Every year, the City of Olympia budgets money to support neighborhood matching grants. These are given to Recognized Neighborhood Associations (RNAs) to fund small projects. To be an RNA, we must complete a form each year that lists the members of our members, number of members of our association, previous year’s meeting dates and number of participants, and any boundary or bylaw changes.
The city’s requires grants to have any or all of the following goals: environmental benefit, strengthen neighborhoods, expand resident involvement, and/or promote the interests of the broader Olympia community.
These are 50/50 matching grants, meaning whatever monetary amount we ask the city for, we have to match either in direct financial contributions, material donations, or volunteer time. We can receive up to $5,000 in grant funding.
Some neighborhood associations’ grants have been used for walking maps, street banners, festival materials, bulk mailings to residents, garden and park improvements, and signage.
Recent south capitol neighborhood grant funds have been used to create and post two welcome signs, one at each end of Capitol Way.
Create and install colorful banners on street light posts.
And write, print and distribute an informational magazine about the South Capitol neighborhood.
This year, we didn’t apply for any grants – we had a bit of a late start forming a new board and getting new members like me up-to-speed. But we’re eager to tackle new challenges and opportunities next year with your support.
The 2024 application will magically appear on the city’s website on December 11, 2023, and the deadline to submit applications is January 15, 2024. This gives us about a month to choose a project for next year and complete and submit a grant proposal for it.
In our last two board meetings, we mulled a few ideas of our own, but we’d also love to hear from you. Here are some that were suggested: partnering with Lincoln School on improvements to the garden, a membership brochure, safety signage, neighborhood events such as a summer picnic/barbeque and fall holiday party, and mailings to all neighborhood residents.
If you have an idea for something that would benefit the South Capitol neighborhood, please let us know. You can fill out the form on our Contact Us page or send an email to info@southcapitolneighborhood.org.
Some of you have also indicated a willingness to help us write grant proposals (thank you so much!) and we will be following up with you, believe me!
South Capitol Neighborhood Association 