City Announces Information Sessions for 2025 Inspire Olympia Funding
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The City of Olympia is pleased to announce two upcoming Zoom information sessions for local organizations interested in applying for 2025 funding from Inspire Olympia, our recently launched cultural access program.
The first session is scheduled for November 18 at noon. It can be accessed by clicking here. A second session is slated for November 20 at 5:30 p.m. and can be accessed by clicking here. It is only necessary to attend one of the sessions before applying for funding.
The application period for 2025 funding will open January 13 and close March 14. Local organizations of all sizes who are mission-focused in the arts, culture, heritage and/or sciences are encouraged to learn more and apply. For more information about the program, visit olympiawa.gov/inspire.
Inspire Olympia continues to have a rippling impact throughout the community. Since July 1, more than $800,000 has been invested in the work of 60 local nonprofit organizations serving the public with arts, science, heritage, and cultural programs and events. Inspire Olympia's first incoming round of quarterly reporting shows that funds are helping local organizations expand their offerings and pay for equipment upgrades, staffing, and training; offer lower ticket prices; and provide free materials and services for participants.
One example of Inspire Olympia's impact is the Deschutes Estuary Restoration Team's Festival of the Steh-Chass, which the organization developed in collaboration with the Squaxin Island Tribe to celebrate the cultural and ecological restoration of the Deschutes Estuary and the upcoming removal of the 5th Avenue Dam.
In another example of Inspire Olympia's impact, Masterworks Chorale was able to increase their social media marketing and offer two additional Open Sing events in August. Meanwhile, the Student Orchestra of Greater Olympia purchased a new English horn and two new bassoons and was able to secure a second rehearsal space. Window Seat Media piloted a summer institute for local educators in community oral history and storytelling as a community-building tool for grades 6-12. The South Sound Studio Tour created a new logo and improved their literature, website and outreach materials to make them welcoming and inclusive. And Olympia Lamplighters was able to restock essential items, including canvases, paintbrushes, sketchbooks, notebooks and paints, inviting and enabling increased participation.
"Providing these materials at no cost has removed a significant financial barrier, allowing more people to engage with the arts and freely explore their creativity without concerns over affordability," wrote Olympia Lamplighters in their first quarterly report.
In addition to all this, Inspire Olympia funding will allow every kindergarten class in the Olympia School District to visit the Hands On Children's Museum this year. Eight other Inspire Olympia organizations are hosting a variety of field trip experiences for K-12 students. All told, more than 40 trips are booked or in planning. Most of them will be free because of the Inspire Olympia funding, which will cover the tab for buses to get kids there as well, a key strategy for advancing equity across the school district. Approved by voters in 2022, Inspire Olympia allocates one-tenth of one percent of Olympia's sales tax to local nonprofit organizations offering arts, sciences, heritage, and cultural programs and experiences for the public in Olympia and the Olympia School District.
This multi-year, public investment seeks to strengthen our community's cultural sector to expand access to quality arts and cultural experiences, especially for youth and traditionally underserved populations. Funding is based on a competitive application process and is distributed through contracts for services.
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Contact
Marygrace Goddu, Cultural Access Program Manager
Community Planning & Development
360.480.0923
[email protected]
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