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COMMUNITY SUSTAINING FUND
of Thurston County

building community one grant at a time

“Your grant galvanized this project!”
– Thurston Housing Land Trust &
Community Farms Land Trust, 2023

Our story

The Community Sustaining Fund (CSF) of Thurston County is a local, grassroots grant fund. It was birthed in 1987 by an innovative group of Olympia Food Co-op members responding to a lack of funding to develop social change projects in Thurston County.  CSF began active grant-giving in 1989. Since then, the CSF has awarded many thousands of dollars for projects that range across social justice, environmental sustainability, and community activism, with a particular interest in grassroot start-ups. 
 
Community reinvestment
With our semi-annual grant cycle, we aim to create a more democratic, equitable, nonviolent, and ecologically sound society. CSF takes a particular interest in awarding costs for start-ups that might go unfunded, but with the expectation that these projects will become self-sustaining. Over almost 40 years, CSF has seeded the start-up and continuation of many projects that moved the needle for positive change in our communities
 
Groups such as Thurston Housing Land Trust, Strengthening Sanctuary, “suləx: Gifts of the Land Ethnobotanical Garden,” Bowl of Hope, Terra Commons, Stonewall Youth, South Sound Estuary, Veterans for Peace are just a small sample of the hundreds of organizations and individuals who received CSF grants.

Upcoming:

Spring 2026 Grant Cycle

The next opportunity to apply is for the Spring 2026 Grant Cycle. Date will be announced in February.

Grant Cycle opens: 
April date TBD
Application deadline: 
April or May (Mon.) 11:59 pm

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Grants Committee meets: 
May date TBD
Applicant interviews: 
May date TBD (Sat.)

Volunteer powered
The fund is powered by donations from community members and Olympia Food Co-op members. Co-op shoppers who ask to “Round-Up” for CSF provide most of the funds, but individual donations and fundraisers also help.​ A board of local volunteers sows 100% of those donations back into the community through a twice-yearly cycle of grants.

If you would like to contribute, here are some ways:

  • Ask to Round-Up your purchases for the Community Sustaining Fund at one of the Olympia Food Co-op locations.
  • For Co-op members, ask to be reminded to “Round-Up” at the cash register.
  • Sign up with CSF to receive Grant Round announcements (at Contact page)
  • Share CSF Grant Round announcements and other news on your social media.
  • Share by word of mouth
  • Send a contribution to: CSF, 2103 Harrison Ave NW, #2715, Olympia, WA 98502
  • Apply for CSF funding for your own project!