City staff presented a Community Cultural Events grant pilot and a draft application that the Commission on Equity will review in February before sending funding recommendations to the City Council. Under the pilot, applicants may request between $500 and $5,000; funds will be reimbursed after applicants submit receipts. The city will require either nonprofit status or a fiscal sponsor and confirm that events are free and open to the public and located in Lacey or the city’s urban growth area.

"This is going to be on a reimbursement basis," staff said, adding the program is a pilot and the council will review whether to continue funding in 2027. Commissioners asked staff to make outreach easier for smaller organizations and to clarify whether reimbursements can be requested incrementally. Staff replied that applicants do not have to wait until the end of an event to request reimbursement and that groups could use fiscal sponsors to manage funds.

Commissioners recommended a multi-channel outreach strategy (social media, Lacey Weekly, utility inserts, library postings and Lacey TV 77) to reach smaller cultural organizations and multilingual communities. Staff noted they will produce advertisement materials for commissioners to share with their networks and that language access work is planned for 2026, which may expand translated application access.

Commissioners also discussed eligibility edge cases (for example, events that charge vendor fees or participant registration) and confirmed such events may be ineligible if not free to the public. Staff stressed the pilot nature of the program and said council-directed funds are limited and the commission will evaluate impacts at the end of the pilot year.