Project Connect: Civic Life & Belonging Grants support community-driven efforts that bring people together, foster understanding, and create opportunities for meaningful participation in community life. Through this program, the Community Foundation of South Puget Sound invests in local projects that help neighbors connect across differences, strengthen local relationships, and build a stronger sense of belonging throughout the South Sound.

This year, the Community Foundation awarded $60,100 in grants to 21 projects. The awarded projects reflect a wide range of approaches to strengthening community—from youth leadership and intergenerational storytelling to cultural celebrations, restorative justice, community meals, public art, and civic engagement initiatives.

Community interest in the program continued to grow during its second year. A total of 50 applications were received, up from 44 during the pilot year. To ensure the funding directly addresses regional needs, a volunteer committee of 12 community evaluators who live across Lewis, Mason, and Thurston counties reviewed the proposals to help determine the final 21 grant recipients.

What We Heard This Year

This year’s applications offered a powerful look into the ideas, challenges, and opportunities emerging across South Sound communities. A few key themes stood out across the proposals:

• ‍Diverse Paths to Belonging: Organizations are finding creative ways to strengthen community. Some projects focus on deepening connection within specific cultural groups, others build bridges across differences, and many center on civic participation and local problem-solving.

• Deepening Collaboration: The strongest applications highlighted increased partnership across sectors—bringing together schools, arts groups, cultural communities, and service providers.

• Lasting Impact: Beyond one-time events, applicants are intentionally designing projects that help neighbors develop new skills, strengthen local networks, and continue working together long after the grant period ends.

Ultimately, these applications remind us that belonging, connection, and civic engagement reinforce one another. We are deeply inspired by the many ways local people are coming together to listen, learn, collaborate, and build a shared future.

Meet the 2026 Project Connect Grantees

The following projects demonstrate the many ways people are strengthening civic life, connection, and creating a greater sense of belonging in their communities. We invite you to learn more about each organization by visiting its website.

Project Category: Stories Across Generations

Stories help us understand one another, preserve community history, and strengthen relationships across generations. These projects create opportunities for people to share experiences, learn from one another, and celebrate diverse perspectives.

• Nature Nurture Farmacy – Bridging Generations: The CARE Initiative
  Youth and older adults will work together to design and create community murals inspired by their shared stories, experiences, and connections to place. The collaborative art-making process encourages dialogue across generations while creating lasting public artwork that reflects community identity.

• Pacific Harbors Council, Scouting America – Scouts & Elders: Voices That Built Our Community
  Scouts will partner with older adults to record and preserve oral histories about civic participation, community service, and life in the South Puget Sound region. Through intergenerational interviews and a public storytelling showcase, the project preserves local history, highlights community contributions, and helps young people learn about civic engagement through the lived experiences of elders.

• Indigenous Performance Productions – The Fox and the Butterfly: Native Youth Storytelling
  Native youth will work with Indigenous teaching artists to learn oral storytelling traditions, develop their own stories, and share them through a community storytelling event. The project strengthens cultural identity, celebrates Native youth perspectives, and creates opportunities for intergenerational learning and community understanding.

• Unforgettable Arts Programs – Unforgettable Art: Building Connection Through Shared Creative Experience
  Guided art-viewing experiences that use storytelling, music, and facilitated conversation to engage seniors, youth, caregivers, and community members. The program reduces social isolation and encourages meaningful intergenerational relationships through shared reflection and dialogue.

Project Category: Cultural Belonging & Community Identity

A sense of belonging grows when people can celebrate their cultures, share their experiences, and see themselves reflected in community life. These projects strengthen cultural identity while creating opportunities for connection and understanding.

• Women's Dignity School – Lead With Dignity: From Voices to Action
  A storytelling and leadership program that brings together BIPOC, immigrant, and refugee women to explore leadership, share experiences, and engage in civic dialogue. The program builds confidence, strengthens social networks, and culminates in a public storytelling event that uplifts participants' voices and perspectives.

• TOGETHER! – Familias Unidas (Families United)
  Monthly gatherings that bring Spanish-speaking and Latine families together through shared language, culture, and community support. The program strengthens family engagement in education while connecting participants to resources, information, and relationships that support long-term well-being.

• Arbutus Folk School – Chinese Community Workshop at Arbutus Folk School
  A culturally specific Guizhou Batik art workshop for members of the local Chinese community, organized in partnership with the Asia Pacific Cultural Center (APCC). Through hands-on cultural expression and shared learning, participants strengthen connections to heritage while building relationships within the local Chinese community.

• The Rebecca Howard Park Community Engagement Project and Black Heritage Cultural Program – OURstory in the Park at Rebecca Howard Park
  A series of arts, film, and storytelling events celebrating Black history, heritage, and creativity in Thurston County. The project highlights the legacy of Black pioneers while creating opportunities for cultural learning, dialogue, and community connection.

