Four San Juan County Arts, Education Organizations Funded by State

From the Washington State Department of Commerce

ArtsFund, in partnership with the Washington State Department of Commerce, will begin distributing $10.78 million in recovery grants to 702 nonprofits in 34 counties throughout the state this week.

In San Juan County, the following organizations were awarded:

• Friday Harbor Film Festival, San Juan, $22,500
• Orcas Center, San Juan, $22,500
• Salish Sea Sciences, San Juan, $20,000
• San Juan Community Theatre, San Juan, $22,500

Grants are being awarded to every eligible organization that applied, covering over 91% of the total funds requested.

Applicants were invited to request between $2,500 and $25,000.

Over 70% of the awardees reported pre-pandemic budgets under $500,000.

The Nonprofit Community Relief grant program was designed to provide critical funding to nonprofit arts, cultural, science, and heritage organizations; neighborhood associations; sports and recreation nonprofit groups; and veterans service organizations impacted by the pandemic.

“At their core, nonprofits are driven by people serving people, and their dedication throughout the pandemic has sustained countless communities by providing their constituents with needed relief and recovery services,” said Michael Greer, ArtsFund President & CEO.

Nearly 90% of all recipients expect their post-pandemic earned revenue to be reduced by more than 30%.

Grant funds may be used to cover expenses that were incurred between March 1, 2020, and June 30, 2021, due to financial hardship caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Grant recipients cite the top uses for funding include staff salaries, programming, rent or mortgage, and reopening education and awareness communications.

“These funds provide critical financial resources to keep people employed and active in strengthening communities and their local economies,” said Commerce Director Lisa Brown. “As we all reimagine our futures together, the positive economic impact of these community-focused grants will help to keep the momentum going into the next stages of recovery.”

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