The Paul L. Wattis Foundation is a Bay Area-focused supporter of performing and visual arts, repeatedly funding music venues, museums, and cultural heritage organizations. Grants emphasize institutional capacity (capital campaigns, general operating) and high-profile exhibitions or acquisitions, with particular interest in jazz, small/mid-sized arts venues, and historic printing/press preservation. The foundation gives sizable, targeted awards to a small set of cultural organizations rather than broad, diffuse funding.
The Paul L Wattis Foundation shows a strong, repeated commitment to San Francisco Jazz Organization, awarding $100,000 in 2023, 2024, and 2025 for the SFJAZZ Immersive Media Project. That pattern points to a funder that favors sustained support for specific arts institutions rather than broad, one-time dispersal. Across its recent grants, the foundation backs performing arts, museum exhibitions and acquisitions, historic press preservation, and selected community uses of cultural spaces. Its awards frequently land at the $50,000 and $25,000 levels, with larger commitments reserved for projects such as museum acquisitions, exhibition support, and capital campaigns. Recipients include Sweetwater Music Hall in Mill Valley, which received general support in three consecutive years, and The Grabhorn Institute & Arion Press, which received funding for a capital campaign to move the Arion Press historic printing facility to Fort Mason. The foundation also supports Bay Area museums and arts groups, including the Berkeley Art Museum & Pacific Film Archive and the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. A smaller set of grants extends beyond the core arts profile into humanitarian meals distribution, agricultural education, and church spaces used for community purposes.
In performing arts, the Paul L Wattis Foundation has backed SFJAZJ?
Typical grants cluster tightly around a $25,000 to $50,000 range, with a median of $50,000 and a 75th percentile of $50,000. Larger awards appear as targeted exceptions, including $100,000 commitments and an $89,250 acquisition grant. The record also shows repeated support for the same organizations across multiple years, especially in arts and culture. The foundation is not a funding vehicle for individuals and does not make program-related investments. Its giving profile reads as institution-centered rather than open-call, with support directed to operating funds, annual funds, capital campaigns, and project-specific work.
$353K
$5.4M
$55K
$423K
Most grants fall between $25K and $50K, with a median of $50K.
25th Percentile
$25K
Median
$50K
75th Percentile
$50K
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Concentrated, mid-to-large grants to a small number of repeat grantees; mix of project-specific support (exhibitions, acquisitions, media projects) and organizational capacity/capital funding, primarily for San Francisco Bay Area cultural institutions.
Notable grantees: San Francisco Jazz Organization (SFJAZZ), Sweetwater Music Hall, Grabhorn Institute / Arion Press, Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) / Museum Associates, UC Berkeley Art Museum & Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA)
Grantmaking is heavily concentrated in California, which accounts for 93% of grants by recipient location. San Francisco appears repeatedly, including grants to San Francisco Jazz Organization, Minnesota Street Project Foundation, The Grabhorn Institute & Arion Press, and The Swedenborgian Church. Other California recipient cities include Berkeley, Mill Valley, Los Angeles, Oakland, San Luis Obispo, Sacramento, Hollister, and Tres Pinos. Outside California, the only listed recipient location is Aspen, Colorado, and the country distribution is entirely U.S.-based.
The foundation supports arts and cultural institutions most often, including jazz organizations, museums, exhibition venues, and historic printing preservation groups. Recent grants also include humanitarian meal distribution, agriculture education, and community space projects, but the core pattern is institutional support in the arts.
Typical grants are tightly centered on $25,000 to $50,000. The median grant size is $50,000, and the 25th and 75th percentiles are both $25,000 and $50,000 respectively.
Yes. The foundation repeatedly supports several organizations over multiple years, including San Francisco Jazz Organization with $100,000 grants in 2023, 2024, and 2025, and Sweetwater Music Hall with $50,000 grants in 2023, 2024, and 2025.
California is the primary recipient state, with 93% of grants going to recipients there. San Francisco, Berkeley, Mill Valley, Los Angeles, Oakland, San Luis Obispo, Sacramento, Hollister, and Tres Pinos all appear in the recent grant list.
