SKCCIF Environmental Grants Program
The Port of Seattle will award over $226,000 in funding for its fourth cycle of South King County Community Impact Fund (SKCCIF) Environmental Grants to six organizations serving communities around SEA Airport. Fifteen organizations are also continuing work on environmental projects that previously received multi-year funding through the program. Learn more→
Learn more about the six organizations that will receive funding:
Shyan Selah Foundation will conduct a Connect to Nature program designed to serve students attending Federal Way Public Schools, one of the most diverse school districts in the state of Washington. The program will provide training in gardening, landscaping, and environmental education with students while cleaning up and restoring parks and open spaces in Federal Way. This project is funded at $57,302.40.
EarthCorps is working with the City of Burien, community partners (including Partners In Employment, Washington Conservation Corps-WCC, afterschool programs, and Green Burien Day), and volunteers to restore and steward Hilltop Park, a 7.4-acre open space in the Boulevard Park Neighborhood. This project will take place in Burien and is funded at $60,000.
SR3- SeaLife Response, Rehabilitation, and Research will engage a large and diverse audience in the protection of the local marine environment and the animals who call it home. This will be accomplished through annual beach clean-up events to remove garbage from the Des Moines Beach as well as through a Marine Mammal Stewards program which will teach local beachgoers about marine wildlife and inspire them to protect our shared coastal environment. This project will take place in Des Moines and is funded at $22,384.
Foster High School Environmental Science Program will expand the existing community garden at Foster High School which is managed by the Gardening Club at both the high school and middle school. The garden expansion provides more hands-on learning experiences for students in the topics of environmental science. This project will take place in Tukwila, is fiscally sponsored by Tilth Alliance, and is funded at $60,000.
Toros Cycling Club will build on previous funding in Cycle 3 of the grant program for the bicycle skills improvement project area in Burien, specifically in the unused part of the Annex Park parking lot. This area is sometimes targeted for dumping, loitering and vandalism. Funding will maintain the area through clean-up efforts with community members and improved signage related to park usage. This project will take place in Burien and is funded at $15,395.
Menbere Tsebaot Holy Trinity Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church will enhance the environmental sustainability and natural beauty of the local community by planting trees in Adelaide Park through the dedicated efforts of church member volunteers, in close collaboration with the City of Federal Way. This project aims to contribute to the overall well-being of the city by increasing green spaces, improving air quality, and creating a welcoming, serene atmosphere for residents and visitors. This project takes place in the Federal Way and is funded at $11,550.
Environmental Program
The Environmental Grants Program is a cycle of the South King County Community Impact Fund that supports projects to improve the environment in near-airport communities of Burien, Des Moines, Federal Way, Normandy Park, SeaTac, and Tukwila. Community-led groups are invited to apply for funding for activities such as:
- public space improvements (including parks, school playgrounds, public squares, or port habitat sites)
- equipment or artwork installations, or
- neighborhood or environmental stewardship projects
Through funding and partnerships with community-based organizations, the Environmental Grants Program drives the Port’s investment in projects in cities around the airport to enhance livability, improve green spaces, and restore forests. The SKCIIF Environmental Grants Program expands the reach of the successful Airport Community Ecology (ACE) program into more communities that surround Seattle Tacoma International Airport (SEA). Communities in South King County disproportionately experience environmental harm due to a long history of inequitable land use practices and economic displacement that have pushed marginalized communities farther and farther south.
The Port offers multi-year awards to applicants for projects spanning one, two or three years for up to $20,000 per year and up to $60,000 for multiyear funding. Multi-year funding increases the impact of the Port’s community investments and helps to support sustainable project planning and implementation.
Fund Highlights
- Requests can be up to $20,000
- Multiyear funding is available for up to $60,000 over three years
- Projects must take place on public property. Please see City contact information at the bottom of the page to connect with parks department staff members.
- Projects must demonstrate a 2:1 match, meaning every dollar awarded by the Port must be matched by two dollars from the grant recipient or project partners. Previously, projects had a 3:1 match requirement. During the 2023 state legislative cycle, the Port successfully advocated for reducing the local match that non-profit applicants must provide through the SKCCIF. This change reduces the burden for awarded partners and enhances the Port’s ability to contract with community-based organizations, non-profits, associations, and volunteer groups making public improvements in near airport communities.
- Proposers must be a nonprofit organization with 501(c)3 or 501(c)6 status or community group that works with a 501(c)3 fiscal sponsor
- Organizations must demonstrate experience in serving diverse near-airport communities that experience economic and environmental injustice
- Organizations must submit a written proposal and participate in a discussion with the review panel
Cycle Two and Three Funded Projects
These Fifteen organizations received multi-year funding in Cycle Two and Three and are continuing their projects in 2024:
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