The Cross-Cultural Center Without Walls pilot program offers funding for local organizations to host events or workshops that bring people together around shared intercultural experiences. The experiences are designed around active intercultural engagement, learning and exchange, and occur in different locations around Bellevue. The purpose of the pilot program is to create interactions between people and groups from different racial, ethnic, cultural and other backgrounds.
The city researched for several years the development of a cross-cultural facility to support learning and relationship building across community members from diverse cultures and backgrounds. A new, stand-alone facility for such programming could take years to plan and finance, and is not part of the city’s short-term plans. Instead, the city is creating cross-cultural programming in partnership with a variety of partners — the Cross-Cultural Center Without Walls.
The city launched the Cross-Cultural Center Without Walls in 2023 by hosting community workshops for residents to share their visions for the project. The first round of funding was awarded in spring 2024 to local organizations to deliver programs and events through May 2025. Each organization submitted a proposal evaluated by a committee comprised of city staff and community members. Funding awards ranged from $4,000 to $15,000.
Funded Organizations (2024-2025)
Nineteen local organizations received funding for events to be held between May 2024 and May 2025.
- Africans on the Eastside
- Eastside for All
- Open Doors for Multicultural Families
- Kin On
- Indian American Community Services
- Immigrant Women's Community Center
- Congolese Integration Network
- Friends of Bellevue Cross-Cultural Center
- Fiesta del Maiz Planning Committee
- Bellevue Arts Museum
- Global Artists Collective
- YeFine Arts
- The Circle
- Puesta del Sol Elementary PTA
- Hopelink
- VCBynum Arts & Education
- Chinese Autism Resources and Empowerment Services
- Pride Across the Bridge
- Pacific Ukrainian Society
The organizations and projects selected reflect the vast diversity of the Bellevue community, with nearly 80% of hosting organizations run by a person of color, 60% run by a woman, 50% run by an immigrant or refugee and 17% run by people from the LGBTQIA+ community.
Get Involved in the Cross-Cultural Center without Walls
The best way to get involved in this project is to attend one of the cross-cultural events or activities hosted by our partnering organizations! Information on upcoming events is shared on the right side of this screen.
While the city was only able to fund a fraction of the many wonderful cross-cultural project ideas submitted to us, another focus of this project is to help build connections across people and organizations interested in building a cross-cultural Bellevue. In the coming weeks, a directory of people and organizations in our community who provide programming and services related to cross-cultural engagement will be posted on this page.
Individuals and organizations may be able to help with existing projects. Please fill out a short form. We will add you to our organizational directory and do our best to connect you with a cross-cultural project that would benefit from your participation.
Organizations looking for a venue at which to host a cross-cultural event can consult a list of Bellevue-based venues and facilities.
Summary of Community Engagement and Past Studies
The 2014 Diversity Advantage Plan envisioned a cross-cultural facility with a mission to “educate, celebrate, challenge and inspire Bellevue to be a welcoming and inclusive community that embraces diversity.”
In 2016, the City Council approved a series of studies to assess the need for cross-cultural programming in Bellevue and explore the feasibility of a cross-cultural center.
- Shaping our Inclusive Future: Cross-Cultural Programming Public Outreach Study (October 2018)
- Cross-Cultural Feasibility Assessment (November 2020)
- Cross-Cultural Feasibility Study Phase 3 Report (May 2022)
The studies, which involved considerable outreach, reflected the thinking and experience of hundreds of diverse Bellevue residents, and concluded there was a strong demand and need for more cross-cultural engagement opportunities. Furthermore, the studies concluded that this project would need to be community-led, possibly by a local nonprofit organization, and city-supported.
In 2022, the council directed staff to move forward with the development of the Cross-Cultural Center without Walls project and to explore possible nonprofit partners. Funding for the effort was included in the city's 2023-24 budget.
Community members joined in the planning of the Cross-Cultural Center Without Walls during three workshops held in the fall of 2023.
At the first September 19, 2023 community workshop, participants contributed ideas for activities and programs they would like to experience at the traveling center.
Participants at the second workshop held in October identified ideas and themes they believed are most important for the project.
At the third and final workshop on Dec. 6, 2024, the city shared the summary of findings from the first two workshops and included key ideas for the project generated from over 125 participants. Staff also shared information on how to submit a proposal for a cross-cultural project to the city for possible funding opportunities.