New Works

The foundation believes in the critical role artists play in our communities—challenging boundaries, creating new narratives, and reflecting on the changing tides that impact our collective experience.

The New Works program draws inspiration from the founding vision of Phyllis Wattis by supporting smaller organizations to develop unique artistic experiences. Grants support new daring and diverse projects across various disciplines while celebrating the inimitable creative spirit of the Bay Area.

GUIDELINES

In addition to our general requirements:

Request must be for a brand new work
Organizational budget not to exceed $1,500,000
Project budgets must be $100,000 or below
Grants will be awarded between $15,000 – $35,000 and will not exceed 35% of project budget
Projects must be completed within one year of receiving funds
Once a grant has been awarded, recipients must complete a 12-month rest period after the completion of the project, before requesting subsequent support
(Ex: if a New Works grant is awarded in 2024, the recipient will not be eligible to apply until the New Works 2026 application cycle.)
Current Legacy grantees are not eligible to apply for New Works grants. However, artists and organizations that are fiscally sponsored by Legacy grantees may apply.
Support for arts festivals will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Prior to submitting a request for festival support, please contact foundation staff to discuss your request.
Competitive applicants can demonstrate a history of:
- Projects that feature a majority representation of Bay Area-based artists and contributors (Please note: The foundation recognizes that many organizational staff and artists have been forced to relocate due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Artists supported through the grant are not required to currently reside within the geographic focus areas, but they should have a demonstrated history of living and working in Alameda, Marin, and/or San Francisco Counties.)
- Collaboration and community-informed practices, promoting meaningful relationships between artists and their communities
- Prioritizing support for Black, Indigenous, artists of color and those historically marginalized by persistent cultural, economic, and racial barriers

The open application dates for the 2026 New Works grant cycle are July 6 – 17, 2026.

Please find an overview of the application for your review and planning purposes. Visit the How to Apply page for more information on the application process.

If you have questions about application content such as project scope or type of request, please contact Tiffany Wood, Senior Program Officer, at twood@pfs-llc.net

FAQs

How do you register in the portal if you are fiscally sponsored?

When registering in the grants portal, the Organization Name should reflect the
fiscally sponsored artist’s or organization name. The fiscal sponsor
details/contact information must be completed (they are on a separate tab
under the organization details).

For Fiscally Sponsored Artists, what portion of the application should be about the fiscal sponsor?

The only document that we need from the fiscal sponsor is the formal letter of
agreement between the fiscal sponsor and the fiscally sponsored artist/project.
We recommend that the artists/projects submit everything else from their
perspective. For example, the applicant name should be the artist/project. For
the organizational budget, we want to get a sense of how much the
project’s/artist’s annual income/expenses are. If the fiscal sponsor has annual
budget information for the specific project/artist from processing invoices and
managing grants that have come in for an artist/project, that can be what is
submitted for the organizational budget. It is okay if the project and organization
budgets are the same.

Does the proposed work need to be a brand new work that has never been presented?

Yes. Priority is given to the development or presentation of brand new works.

Is there a limit on the number of work samples that can be submitted?

For Dance, Music, and Theater applications, we require at least one video work
sample (3-5 minutes in length). There are no restrictions on the number of
submissions or maximum viewing time. If there are particular segments within a
longer video that you want to draw our attention to, it would be great to specify
that in your application. If a theater organization would like to submit a script,
please only submit 3-5 pages of the script.

When are grants awarded?

Grants are awarded in late fall. The granting period has typically been December
1 – November 30 the following year. It can also be adjusted slightly on an ad hoc
basis if the awarded project schedule warrants it.

Are festivals eligible for New Works grants?

If there is a particular new work that is being developed for the festival that
would potentially be eligible for a New Works grant, feel free to apply for that
particular new work. Given the New Works program is targeted toward
individual artists and arts organizations that are creating a new and innovative
work, we generally do not use that program to support festivals. If you are
seeking general support funding for a festival, the foundation has a very limited
budget available and considers those requests on an ad hoc basis. The festival
budget for 2026 has already been expended, so we will not consider any festival
requests until 2027.

Are new works projects focused on classical or traditional arts eligible for New Works grants?

At this time, the foundation does not fund “traditional or folk arts” in their
original form. The intention is to support individual working artists creating new
contemporary works.

Are arts education organizations eligible for New Works grants?

Generally, organizations providing arts education programs or working with
youth artists are only eligible for consideration if the work is part of a larger
collaboration that supports working, contemporary artists. Provision of arts
education alone is not eligible for funding.

Are legacy grantees eligible to apply for New Works grants?

Current Legacy grantees are not eligible to apply for New Works grants. However,
artists and organizations that are fiscally sponsored by Legacy grantees may
apply. Former Legacy grantees may apply if they meet all New Works guidelines.

My organization provides fiscal sponsorship. If I separate my organizational budget from the fiscal sponsorship portion of the budget and, thus, meet all the eligibility requirements, can I apply for a New Works grant?

If, without your fiscal sponsorship budget, your organizational budget does not
exceed $1,500,000, and you meet all the other guidelines, you may apply for a
New Works grant. All organizations submitting applications with organizational
budgets greater than $1,500,000 will be declined.

I submitted an application. When can I expect to hear if I am moving forward in the grant process?

You can expect to hear from the Foundation by the end of September via email. If you haven’t received an email by then, please check your spam folder and the online grants portal.

the PHYLLIS C. WATTIS FOUNDATION