Commonwealth Club of California

The Commonwealth Club of California is the nation’s oldest and largest public affairs forum for the impartial discussion of public issues important to the organization’s membership. Each year, the Commonwealth Club presents more than 450 forums on topics ranging across politics, arts, culture, society, and the economy. This supplemental project grant will support a public event at the Commonwealth Club to discuss and celebrate the San Francisco Bay Area art sector’s creativity and resilience as it addresses new challenges and opportunities.

The Commonwealth Club of California is the nation’s oldest and largest public affairs forum for the impartial discussion of public issues important to the organization’s membership. Each year, the Commonwealth Club presents more than 450 forums on topics ranging across politics, arts, culture, society, and the economy. This grant will support the Hewlett 50 Arts Commissions initiative by funding a public event with speakers, a panel, and performances that discuss and celebrate the arts and artists.

Founded in 1903, The Commonwealth Club of California is the nation’s largest and oldest publicly open forum for the discussion of civic issues. The Club’s activities include more than 400 interactive, in-person forums in the Bay Area each year, publication of a Club magazine, a weekly radio broadcast carried on 230 stations nationwide, podcasts, and online video broadcasts of dialogues that it hosts. The Club has more than 16,000 members and more than 50,000 attendees at its events each year; however, in more than a century of operations, it has never had its own dedicated, visible physical space. With rent on its current lease set to increase by 75 percent, this grant would help support the Club’s acquisition of a new building, enabling it to better serve members and accommodate current and future staff and volunteers.