King County’s Office of Equity and Social Justice (OESJ) allocated $1.75 million in federal funds toward its Strategic Communications Campaign Program to increase reporting of King County’s COVID funding in communities most impacted by both racism and the pandemic.  

The combination of these two crises continues to have disproportionate cumulative impacts on Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color (BIPOC) communities, immigrants, refugees, people with language and disability access needs, low-income people, and sectors such as the creative economy and essential workers. 

The Strategic Communications Campaign Program aims to increase transparency and accountability of King County’s federal funds and response to the pandemic and the declaration of Racism Is A Public Health Crisis.  By partnering with and resourcing community-based media and organizations with strong communication channels that are trusted in community, King County will reach communities most impacted, and create a feedback loop to better understand how federal dollars are reaching and affecting those on the ground. 

OESJ views this opportunity as a new partnership grounded in purposeful exchange of information between King County and the public through community partners who create culturally responsive and impactful storytelling through articles, video, social media, podcasting, newsletters, and other communication channels. OESJ aims to strengthen the capacity of our contracted partners to continue this type of culturally responsive storytelling.  

Applications for funding are open now, with a deadline of Monday, March 7, 2022 at 5 p.m. 

Interested community-based media and organizations are encouraged to attend one of the following informational sessions: 

Informational Session 1 - Register here

Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2022 
3-4 p.m.  

Informational Session 2 - Register here

Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022 
9:30-10:30 a.m. 

For more information on the Strategic Communications Campaign Program, visit our website. Additional questions or language access needs can be directed to OESJgrants@kingcounty.gov.