The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation in Menlo Park, California, has announced $25 million in grants to four of the San Francisco Bay Area's largest performing arts institutions for projects ranging from education programs for youth to the commissioning of new works.

The foundation, which is celebrating its fortieth year of funding the arts, awarded $10 million to the San Francisco Opera for an endowment that will support the commissioning of new works, training of young artists, education, technology, and other needs. Grants of $5 million each were made to the San Francisco Symphony for its education programs, the American Conservatory Theater for a new works endowment, and the San Francisco Ballet, also for a new works endowment.

"This is a commitment that has broadened and matured through the years," said Moy Eng, director of the foundation's performing arts program. "Today the program has stretched far beyond support for traditional cultural mainstays such as symphonies and ballet companies to embrace the wide-ranging cultural diversity that now signifies California."