Duwamish River Opportunity Fund

The application for the 2023 Duwamish River Opportunity Fund is now closed.

Overview

The Duwamish River Opportunity Fund (DROF) is a grant program that funds new and existing efforts focused on advancing priorities outlined in the Duwamish Valley Action Plan to address challenges faced by Duwamish River communities. The Duwamish Valley Action Plan is a City-community shared vision to promote collaboration and guide the City’s work and investments in the Duwamish Valley.

Since 2014, funds from the DROF have been allocated toward quality-of-life enhancements for the Duwamish River area that can be implemented in partnership with King County, the Port of Seattle, and community stakeholders. The DROF had been administer by Department of Neighborhoods (DON) but transitioned to the Office of Sustainability & Environment (OSE) in 2023 to more closely align the Fund with the Duwamish Valley Program which is co-led by OSE and the Office of Planning and Community Development (OPCD).

In 2023, $240,000 in funding is available for community-led projects and programming. The maximum grant award size is $40,000. Projects will begin January 2024 and must be completed by September 30, 2024.

What We Fund

Proposals to the Duwamish River Opportunity Fund should address one or more of the following priority areas outlined in the Duwamish Valley Action Plan:

Healthy Environment: environmental development or restoration, climate change mitigation & air quality improvements, asthma prevention, access to affordable & healthy food, safe fishing
Parks & Open Spaces
Community Capacity: community resilience, community development, cultural & arts events
Mobility & Transportation
Economic Opportunity & Jobs: Job training or economic development
Affordable Housing: affordable housing strategies
Public Safety: pedestrian safety
Healthy lifestyle
Emerging issues - i.e. COVID-19, Homelessness, West Seattle Bridge closure

Eligible types of projects include but are not limited to arts and storytelling, community education, organizational or community capacity building, climate change preparedness, skills building and job training, and community planning or visioning.

Examples of eligible projects can be found in the Guidelines.

Who We Fund

We welcome Tribes and tribal organizations, nonprofit organizations, community groups, and businesses who work closely with the communities in the Duwamish Valley.

Eligible Applicants must:

Have 501(c)3 nonprofit status; or
Have a fiscal sponsor with 501(c)3 nonprofit status; or
Be willing and able to secure a fiscal sponsor with 501(c)3 nonprofit status by December 1, 2023 if awarded a grant
- During the contracting period, EJ Fund staff can help connect groups to potential fiscal sponsors if the group has not already selected one.

History

The Duwamish is our city's only river, but that is not the only thing that makes it special. Native Americans use the Duwamish as a resource and for cultural purposes. Salmon and trout use it as a migration corridor, and a large number of fish and wildlife species use the estuary for rearing. The Duwamish is also a working waterway that supports many of Seattle's shipping and industrial businesses.

Decades of industry near the Duwamish have left significant contamination in the mud and along the river's banks. In 2001, The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) listed a 5.5 mile stretch of the Duwamish River as a Superfund cleanup site. Since then, the City of Seattle, King County, the Port of Seattle and the Boeing Company have invested over $100 Million in early cleanup actions to reduce contamination by 50 percent, while we also work to eliminate ongoing sources of contamination.

Past Awarded DROF Projects