Celebrate Seattle’s Neighborhoods: Request for Proposals Open for “Best Day Ever” Community Events

What’s Ahead in 2026 

The Best Day Ever program includes seven neighborhood events in 2026, one in each of Seattle’s seven council districts. The first event will take place in March 2026 in South Park, in partnership with Cultivate South Park.

Each event includes five core elements:

  • Service – A community-led volunteer project

  • Movement – Neighborhood walks, dance, or fitness experiences

  • Learning – Local storytelling, heritage, and cultural sharing

  • Gathering – Shared meals hosted by neighborhood small businesses

  • Connection – Facilitated reflection and relationship-building

    Events are designed for approximately 50 participants, creating space for genuine connection, shared storytelling, and neighborhood pride.

What makes a neighborhood thrive? Connection. Pride. Shared stories. And people who care deeply about the place they call home.

Best Day Ever is a new, one-day, community-powered experience designed to celebrate the vibrancy and culture of Seattle’s neighborhoods. Each day’s events bring residents together through service activities, movement, storytelling, shared meals, and joyful connection — while spotlighting local businesses and the cultural assets that make each neighborhood unique. Co-created by the Seattle Department of Neighborhoods (DON) and the Seattle Chamber of Connection (SCoC), Best Day Ever is guided by DON’s Community Engagement Framework and the Chamber’s Six Points of Connection. This partnership focuses on strengthening civic belonging by bringing people, place, and purpose together in meaningful, neighborhood-led ways.

Who Should Apply

We invite community-based organizations (CBOs), neighborhood groups, and cultural partners to apply to co-host a Best Day Ever activity in their council district. Strong applicants should:

  • Demonstrate deep relationships with residents, small businesses, and cultural communities

  • Showcase their district’s unique identity, history, and creativity

  • Collaborate with multiple partners through a diverse Leadership Committee*

  • Center BIPOC communities and historically excluded voices

  • Create meaningful volunteer opportunities and shared experiences

  • Show readiness through clear planning, partnerships, and site coordination

Organizations may optionally apply for funding through DON’s Small Sparks Fund to support project costs.

Apply to Host a Best Day Ever

The Best Day Ever Request for Proposals (RFP) launched December 19, 2025 and closes January 29, 2026, at 5pm, aligning with the reopening of the Small Sparks Fund in January 2026.

Best Day Ever is a celebration of community — and we’re excited to partner with organizations ready to uplift the beauty, resilience, and vitality of their neighborhood.

Apply by filling out the Best Day Ever Request for Proposals form. For additional questions and information please contact BestDayEver@seattle.gov.

*The Leadership Committee is comprised of the neighborhood partners chosen by the RFP winners. They help the CBO plan, uplift and strategize how to best present Best Day Ever events and ensure they are reflective of the neighborhood.