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Paul Allen foundation awards third grant to historic Washington art gallery

By · Via Times of India · Published by Everything Blog

In short

The Old Hotel Art Gallery in Adams County secured its third consecutive $25,000 disbursement from Allen Family Philanthropies to support general operations. Gallery leadership noted that previous award rounds directly funded building renovations, supported living wages for staff, and helped establish a new rental revenue stream. Across the state, the wider 2026 funding cycle offered grants between $2,500 and $25,000 to cultural organizations across 37 counties. More than 22 percent of all recipient groups this year are based in rural communities facing severe staffing pressures.

Key points

  • Unrestricted grant funding allows rural venues like the Old Hotel Art Gallery to maintain…: Unrestricted grant funding allows rural venues like the Old Hotel Art Gallery to maintain operations, finance renovations, and pay living wages.
  • Shifting funding criteria toward organizations with sub-$1 million budgets directly addre…: Shifting funding criteria toward organizations with sub-$1 million budgets directly addresses disproportionate workforce losses among smaller arts groups.
  • Over 22 percent of the latest funding round benefited rural entities prioritizing facilit…: Over 22 percent of the latest funding round benefited rural entities prioritizing facility upkeep, programming, and staff compensation.

Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1

A $25,000 grant from the family foundation of Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen helped keep the Old Hotel Art Gallery in Othello, Washington, open during a difficult stretch in 2025, according to ArtsFund’s 2026 Community Accelerator Grantee announcement. The gallery has now received a third $25,000 grant, part of a broader $10 million distribution to 745 arts and culture organisations across Washington state, as reported by GeekWire and ArtsFund.

The funding is not tied to a specific project, which gives smaller organisations the flexibility to pay staff, cover rent, improve buildings, or sustain programming. For the Old Hotel Art Gallery, that flexibility proved decisive, allowing it to bridge a financial gap and continue serving its community. Read more about it here, as per the reports:

A gallery with a history

The Old Hotel Art Gallery is located in Othello, a city in Adams County in central Washington. It operates from a historic building that has become an important cultural space for the surrounding community, offering exhibitions and arts programming in an area that can be easily overlooked by larger arts funders.

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