The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation has announced grants totaling $17 million in support of arts organizations in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Awarded as part of a special Adaptation Grants program, the grants are designed to help organizations plan for, test, and enact structural and financial changes that will enable them to best fulfill their missions in the years to come. A study conducted by Northern California Grantmakers in late 2020 found that 48 percent of Bay Area nonprofits surveyed had reduced or halted their programs or services due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The adaptation grants will provide arts groups with the resources they need not only to address those challenges but also to take the opportunity to rethink fundamental assumptions about how best to do so.

Thirty-four Bay Area arts organizations across various sizes, missions, and artistic fields will receive grants ranging from $300,000 to $975,000; many of the one-time grants amount to the equivalent of several years of traditional funding. The recipient organizations have concluded an initial planning period that included developing ideas for how they will navigate the economic and social challenges of the coming years — plans that reflect the groups' insights into the needs of their communities and what is needed to meet the challenges ahead — encompassing everything from mental health care for community youth to employment benefits for working artists. Recipients includes Brava! for Women in the Arts, Destiny Arts Center, East Oakland Youth Development Center, El Teatro Campesino, San Jose Taiko, and Sangam Arts.

"The pandemic is just the latest crisis to rock arts organizations in the Bay Area, already one of the most challenging places to be an artist. To thrive, and not just survive, arts groups need room to experiment and adapt to changing economic, technological, and cultural conditions," said Emiko Ono, director of Hewlett's performing arts program. "These grants provide runway for that innovation, and have the potential to carve a new path forward for the arts sector so that the Bay Area can benefit from a vibrant and equitable cultural landscape."

For a complete list of Adaptation Grants recipients, see the Hewlett Foundation site.

(Photo credit: Beatriz Escobar.jpg)