Project Category: Gathering Around Community

Sometimes connection begins with a shared meal, a neighborhood gathering, or time spent together in community. These projects create welcoming spaces where people can build relationships, exchange ideas, and strengthen local networks.

• Mason Matters – The Great Local Block Party
  A free downtown block party featuring food, music, art, active play, and community resources that transforms public space into a gathering place for residents of all ages. The event celebrates cultural diversity, promotes community well-being, and creates opportunities for neighbors to connect across backgrounds and experiences.

• FEED NEEDS – Community Table Shelton: Belonging Through Shared Action
  A series of Community Table gatherings in Shelton where residents share meals, stories, and service projects. The project brings together neighbors from diverse backgrounds to build relationships and support local community initiatives.

• South Sound Food System Network – Setting the Table of Equity: Local Solutions to Eliminate Hunger
  A series of community meals and action-oriented gatherings focused on addressing local hunger and strengthening the regional food system. Participants learn about emerging needs, support community-led projects, and take practical action through volunteering, resource sharing, and collaboration.

• PNW Market & Event Co. – Camp Belonging: Rest, Rise & Reconnect
  ‍A nature-based retreat that brings together women from diverse cultural backgrounds and historically marginalized communities for wellness activities, facilitated dialogue, outdoor recreation, and creative expression. The immersive experience creates opportunities for cross-cultural relationship building and helps address social isolation through sustained connection in a supportive environment.

• Olympia Art Space Alliance – Summer Community Mingle
  A community street fair celebrating Olympia Arts & Advocacy, bringing together artists, residents, local organizations, and downtown businesses through free food, shared activities, and creative engagement. The event creates opportunities for artists and community members to build relationships, share resources, and celebrate the role of the arts in the South Sound community.

Project Category: Creativity, Access & Shared Learning

Building stronger communities often starts by removing barriers and creating opportunities to learn, create, and participate together. These projects use art, technology, transportation, and shared skills to expand access and strengthen connections.

• Hummingbird Studio – Creating in Community: A Mosaic Gift for Thurston County Food Bank
  Food Bank guests, artists, and community volunteers will work together to design and create a large-scale mosaic installation for the Thurston County Food Bank. Through collaborative art-making, the project creates opportunities for people from diverse backgrounds and abilities to contribute to a shared public artwork.

• Computer Upcycle Project – Neighbors Who Fix Computers: A Community Repair Series
  ‍A series of community repair workshops where participants from diverse backgrounds work side-by-side to restore aging laptops, learn basic computer repair skills, and install free open-source software. The project expands access to technology while creating opportunities for peer learning, skill sharing, and ongoing community support.

• Lewis County Autism Coalition – Bridging Distance, Building Belonging: Community Connection Shuttle
  ‍A community transportation program that provides accessible shuttle service for individuals with disabilities and their families to attend workshops, peer groups, and community events throughout Lewis County. The project increases access to social, educational, and civic opportunities while helping participants build relationships, reduce isolation, and become more connected to community life.

• Toledo Neighbors Program – Internet Café
  A community technology hub providing computer and internet access, printing services, and volunteer support for accessing jobs, benefits, healthcare, and other essential resources. The project helps rural residents overcome technology and access barriers while connecting them to opportunities and services that support everyday needs.  

Project Category: Youth Leadership & Civic Participation

Strong communities depend on people who feel empowered to participate, lead, and make a difference. These projects help young people and community members develop leadership skills, engage in service, and strengthen their role in civic life.

• Child Care Action Council – Caring Kids: Family Volunteer Program
  ‍Families with young children will participate in hands-on volunteer projects that support local nonprofits and community needs. By serving side-by-side, children develop empathy and a sense of civic responsibility while families build lasting habits of community involvement.

• Boys & Girls Clubs of South Puget Sound – Torch Club & Keystone Clubs at North Mason
  ‍Youth-led leadership clubs where adolescents plan service projects, organize community initiatives, and take on leadership roles within their peer groups. Through hands-on civic engagement, participants develop leadership skills while addressing local needs in Mason County.

• Boys & Girls Clubs of Thurston County – Project Connect: Youth Voices Podcast
  Teens will collaborate to produce a youth-led podcast exploring issues such as mental health, housing insecurity, school climate, and community safety. Through interviews with peers, community members, and local leaders, participants develop media and leadership skills while elevating youth perspectives and inspiring civic action through service projects.

• Dispute Resolution Center of Thurston County – Back to Belonging: A Youth Connection Initiative
  ‍A restorative justice program that brings together youth involved in the justice system and youth participating in community-based programs through trainings, dialogue circles, and facilitated repair processes. Participants build communication skills, take accountability for harm, and strengthen relationships with peers, families, and community members.