Goddu expected the number of applications would increase as more eligible nonprofits applied before the cutoff.

It is the first year Inspire Olympia will grant funding to nonprofit organizations focused on arts, culture, heritage, and sciences. Inspire Olympia is funded by a sales tax of 1/10 of 1%, effective for seven years. The program manager said they expect to collect $3 million for the program based on current revenue projects.

Goddu mentioned that some of the focuses for Inspire Olympia's programming in its first year of funding include supporting cultural access and public schools. They are committed to funding organizations that offer learning opportunities highly valued by teachers and increase access to programming for all Olympia youth.

"When I say highly valued by teachers, it means that the programs fit within the curriculum. They're manageable and doable within the class time. They meet the needs of the kids. And they meet the teacher's needs by addressing academic standards," Goddu explained.

They will also direct programs and services to schools with higher poverty levels and less Parent Teacher Association (PTA) involvement.

They will provide free field trips to Inspire Olympia-funded events for Olympia School District students through reimbursing transportation and hosting costs.

In a presentation, Goddu said Inspire Olympia has two funding pathways for organizations to apply to Inspire Olympia:

• Impact Fund pathway – for smaller and newer programs. Organizations can apply for grants between $3,000 - $30,000 for a one-year contract. As of March 14, 15 proposals have been submitted for this category.
• Comprehensive Fund pathway –for larger, more established organizations. Organizations can apply for grants up to 15% of their average operating budget over the last two years, with a maximum of $75,000 per year for a two-year contract.

According to Goddu, the review of the applications will take place in April. There are separate review panels for the Impact Fund and Comprehensive Fund applications. The panels will go through orientation, practice reviews, and then two four-hour review sessions where they will discuss and score all applications.

Goddu explained that the review panels are made up of Cultural Access Advisory Board members; one from the Arts Commission – Kathy Dorgan; one from Heritage Commission – Stacy Hicks, and three community members.

The program manager noted that the panels were comprised mainly of advisory board members in this first year to get familiarity with the review process. She added that it may involve more community members on the panels in future years.

The Cultural Access Advisory Board will review the panel scores in May and make preliminary funding recommendations.

On May 22, the funding recommendations will go before the Community Livability and Public Safety Committee for approval.

On June 4, the city council will consider approving the funding recommendations.

Goddu said they would develop contracts for awarded organizations in June and July. The contracts will be active once signed.