Cascadia Poetics LAB Expresses Appreciation to 4Culture
for Doors Open Sustained Support Funding Grant
“It’s a home run for culture in this country….This is going to be completely transformational, as Washington DC continues to slide into chaos, King County is taking care of its cultural needs.”
—Paul E. Nelson, Cascadia Poetics LAB Founding Director
4Culture – King County Council Approves Doors Open
4Culture Press Release Excerpt:
Summary
Strengthening King County’s cultural sector and increasing public access to arts, heritage, science and historic preservation education and experiences.
Full Release
Today, in a historic vote, the King County Council unanimously passed Doors Open legislation to increase funding to King County arts, heritage, science, and historic preservation non-profit organizations through a 0.1 percent sales tax. With this funding, organizations can deepen their mission-driven programming and amplify their reach to communities across the County.
Doors Open will help stabilize a cultural sector that drives the local economy, yet has been consistently underfunded, and devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The benefits of a strong cultural sector are many: research shows that arts, culture, and science are integral to healthy communities, and can improve the rates of student graduation, civic engagement, and social cohesion. Culture contributes to a quality of life that keeps people wanting to live and work in King County.
Doors Open is the result of a decade long legislative effort to increase funding in Washington State and King County for the cultural sector. We thank King County Executive Dow Constantine and the King County Council for their vision and leadership, and Councilmembers Claudia Balducci, Jeanne Kohl-Welles, and Sarah Perry for their sponsorship of the legislation. We also thank Inspire Washington, led by Manny R. Cawaling, and the cultural community for their tireless advocacy.
With decades of grant-making experience, 4Culture is the County’s designated agency to implement Doors Open and distribute funding. Tax collection will begin in April 2024. It is estimated to generate approximately $100 million a year over seven years.
In 2024, Doors Open revenue will fund facilities and operating grants. This will infuse desperately needed capital into the sector and help organizations recover from the pandemic. Those living in and visiting King County should feel the impact as well, with increasingly more access to cultural activities and experiences.
4Culture Doors Open Program Sustained Support
Doors Open funding will expand 4Culture’s flagship grant program, providing operating and programmatic dollars to meet the day-to-day needs of arts, preservation, heritage, and science and technology organizations, including rent, utilities, payroll, and other basic annual expenses.
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