Zellerbach Family Foundation Community Arts Grant Program

The Zellerbach Family Foundation offers the Community Arts grant program to support individual artists and nonprofit arts and culture organizations in the San Francisco Bay Area. With approximately $1 million in funding available in 2025, this grant initiative provides general operating support to creative projects that promote artistic excellence and community engagement across three counties: Alameda, Contra Costa, and San Francisco. The foundation prioritizes projects that are public-facing and developed collaboratively with local artists and communities, particularly those historically underrepresented in the arts sector. Community Arts grants are available in the amounts of $5,000, $10,000, or $15,000. While the funding is general operating support, applicants must provide information about an upcoming publicly accessible arts project as part of their submission. The foundation does not support projects that occur outside the eligible counties, are not open to the public, are educational or training programs, are youth-focused or youth-performed, or that involve activities such as retroactive funding or debt reduction. Applicants can submit to multiple application cycles during the year but may only receive one grant per calendar year. Fiscally sponsored artists and groups may submit multiple times on behalf of different projects or individuals. To qualify, applicants must be either a 501(c)(3) nonprofit or have fiscal sponsorship. The applicant’s organizational budget must be under $2 million annually, and their work must fall within eligible artistic disciplines. Primary disciplines include dance, music, theater, literary arts, and visual arts. A broad range of sub-disciplines are also eligible, including performance art, spoken word, puppetry, illustration, and many more. Disciplines such as film, digital media, and AR/VR are excluded unless integrated into a multidisciplinary work that aligns with one of the primary disciplines. The program emphasizes projects that foster community dialogue, inclusion, and participation, particularly from diverse, underfunded, or marginalized communities, with a special focus on Contra Costa County. Applications are submitted via the Fluxx grant portal, where users must register to receive login credentials. A complete application includes responses to application questions, a detailed project summary, information about collaborators, budget details, and work samples (up to three, totaling five minutes). Applications may use The Common App, which is accepted by several Bay Area funders. Supporting documents may include an artist CV, press clippings, or letters of support, and a memorandum of understanding is required for fiscally sponsored applicants. The program runs on a quarterly basis. For 2025, the remaining deadlines are July 21 (notification by October 3) and October 14 (notification by January 7, 2026). Applications are due by 5:00 p.m. on the specified dates. Late or incomplete submissions may be rolled into the following cycle if eligibility requirements are met. The program is expected to recur in future years, and applicants must remain in good standing with the Zellerbach Family Foundation, the Arts Loan Fund, and the Bay Area Culture Funders for Equity. Questions about eligibility or whether a project belongs under the Community Arts or the Together in Community program may be directed to togetherincommunity@zff.org. Applicants are also encouraged to attend an application workshop, especially if applying for the first time, and to review full guidelines and eligibility before submitting.

First-time applicants are encouraged to attend an Application Workshop.