Mayor Katie B. Wilson and the Office of Planning and Community Development announce $14.8 million in awards to 18 community projects through the City’s Equitable Development Initiative (EDI).
This round of awards directs funding to projects that have previously received EDI funding and are now ready to move on to the next phase. The prior awards were recommended by a community review panel and supported early project work, such as acquisition of properties or a feasibility analysis. The 2026 awards will support those same projects to enter or complete the construction phase.
“In the tenth year of operations, the Equitable Development Initiative continues to invest in the communities and projects that support affordability and accessibility for all in our City,” said Mayor Katie B. Wilson.
With 84 projects funded since the program’s inception, 21 are currently providing services. By 2028, through continued support and commitment to funding organizations, that number should increase to 35.
“These awards build on our promise to bring projects from vision to reality, recognizing that it takes time and intention to bring projects to fruition,” said Rico Quirindongo, OPCD Director.
While this announcement recognizes projects already in the EDI funding pipeline, new projects are encouraged to apply for funding through the EDI Open Request for Proposals process. Applications are due on June 22, 2026.
Fifty years after our community resettled post-genocide, we are finally near to breaking ground and bringing our first-ever Khmer Community & Cultural Center to life. We are deeply grateful to the City’s EDI for the trust placed in us to build not just a center, but
along-term community infrastructure for care, cultural stewardship, organizing, and shared civic life.” – Thyda Chhom, MSW, Executive Director of Khmer Community of Seattle King County
Funded Projects
Africatown Community Land Trust – Midtown Plaza
Black Star Farmers
Byrd Barr Place – Byrd Barr South
Central Area Youth Association – Center House
Central District Community PDA – McKinney Center
Duwamish Valley Affordable Housing – Multi-purpose Center
Eritrean Community in Seattle & Vicinity
Friends of Little Saigon – Little Saigon Landmark
House of Mkeka
Khmer Community of Seattle-King County – Khmer Community Center
Multicultural Community Coalition – Multicultural Merkato
Queer the Land
Rainier Beach Action Coalition – Food Innovation Center
Rainier Valley Midwives – Birth Center
Seattle Indian Services Commission - Native Village and Gateway Project
Tubman Center for Health & Freedom
Urban Black Community Development – Washington State Black Legacy Institute
Wa Na Wari – Frank and Goldyne Green Cultural Land Conservancy
“House of Mkeka is honored to be supported by Seattle’s EDI as we work towards land reclamation and self-determined communal living for Black families in the PNW and beyond. EDI is blazing a pathway that is assisting us to build in a world not built for us.” – Senait Brown, Founder & Co-Owner of House of Mkeka
“Equity cannot remain an aspiration or a talking point. Equity must be visible. It must be funded. It must take physical form in the communities that have experienced generations of disinvestment. The Tubman Health Center is what equity looks like when it moves from rhetoric to reality. Support through Seattle’s EDI is helping make that possible. We are building a liberated healing space for our people, in our city, on our terms.” – Danisha Jefferson-Abye, Founder & COO, Tubman Center for Health & Freedom
About the Equitable Development Initiative (EDI)
EDI ss a program of the Seattle Office of Planning and Community Development (OPCD) that addresses displacement and the unequal distribution of opportunity threatening Seattle’s diversity. While Seattle has grown rapidly in recent years, the benefits and burdens of that growth have not been shared equally. Disparities persist in income, unemployment, homeownership, and even life expectancy.
The EDI fosters community leadership and supports organizations working to promote equitable access to housing, jobs, education, parks, cultural expression, and healthy food, ensuring that all people, regardless of race or means, can achieve their full potential in a thriving and diverse Seattle.