Ten neighborhoods receive City funds for community-led efforts

For 14 years, the Northeast Neighborhood Association has made steady progress on the Joy Avenue Pathway. In 2021, neighbors used matching grant funds for a path-adjacent edible forest garden. This coming year the neighborhood volunteers will contribute more than 135 hours, largely focused on pathway design and maintenance with City support. They envision a safe and beautiful place for folks to connect and be active, while advancing the City’s mobility goals, too.

In a similar vein, the Wilderness Property Owners Association is set to tackle maintenance of a connector pathway located in their neighborhood. (Pictured above are achievements made by the Wildwood Neighborhood Association for similar work with the support of program funding in 2024.)

In the South West Olympia Neighborhood, a new community engagement and food resilience project will launch, complete with community garden boxes and gleaning (collecting what’s left over after crops are harvested). Those who grow more crops than they need will be empowered to share with neighbors. Project volunteers will help reduce waste while also increasing access to fresh food. And how better to create a welcoming introduction? Though a community picnic – of course.

In other ways that food can bring communities together, the Bigelow Highlands, Eastside South Capital and Briarwood neighborhood associations will host annual block parties and celebrations designed to connect and engage residents on community topics and with each other.
The Olympia Northeast Neighborhood Alliance will supplement their annual celebrations with a community cleanup, while the Northwest Neighborhood Association’s community celebration will connect to a neighborhood park cleanup.

Each year, the City requests grant applications for projects by Recognized Neighborhood Associations. The program can fund small projects with a 50 percent match based on dollars, materials or volunteer time of up to $8,000. Applications are then reviewed by an interdisciplinary team of employees and officials with expertise spanning parks, multi-modal transportation, equity and planning.

Program funds will also support the Coalition of Neighborhood Associations to promote and enhance quality of life by providing a forum for collaboration on common goals.

There are 30 Registered Neighborhood Associations in Olympia. If your neighborhood is located within the City of Olympia or its Urban Growth Area then neighbors can voluntarily apply to join. An application is available on the City’s website and asks for items such as contact information, board details, membership size and boundaries.

Becoming registered comes with an ability to apply for this competitive grant funding to support your projects, plus enhanced engagement and notification opportunities and administrative and community celebration support.