To unite, strengthen, promote, and advance the theatre community in the San Francisco Bay Area, working on behalf of our conviction that the performing arts are an essential public good.
Theatre Bay Area centers its giving on Bay Area theatre companies and artists, with a program mix that includes operating support, artistic fellowships, quick-response assistance, and awards for new plays. Among the clearest signals of its priorities is the $40,000 grant to Crowded Fire Theatre for program activities, alongside support for other San Francisco and East Bay companies such as Playground and Alternative Theatre Ensemble. The foundation also backs named programs that serve individual practitioners, including the Mary Mason Memorial Lemonade Fund for theatre workers facing critical illness or injury and the Arts Leadership Residency for aspiring artistic directors and managing directors. Its grantmaking is closely tied to the theatre ecosystem rather than general arts funding. Programs like the Will Glickman Award and Rella Lossy Award support world-premiere and emerging-playwriting work in the Bay Area, while CA$H Theatre Grant gives smaller awards to individual artists and small companies for creative projects, performances, and general operating support. The foundation’s own statement frames this work as advancing the theatre community in the San Francisco Bay Area and treating the performing arts as an essential public good.
Playwriting and new work are a visible part of Theatre Bay Area’s grantmaking. The Will Glickman Award recognizes the best new full-length, fully produced world-premiere play to premiere in the Bay Area, and the Rella Lossy Award honors the best new full-length script by an emerging playwright that will premiere in the Bay Area. The foundation also funds capacity building and leadership development. Through the Arts Leadership Residency, aspiring artistic directors and managing directors spend 12–16 weeks at Bay Area theatres with mentoring and a significant project during the season. CA$H Theatre Grant extends that support to individual artists and small theatre companies through CA$H Creates, CA$H Performs, and CA$H Sustains. Emergency and hardship support is another clear lane. The Mary Mason Memorial Lemonade Fund provides supplemental financial assistance to theatre practitioners living with critical illnesses, conditions, or injuries, and the Arts Worker Relief Fund is set up for arts-worker assistance.
$57K
$468K
$881K
$935K
Most grants fall between $12K and $15K, with a median of $12K.
25th Percentile
$12K
Median
$12K
75th Percentile
$15K
Anne W Smith
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The typical grant size is tightly clustered: p25 is $12,000, median is $12,000, and p75 is $14,500. The recent grants list shows a second tier of awards at $10,000 and $7,500, with larger one-off grants of $40,000, $20,000, and $17,000. This looks like a recurring local funder rather than a one-time grantmaker. Playground appears in the recent grants twice, in 2023 and 2024, which suggests repeat support for some recipients. Theatre Bay Area is classified as a regular funder, does not fund individuals directly, and does not make program-related investments. Several of its grant programs accept unsolicited applications.
Theatre Bay Area gives locally, and every recent grant in the dataset went to a recipient in California. San Francisco appears most often, including multiple grants to organizations there, while Berkeley, Oakland, San Rafael, and Mill Valley also show up in the recipient list. The grant program geography is centered on the San Francisco Bay Area, with one awards program extending to Alameda, Contra Costa, and Marin counties.
It funds Bay Area theatre companies and artists through operating support, artist project support, capacity building for small theatre companies, emergency financial assistance, playwriting awards, and fellowships. The recent grants list shows support for organizations in San Francisco, Berkeley, Oakland, San Rafael, and Mill Valley.
Typical grants cluster around $12,000. The reported distribution is p25 $12,000, median $12,000, and p75 $14,500. The recent grants also include smaller awards of $7,500 and $10,000, plus larger program grants of $17,000, $20,000, and $40,000.
Yes for several active programs. The Will Glickman Award, RHE Quick Grant, Rella Lossy Award, Mary Mason Memorial Lemonade Fund, Arts Leadership Residency, Arts Worker Relief Fund, RHE Artistic Fellowship, and CA$H Theatre Grant are all marked as accepting unsolicited applications. One RHE Charitable Foundation fellowship program is listed as not accepting unsolicited applications.
Recent grants went to Crowded Fire Theatre, Playground, Alternative Theatre Ensemble, San Francisco Bay Area Theatr, Magic Theatre Inc, Lorraine Hansberry Theatre, Golden Thread Productions, Theatre Rhinoceros, Ubuntu Theater Project, and Crescent Moon Theater Product.
2025
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2025.
Current and upcoming funding from Theatre Bay Area that your nonprofit may be able to apply for.
Who can apply: Aspiring artistic directors and managing directors who apply with a Bay Area theatre company willing to host the residency and commit to the project.
Deadline: Application open in summer.
Who can apply: Open to individual theatre artists and small, professionally-oriented theatre companies with operating budgets no greater than $100,000 located in the San Francisco Bay Area. Creates and Performs are open to artists and companies; Sustains is only for theatre companies. Applicants may submit only one application per granting round.
Deadline: Fall 2026 round opens in mid-September and closes in late October. Spring 2026 applications are closed.
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Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Playground | Berkeley, CA | $17,520 | 2025 | Program Activities |
| Bindlestiff Studio | San Francisco, CA | $15,000 | 2025 | Program Activities |
| Playground | Berkeley, CA | $12,500 | 2025 | Program Activities |
| Central Works | Berkeley, CA | $12,000 | 2025 | Program Activities |
| Golden Thread Productions | San Francisco, CA | $12,000 | 2024 | Program Activities |
| Theatre Rhinoceros | San Francisco, CA | $12,000 | 2024 | Program Activities |
| Ubuntu Theater Project | Oakland, CA | $12,000 | 2024 | Program Activities |
| San Francisco Bay Area Theatr | San Francisco, CA | $12,000 | 2024 | Program Activities |
| Crescent Moon Theater Product | Mill Valley, CA | $10,000 | 2024 | Program Activities |
| Playground | Berkeley, CA | $7,500 | 2024 | Program Activities |
| Crowded Fire Theatre | San Francisco, CA | $40,000 | 2023 | Program Activities |
| Playground | Berkeley, CA | $20,000 | 2023 | Program Activities |
| Alternative Theatre Ensemble | San Rafael, CA | $17,000 | 2023 | Program Activities |
| Magic Theatre Inc | San Francisco, CA | $12,000 | 2023 | Program Activities |
| Lorraine Hansberry Theatre | San Francisco, CA | $12,000 | 2023 | Program Activities |
Playground
$17,520Program Activities
Bindlestiff Studio
$15,000Program Activities
Playground
$12,500Program Activities
Central Works
$12,000Program Activities
Theatre Rhinoceros
$12,000Program Activities
San Francisco Bay Area Theatr
$12,000Program Activities
Crescent Moon Theater Product
$10,000Program Activities
Playground
$7,500Program Activities
Playground
$20,000Program Activities
Alternative Theatre Ensemble
$17,000Program Activities
Lorraine Hansberry Theatre
$12,000Program Activities
