TACOMA, Wash. – The Tacoma Creates Advisory Board (TCAB) has approved contracts for the 2024-2025 funding cycle totaling approximately $5.9 million, for 74 local non-profit organizations whose primary purpose is to advance or preserve arts, culture, heritage, and science.
The vital cultural ecosystem supported by Tacoma Creates ranges from small, volunteer-led community programs to major downtown museums. All are vital to our local economy and to creating opportunities for community engagement and connection. Tacoma Creates supports a wide array of public programming, including all ages and youth education. This creative support underscores the City of Tacoma’s commitment to equitable and inclusive access for people throughout Tacoma.
“Our community chose to invest in the cultural sector, and the return on this investment over the past several years has been terrific,” said Mayor Victoria Woodards. “With Tacoma Creates funding, organizations are better able to develop new programming, expand our local community’s access to experiences, deliver amazing learning and engagement opportunities for young people, and attract visitors to our vibrant city.”
“For the second year in a row, the number of contracts we are able to offer has grown by approximately 15 percent, and the majority of this growth is in supporting smaller and/or newer cultural organizations,” said Tacoma Creates Advisory Board Chair Brian Robinson. “One of Tacoma Creates’ primary funding goals is to support programming by and for culturally or ethnically specific communities, and we are thrilled to support these community-led organizations that reflect the diverse cultures, backgrounds, and ethnicities that enrich our great city.”
“People in Tacoma will have even more cultural events and youth education programs to enjoy in the year ahead, and the cultural organizations providing these events and programs will have resources to sustain and improve their operations,” said Tacoma Creates Program Manager Lisa Jaret. “The public funding that comes through Tacoma Creates translates to enhanced community vibrancy, engaging opportunities for shared experiences and enhanced learning, as well as more creative sector jobs, and significant economic impact for our city.”
The 74 organizations that will receive 2024-2025 Tacoma Creates funding are:
- Alchemy Skateboarding
- Arts First
- Arts Impact
- Asia Pacific Cultural Center
- Barefoot Collective
- Breaker Gallery
- Buffalo Soldiers Museum
- Capoeira Vida
- Chinese Reconciliation Project Foundation
- Communities for a Healthy Bay
- Das Biest Performance Project
- Esperanza Móvil Family Resource Center
- Fab-5
- Fablab Nonprofit
- Foss Waterway Seaport
- Golden Bamboo Senior Vietnamese Women’s Group
- Greentrike
- Guma’ Imahe
- Hilltop Artists
- Job Carr Cabin Museum
- Khmer Language Arts and Culture Academy
- Kikaha O Ke Kai Outrigger Canoe Club
- Latinx Unidos of the South Sound
- LeMay – America’s Car Museum
- Mi Centro
- Museum of Glass
- Music & Heart in Wright Park
- Northwest Sinfonietta
- Oasis Youth Center
- Pacific Northwest Dance Foundation
- Permaculture Lifestyle Institute
- Puget Sound Revels
- Queer Northwest
- RAIN Incubator
- Rainbow Center
- Real Art Tacoma
- Remakery
- Sixth Ave Business District
- South Sound Choir Academy
- Southeast Asian Comedy Collective (SEA Comedy)
- Spaceworks Tacoma
- Swan Creek Art Academy
- Symphony Tacoma
- Tacoma Art Museum
- Tacoma Arts Live
- Tacoma Boat Builders
- Tacoma City Association of Colored Women’s Clubs
- Tacoma Concert Band
- Tacoma Light Trail
- Tacoma Little Theatre
- Tacoma Music Academy
- Tacoma Music Collaborative
- Tacoma Musical Playhouse
- Tacoma Opera
- Tacoma Photo Center
- Tacoma Refugee Choir
- Tacoma Sister Cities
- Tacoma Tree Foundation
- Tacoma Urban Land Trust
- Tacoma Urban Performing Arts Center (T.U.P.A.C.)
- Tacoma Youth Symphony Association
- Tacoma Youth Theatre
- Tahoma Indian Center
- Ted Brown Music Outreach
- The Darkroom Project
- The Grand Cinema
- The Kareem Kandi World Orchestra
- The Night Media Foundation
- The Puget Sounds
- The World Affairs Council of Tacoma
- Toolbox Laboratories
- Vision Step Team
- WayOut Kids
- Write253
The Tacoma Creates 2024-2025 funding cycle covers programming that occurs between July 1, 2024, and June 30, 2025.
Tacoma Creates is a voter-approved initiative to increase access to arts, culture, heritage, and science experiences throughout Tacoma by reducing barriers to access and expanding offerings, particularly for underserved youth. Tacoma Creates is a program of the Arts & Cultural Vitality Division of the City’s Community and Economic Development Department. Since 2020 Tacoma Creates has provided over $19 million in funding to cultural organizations, these organizations have produced nearly 4,000 programs and events, counting over 3 million participants.
For more information on Tacoma Creates, including the Tacoma Creates Events Calendar, please visit tacomacreates.org.
