Resources for arts organizations and artists
In partnership with our fellow Bay Area arts funders, regranting organizations that use Hewlett Foundation funds to support the arts, and all of our grantees, we support the powerful role arts play in the lives of people and communities throughout the Bay Area.
The following organizations offer funding opportunities for artists, arts practitioners, and arts organizations.
Support via Hewlett Regranters
As the largest private funder of the arts in the San Francisco Bay Area, and one of the largest nationally, The Hewlett Foundation Performing Arts Program makes grants to support meaningful artistic experiences for the people of the region, with a portfolio of roughly 175 grantee organizations and an annual grantmaking budget of more than $20 million.
We have long partnered with organizations that regrant funds to artists and nonprofits. Through partnerships with more than 20 regranting organizations, we are able to extend our reach to support more individual artists, arts practitioners, and small organizations across the Bay Area.
Alliance for California Traditional Arts (ACTA) is a statewide regranting organization with expertise in building and maintaining relationships with and among culture bearers, in cultural communities across the state, especially in isolated rural communities. The Living Cultures Grants Program provides funding to projects in traditional arts. Its Apprenticeship Program offers a period of concentrated learning for apprentices who have shown a commitment to and a talent for a particular folk or traditional art form.
Center for Cultural Innovation is an arts service organization that supports artists, culture bearers, cultural entrepreneurs, and the art sector. Hewlett is a proud partner in the Investing in Artists regranting program, whose mission is to support individual boundary-pushing artists to further innovate. With the Quick Grants Program, they support artists and arts organizations’ financial resilience through professional development. CALI Catalyst makes grants to support the work of arts leaders explicitly seeking to make the arts field more equitable, inclusive, and accessible.
Dancers’ Group promotes the visibility and viability of dance through programs that assist, advocate for, and support San Francisco Bay Area dance artists, the dance community, and audiences. As a Hewlett regranter, their CA$H Dance Program ensures artists throughout the Bay Area have equitable access to services, networks, and support relevant and responsive to their priorities. Their programs include free dance performances, fiscal sponsorship, and technical assistance to dance projects supporting diverse artists, organizations, and audiences.
East Bay Community Foundation supports fair and equitable opportunities and outcomes for residents of the eastern region of the San Francisco Bay Area. Hewlett Foundation partners with them on the East Bay Fund for Artists regranting program, dedicated exclusively to expanding funding and opportunities for East Bay artists. The East Bay Fund for Artists provides grants to composers, playwrights, choreographers, and visual and media artists to commission new work that advances racial justice and social equity.
Horizons Foundation is a community foundation devoted to increasing the visibility of and addressing issues of importance to LGBTQ+ people. Hewlett partners with them on the Community Issues Funding Program for nonprofits and fiscally sponsored programs that support the LGBTQ+ community across nine Bay Area counties.
A program of the Humboldt Area Foundation since 2002, the Native Cultures Fund supports California Native arts, cultural revitalization, and knowledge transmission between generations. Initiated and led by Native peoples, the Native Cultures Fund is a partnership between Native Nations, the Humboldt Area Foundation, the Hewlett Foundation, and other donors. The program supports the transmission of knowledge between generations through a renaissance of California Native art culture, sacred sites, and language development.
Theatre Bay Area is a membership organization that builds awareness, appreciation, and support for theater in the Bay Area. The CA$H Theatre Grant Program provides grants to artists and small theater companies that support artistic projects, capacity-building activities, and public performances. Its programs include marketing, research, professional development opportunities, and auditions.
Gerbode Foundation is dedicated to providing grants for the environment, justice, advancing truth, special initiatives, and the performing arts. Its Special Awards in the Arts program makes grants to Bay Area arts organizations to commission new works by playwrights, composers, and multimedia artists. Each year, commissions are awarded to six organizations in a specific discipline. At $50,000 each, these are among the larger grants available for artistic projects in the Bay Area.
Walter and Elise Haas Fund’s Creative Work Fund celebrates the role of artists as problem solvers and making art as an important avenue for engaging and strengthening communities. Funding for artist projects is scarce, especially outside major Bay Area urban centers. Each year, the Creative Work Fund awards over 20 grants, up to $50,000 each, for collaborative art projects in 10 Bay Area counties.
Zellerbach Family Foundation makes grants to strengthen San Francisco Bay Area communities. As a regranting partner with our Performing Arts Program, the family foundation supports artists and small arts and culture organizations in San Francisco and the East Bay through its Community Arts Program.
Support from Grantees
Communities are stronger, healthier, and more empowered when they can easily access and participate in creative artistic and cultural expression. The following Performing Arts Program grantees bring greater artistic and cultural vibrancy to the broader community. Many of our grantees also offer grants, professional development programs, and support for artists, arts practitioners, and organizations. Grantseekers should note specific requirements and application deadlines for each organization.
Arts Council Napa Valley works with Napa County’s government agencies, arts organizations, and artists to place art in public spaces and guide the county’s arts education master plan. Each year, it awards small grants to artists, students, schools, and arts organizations.
Arts Council Santa Cruz County promotes creative expression and thriving communities throughout Santa Cruz County. It supports youth, artists, and arts organizations through grants, professional development, arts education services, the Tannery Arts Center, and production of community arts events.
InterMusic SF supports the professional and artistic growth of Bay Area musicians and the art of small ensemble music. Its programs include grants, fiscal sponsorship, professional development, and performance partnerships, and it serves individual musicians and small ensembles practicing diverse traditions.
National Guild for Community Arts Education is the national service organization for nonprofit community arts education providers in the United States. The guild provides various programs, including research, professional development, and an annual conference.
SVCreates is a regional arts service organization whose mission is to uplift and empower the creative culture of Silicon Valley. Focused on the South Bay, including San Mateo and Santa Clara counties, it builds capacity, raises value and visibility, and increases access to arts and creativity. Its grantmaking supports creative enterprises through various awards for arts organizations and projects.
Support from Other Regional Funders
Many private foundations and local governments also support the arts in the Bay Area. Grantseekers can find further support from the following funders.
City of Berkeley Civic Arts Grants
City of Oakland Cultural Funding Program
City of San Jose Office of Cultural Affairs
San Francisco Grants for the Arts
