This past June, the Community Foundation of South Puget Sound launched Project Connect: Civic Life & Belonging Grants, a new pilot program designed to support local efforts that strengthen civic life, connection, and belonging across Lewis, Mason, and Thurston counties.

Project Connect supports creative local efforts that bring people together—especially those who might not normally connect—to build understanding, foster participation, and celebrate a shared sense of community. Through this program, we aim to:

• Bring people together across differences to build understanding and connection
• Create new opportunities for civic participation and locally driven solutions
• Celebrate and strengthen a sense of community and shared purpose

What We Learned—and Where We're Headed Next

In its first year, Project Connect awarded $55,300 in grants to 19 community-based projects. These initiatives reflect the creativity and care of local residents who are finding new ways to build relationships, strengthen belonging, and work together on meaningful local projects.

The Community Foundation received 44 applications, with 30 advancing to review by a volunteer committee of 9 local evaluators representing all three counties. While some applicants sought support for existing programs, the projects selected for funding stood out for their innovation and focus on building new connections.

As a pilot, Project Connect offered valuable insights for future grantmaking. Community interest in connection-focused work was strong, and we learned that shifting the application timeline earlier in the year could better align with summer engagement opportunities. We also see growing potential to expand eligibility, making it easier for small groups and individuals to participate in partnership with local nonprofits.

As this first round concludes, we're inspired by the creativity and commitment of local people who are helping to strengthen civic life across the South Sound. Each of these funded projects reflects what makes our region strong—neighbors coming together to listen, learn, and create something meaningful together.

Meet The 2025 Project Connect Grantees

Each of these funded projects demonstrates the power of connection through art, dialogue, service, storytelling, and shared learning. We invite you to learn more about the work of each nonprofit by clicking on its name, which will redirect you to its website.

Project Category: Community Arts & Expanding Creativity

Creativity connects people in powerful ways—through shared expression, celebration, and imagination. These projects use art as a catalyst for community building and inclusion.

• ‍Artists With Ecology – A Sense of AWE: Human Nature Mural Contest
  A live mural competition during Olympia's Arts Walk featuring Native artists exploring connections between people and the natural world.‍
• Arbutus Folk School – Collaborative Art Project with Bella Kim
  Free, drop-in sessions where community members will collaboratively create a large-scale art installation exploring themes of reuse, home, and community.
• ‍Northeast Neighborhood Association – Party in the Pocket Park
  A neighborhood block party that brings residents together through art, music, and shared learning to celebrate local resilience.
• ‍The Center for Community Creativity – Neighborhood Tiny Art Galleries
  Neighbors will collaborate to create and maintain small, neighborhood-based art galleries, fostering a sense of pride and connection.
• ‍Washington Center for the Performing Arts – Sensory Inclusion Project
  Expands access to arts and cultural events through sensory-friendly supports, including toolkits, teacher resources, early-seating accommodations, and a "Plan Your Visit" guide, fostering greater inclusion for individuals with sensory needs and their families.

Project Category: Gatherings, Storytelling & Dialogue

Sharing stories and creating space for dialogue helps bridge differences, deepen understanding, and spark lasting relationships. These projects invite people to gather, listen, and connect across experiences.

• ‍Family Education and Support Services – Family Threads: The Stories That Shape Us
  Free storytelling events across the South Sound that strengthen intergenerational connection and celebrate diverse family identities.
• ‍Lewis County Autism Coalition – Voices of Belonging: A Community Storytelling Supper
  A community supper that brings together diverse rural residents for shared storytelling, art-making, and conversation, strengthening belonging across sectors.
• ‍Parents Organizing for Welfare and Economic Rights – POWER Community Dinner
  Monthly dinners fostering mutual support and belonging for low-income families and single mothers.
• ‍Puget Sound Estuarium – SoundCore Exchange Network
  Free storytelling and dialogue events rooted in estuary themes that culminate in a printed anthology of community voices.
• THE Coalition – Fish War: Connecting History to Strengthen Civic Life and Community Belonging
  A community film screening and dialogue to build understanding of tribal treaty rights, local history, and shared responsibilities.
• ‍Window Seat Media – The Pride Storytelling Project
  Supports the public engagement phase of The Pride Storytelling Project, transforming 20 collected oral histories into exhibits and talks, making local queer history visible, accessible, and a catalyst for further connection and belonging.
• Women's Dignity School – Lead With Dignity
  Workshops that bring together BIPOC, immigrant, and refugee women in Lewis and Thurston counties to share stories, explore civic issues, and promote inclusion. Together, they will explore civic issues such as safety, belonging, and access to services.
• ‍YWCA of Olympia – Bread and Belonging
  A series of community dinners with rotating social justice themes designed to spark dialogue and strengthen civic connection.

Project Category: Connection to Place

Place grounds us—it’s where shared experiences, natural beauty, and cultural heritage bring people together. These projects strengthen our connection to the land and to one another.

• ‍LP Brown Elementary School – Environmental Education Project
  In partnership with the Squaxin Tribe, students and community members will create a native plant garden as a shared learning and gathering space.
• ‍South Sound YMCA – Teen Forest Therapy Program
  New curriculum program for teens to meet twice a week for forest therapy, reflection, and shared meals, building a supportive community that encourages healing, connection, and personal growth. As the program expands, students will assume leadership roles while also exploring the cultural and historical connections between people, land, and community.
• ‍Wolf Haven International – Wolf Wise Communities on a Landscape of Hope
  Facilitated forums that build understanding among ranchers, tribes, and advocates to support coexistence and shared stewardship. While aiming to reduce conflict, build shared understanding, and support coexistence between livestock communities and wildlife.

Project Category: Tools for Connection

Sometimes, strengthening our social fabric starts with practical tools—skills, resources, and playful ideas that bring people together to learn and make a difference.

• Capital City Pride – Trash Talkers: Supporting Zero-Waste Efforts at Local Events
  Playful "Trash Talk Booths" at community events where trained stewards use humor and education to guide waste sorting. Blending entertainment with impact, it builds community connection while advancing waste reduction and climate action—one piece of trash at a time.
• Triceratops Technology Resources – Thrive Online
  Digital skills workshops that help rural residents in Lewis, Mason, and Thurston counties build confidence online and connect with civic opportunities.
• WSU Master Recycler Composters of Lewis County – MRC Tool Bucket Library Tool Time
  Hands-on workshops that teach tool use and repair while connecting community members across generations through shared sustainability practices.