Yes. The recent record includes general operating support, annual fund support, capital campaign funding, and project-specific support such as exhibition sponsorship and an acquisition grant. That mix suggests a preference for institutions with defined needs rather than unrestricted, broad-based grantmaking.
2026
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2026.
Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| California College of the Arts | San Francisco, CA | $112,500 | 2026 | Huang Matching Gift Challenge for unrestricted operating support |
| The Dry Dock Corporation | San Francisco, CA | $50,000 | 2026 | Support for general expenses |
| Sweetwater Music Hall | Mill Valley, CA | $50,000 | 2026 | General support |
| The Salvation Army - Golden State Division | San Francisco, CA | $31,000 | 2026 | To support the Joseph McFee Center |
| Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco | San Francisco, CA | $22,400 | 2026 | For acquisition of Hiba Kalache's Ecology of Violence II (2023) |
| Trisha Brown Dance Company | New York, NY | $20,000 | 2026 | To support the upcoming production in celebration of the Robert Rauschenberg Centennial |
| Transit Books | Berkeley, CA | $20,000 | 2026 | To support the organization's project to develop a book from initial concept through final publication |
| San Benito County Heritage Foundation | Tres Pinos, CA | $10,000 | 2026 | To support the Water Project Committee with funding of a second well and water supply in the Southwest region of Bolado Park |
| The Swedenborgian Church | San Francisco, CA | $10,000 | 2026 | Support the provision of a space available for community purposes |
| Pacific Legal Foundation | Sacramento, CA | $10,000 | 2026 | For the foundation's Annual Fund |
| Hazel Hawkins Hospital Foundation | Hollister, CA | $10,000 | 2026 | General support |
| Hearst Castle Preservation Foundation | New York, NY | $5,000 | 2026 | Support of art conservation |
| Little Village Foundation | Solvang, CA | $2,500 | 2026 | For the foundation's Annual Fund |
| San Francisco Jazz Organization | San Francisco, CA | $100,000 | 2025 | Support the SFJAZZ Immersive Media Project |
| Sweetwater Music Hall | Mill Valley, CA | $50,000 | 2025 | General support |
| LACMA - Museum Associates | Los Angeles, CA | $50,000 | 2025 | Support Ed Ruscha/Now Then: A Retrospective |
| The Grabhorn Institute & Arion Press | San Francisco, CA | $50,000 | 2025 | Capital campaign to help move the Arion Press historic printing facility to Fort Mason |
| The Grabhorn Institute & Arion Press | San Francisco, CA | $50,000 | 2025 | Capital campaign to help move the Arion Press historic printing facility to Fort Mason |
| American Near East Refugee Aid Inc | Washington, DC | $30,000 | 2025 | Support the distribution of meals to people affected by the war in Gaza |
| San Francisco Jazz Organization | San Francisco, CA | $25,000 | 2025 | Support the SFJAZZ Gala 2024 |
| Saint John's Presbyterian Church | San Francisco, CA | $5,000 | 2025 | Support the provision of a space available for community purposes |
| The Swedenborgian Church | San Francisco, CA | $5,000 | 2025 | Support the provision of a space available for community purposes |
| Diocese of Monterey | Tres Pinos, CA | $5,000 | 2025 | Support the Parish Painting Project |
| Aspen Historical Society | Aspen, CO | $500 | 2025 | General support |
| San Francisco Jazz Organization | San Francisco, CA | $100,000 | 2024 | Support the SFJAZZ Immersive Media Project |
| University of California Regents | Berkeley, CA | $89,250 | 2024 | Support the Berkeley Art Museum & Pacific Film Archive purchase of Masako Miki, Ichiren-bozu, 2018 |
| Minnesota Street Project Foundation | San Francisco, CA | $60,000 | 2024 | Support Fall Exhibition of "Venus Blues" |
| Sweetwater Music Hall | Mill Valley, CA | $50,000 | 2024 | General support |
| LACMA - Museum Associates | Los Angeles, CA | $50,000 | 2024 | Support Ed Ruscha/Now Then: A Retrospective |
| Hazel Hawkins Hospital Foundation | Hollister, CA | $25,000 | 2024 | To honor Willene M. Wattis |
| Pacific Legal Foundation | Sacramento, CA | $25,000 | 2024 | Support for the Annual Fund |
| Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco | San Francisco, CA | $25,000 | 2024 | Support the de Young 2023 Open Exhibition |
| Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco | San Francisco, CA | $25,000 | 2024 | Support Kehinde Wiley: An Archeology of Silence |
| San Francisco Jazz Organization | San Francisco, CA | $100,000 | 2023 | Support the SFJAZZ Immersive Media Project |
| UC Berkeley Foundation | Berkeley, CA | $60,000 | 2023 | Support the UC Berkeley Art Museum & Pacific Film Archive Annual Fund |
| Sweetwater Music Hall | Mill Valley, CA | $50,000 | 2023 | General Support |
| Grabhorn Institute | San Francisco, CA | $50,000 | 2023 | Support organization's general operations |
| Cal Poly Foundation | San Luis Obispo, CA | $25,000 | 2023 | Support the Swanton Sustainability Fund of the College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences. |
| Cal Poly Foundation | San Luis Obispo, CA | $25,000 | 2023 | Support College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences Dean's Power of Doing Fund |
| Hispanics in Philanthropy | Oakland, CA | $25,000 | 2023 | Support the "Innovando la Tradicion/Colectivo 1050" program |
California College of the Arts
$112,500Huang Matching Gift Challenge for unrestricted operating support
The Dry Dock Corporation
$50,000Support for general expenses
Sweetwater Music Hall
$50,000General support
The Salvation Army - Golden State Division
$31,000To support the Joseph McFee Center
Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco
$22,400For acquisition of Hiba Kalache's Ecology of Violence II (2023)
To support the upcoming production in celebration of the Robert Rauschenberg Centennial
Transit Books
$20,000To support the organization's project to develop a book from initial concept through final publication
San Benito County Heritage Foundation
$10,000To support the Water Project Committee with funding of a second well and water supply in the Southwest region of Bolado Park
The Swedenborgian Church
$10,000Support the provision of a space available for community purposes
Hearst Castle Preservation Foundation
$5,000Support of art conservation
Little Village Foundation
$2,500For the foundation's Annual Fund
San Francisco Jazz Organization
$100,000Support the SFJAZZ Immersive Media Project
Sweetwater Music Hall
$50,000General support
LACMA - Museum Associates
$50,000Support Ed Ruscha/Now Then: A Retrospective
The Grabhorn Institute & Arion Press
$50,000Capital campaign to help move the Arion Press historic printing facility to Fort Mason
The Grabhorn Institute & Arion Press
$50,000Capital campaign to help move the Arion Press historic printing facility to Fort Mason
Support the distribution of meals to people affected by the war in Gaza
San Francisco Jazz Organization
$25,000Support the SFJAZZ Gala 2024
Saint John's Presbyterian Church
$5,000Support the provision of a space available for community purposes
The Swedenborgian Church
$5,000Support the provision of a space available for community purposes
Diocese of Monterey
$5,000Support the Parish Painting Project
San Francisco Jazz Organization
$100,000Support the SFJAZZ Immersive Media Project
University of California Regents
$89,250Support the Berkeley Art Museum & Pacific Film Archive purchase of Masako Miki, Ichiren-bozu, 2018
Support Fall Exhibition of "Venus Blues"
Sweetwater Music Hall
$50,000General support
Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco
$25,000Support the de Young 2023 Open Exhibition
Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco
$25,000Support Kehinde Wiley: An Archeology of Silence
San Francisco Jazz Organization
$100,000Support the SFJAZZ Immersive Media Project
Support the UC Berkeley Art Museum & Pacific Film Archive Annual Fund
Sweetwater Music Hall
$50,000General Support
Support the Swanton Sustainability Fund of the College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences.
Support College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences Dean's Power of Doing Fund
Support the "Innovando la Tradicion/Colectivo 1050" program