The Williams Lewellin Family Foundation makes a small number of targeted awards that primarily support local arts and cultural activity and honor individual contributors. Grants are often given as recognition or project-specific support (performances, recordings, translation) rather than broad institutional general operating funds. The foundation appears community-focused and comfortable funding both individual artists and niche media projects tied to food and environment reporting.
A $40,000 recognition grant to Jaimie Lacroix Melot stands out in the Williams Lewellin Family Foundation’s recent record and shows how they use larger awards to single out individual contributors. The foundation pairs those one-off recognitions with smaller project grants, including support for a big band show, a book translation and recording project, and community service tied to the Sonoma Coast and Jenner. That mix points to a funder that is comfortable backing people, performances, and locally rooted civic work rather than only institutions. Across the recent grants list, the foundation appears especially attentive to arts and cultural activity, local history, watershed protection, and community resilience. It has also funded refugee-related work in California, food assistance, and veterans’ facility restoration, which broadens its profile beyond the arts while keeping the focus on direct, place-based support. Several awards are framed as honors for service or dedication, suggesting the foundation often recognizes personal contribution as much as project output. Its grant sizes are usually small, but the pattern is varied: a few larger awards anchor a long tail of modest gifts. Recipients range from individual artists and authors to community groups and historical societies, with California grantees appearing most often.
In the arts, the Williams Lewellin Family Foundation has backed both live performance and literary work. It gave $24,000 to Dewey Gill to support his big band show, and later awarded $50 to Woodland Pattern Book Center to support poetry, literature, and art. The foundation also funds local history and preservation projects. Examples include $500 to the Russian River Historical Society to preserve local history and $100 to Rancho Bodega Historical Society for the same purpose. Community and resilience-oriented grants appear as well. It gave $999 to Jenner Community Center for community support and $200 to Trina Peterson for contributing to community resilience. Other recent awards supported the Redwood Empire Food Bank for feeding those in need and the Cayucos Veterans Hall Restoration to help restore the Cayucos Vets Hall.
Typical awards are small: the 25th percentile is $200, the median is $500, and the 75th percentile is also $500. That puts most grants in a narrow range, with a few larger outliers. The foundation also makes direct grants to individuals, not just organizations, and the recent list shows repeated support for some of the same people across multiple years, including Alona Shkurkin, Calvin Ares, Brenda Adelman, and Trina Peterson. The organization’s assets are modest relative to annual giving, and the pattern is project-based and recognition-oriented rather than program-application driven.
$110K
$191K
$194K
$48K
Most grants fall between $200 and $500, with a median of $500.
25th Percentile
$200
Median
$500
75th Percentile
$500
About 85% of grants go to recipients in CA.
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Concentrated, small program of larger one-off grants (4 grants totaling $102k) that tend to be individual-focused honoraria or project-specific support rather than recurring multi-year institutional grants.
Notable grantees: Jaimie Lacroix Melot, Dewey Gill, Food & Environment Reporting Network, Norma Jellison
Giving is highly local: 85% of grants go to recipients in California, and California is the top state by grant count. The foundation’s recent recipients cluster around Jenner, Bodega Bay, Guerneville, and nearby Sonoma Coast communities, with Santa Rosa, Monte Rio, Petaluma, and San Francisco also appearing. Outside California, a few grants went to recipients in Wisconsin and New York, but the overall picture is concentrated in Northern California.
Its recent grants support arts and cultural projects, local history, watershed protection, community resilience, refugee assistance in California, food assistance, and veterans’ facility restoration. The foundation also funds individuals, including artists, authors, poets, and community contributors.
Typical awards are small. The grant-size distribution shows a 25th percentile of $200, a median of $500, and a 75th percentile of $500. Recent grants include several $200 and $500 awards, alongside a few larger amounts.
Yes. The recent grants list includes direct awards to individuals such as Jaimie Lacroix Melot, Dewey Gill, Norma Jellison, Alona Shkurkin, David Talbot, and Trina Peterson, in addition to gifts to community organizations.
California is the main giving state. The data shows 85% of grants going to recipients in the HQ state, and recent California recipients include Jenner Community Center, Russian River Historical Society, Redwood Empire Food Bank, and groups in Bodega Bay and Guerneville.
The pattern includes recurring support for some recipients. Alona Shkurkin, Calvin Ares, Brenda Adelman, and Trina Peterson each appear in multiple grant years, often for similar community-service or resilience-related purposes.
2025
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2025.
Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FOOD & ENVIRONMENT REPORTING NETWOR | NEW YORK, NY | $20,000 | 2025 | BOOK TRANSLATION AND RECORDING |
| JENNER COMMUNITY CENTER | JENNER, CA | $999 | 2025 | COMMUNITY SUPPORT |
| DAVID TALBOT | SAN FRANCISCO, CA | $500 | 2025 | AUTHOR SUPPORT |
| RUSSIAN RIVER HISTORICAL SOCIETY | MONTE RIO, CA | $500 | 2025 | PRESERVE LOCAL HISTORY |
| ANNE BRODY | PETALUMA, CA | $500 | 2025 | OUTSTANDING COMMUNITY SERVICE |
| TRINA PETERSON | JENNER, CA | $200 | 2025 | CONTRIBUTING TO COMMUNITY RESILIENCE |
| RUSSIAN RIVER WATERSHED PROTECTION | GUERNEVILLE, CA | $200 | 2025 | PROTECT WATERSHED |
| CAYUCOS VETERANS HALL RESTORATION | CAYUCOS, CA | $200 | 2025 | HELP RESTORE THE CAYUCOS VETS HALL |
| ALONA SHKURKIN | JENNER, CA | $200 | 2025 | WORK WITH UKRANIAN REFUGEES IN CA |
| RANCHO BODEGA HISTORICAL SOCIETY | BODEGA BAY, CA | $100 | 2025 | PRESERVE LOCAL HISTORY |
| REDWOOD EMPIRE FOOD BANK | SANTA ROSA, CA | $100 | 2025 | FEEDING THOSE IN NEED |
| WOODLAND PATTERN BOOK CENTER | MIKWAUKEE, WI | $50 | 2025 | SUPPORT POETRY, LITERATURE, ART |
| JAIMIE LACROIX MELOT | MILWAUKEE, WI | $40,000 | 2024 | RECOGNITION OF HIS DILIGENCE AS ARTI |
| ALONA SHKURKIN | JENNER, CA | $500 | 2024 | WORK WITH UKRANIAN REFUGEES IN CA |
| BRENDA ADELMAN | GUERNEVILLE, CA | $400 | 2024 | DEDICATION TO PROTECTING RUSSIAN RVR |
| CALVIN ARES | JENNER, CA | $400 | 2024 | HONORING HIS SERVICE TO JENNER COMM |
| TRINA PETERSON | JENNER, CA | $200 | 2024 | CONTRIBUTING TO COMMUNITY RESILIENCE |
| DEWEY GILL | WEST ALLIS, WI | $24,000 | 2023 | SUPPORT HIS BIG BAND SHOW |
| NORMA JELLISON | BODEGA BAY, CA | $18,000 | 2023 | HONOR HER SERVICE W SONOMA COAST |
| CALVIN ARES | JENNER, CA | $500 | 2023 | HONORING HIS SERVICE TO JENNER COMM |
| ELENA IRVING | BODEGA BAY, CA | $500 | 2023 | SUPPORTING THE YOUTH COMMUNITY |
| ALONA SHKURKIN | JENNER, CA | $500 | 2023 | WORK WITH UKRANIAN REFUGEES IN CA |
| KATHLEEEN A FENTON | JENNER, CA | $500 | 2023 | SUPPORTING HER COMM SVC AND ART |
| BRENDA ADELMAN | GUERNEVILLE, CA | $500 | 2023 | DEDICATION TO PROTECTING RUSSIAN RVR |
| V BAUTISTA | GUERNEVILLE, CA | $300 | 2023 | SERVICE TO THE SONOMA COAST |
| TRINA PETERSON | JENNER, CA | $200 | 2023 | CONTRIBUTING TO COMMUNITY RESILIENCE |
FOOD & ENVIRONMENT REPORTING NETWOR
$20,000BOOK TRANSLATION AND RECORDING
JENNER COMMUNITY CENTER
$999COMMUNITY SUPPORT
DAVID TALBOT
$500AUTHOR SUPPORT
RUSSIAN RIVER HISTORICAL SOCIETY
$500PRESERVE LOCAL HISTORY
ANNE BRODY
$500OUTSTANDING COMMUNITY SERVICE
TRINA PETERSON
$200CONTRIBUTING TO COMMUNITY RESILIENCE
RUSSIAN RIVER WATERSHED PROTECTION
$200PROTECT WATERSHED
CAYUCOS VETERANS HALL RESTORATION
$200HELP RESTORE THE CAYUCOS VETS HALL
ALONA SHKURKIN
$200WORK WITH UKRANIAN REFUGEES IN CA
RANCHO BODEGA HISTORICAL SOCIETY
$100PRESERVE LOCAL HISTORY
REDWOOD EMPIRE FOOD BANK
$100FEEDING THOSE IN NEED
WOODLAND PATTERN BOOK CENTER
$50SUPPORT POETRY, LITERATURE, ART
JAIMIE LACROIX MELOT
$40,000RECOGNITION OF HIS DILIGENCE AS ARTI
ALONA SHKURKIN
$500WORK WITH UKRANIAN REFUGEES IN CA
BRENDA ADELMAN
$400DEDICATION TO PROTECTING RUSSIAN RVR
CALVIN ARES
$400HONORING HIS SERVICE TO JENNER COMM
TRINA PETERSON
$200CONTRIBUTING TO COMMUNITY RESILIENCE
DEWEY GILL
$24,000SUPPORT HIS BIG BAND SHOW
NORMA JELLISON
$18,000HONOR HER SERVICE W SONOMA COAST
CALVIN ARES
$500HONORING HIS SERVICE TO JENNER COMM
ELENA IRVING
$500SUPPORTING THE YOUTH COMMUNITY
ALONA SHKURKIN
$500WORK WITH UKRANIAN REFUGEES IN CA
KATHLEEEN A FENTON
$500SUPPORTING HER COMM SVC AND ART
BRENDA ADELMAN
$500DEDICATION TO PROTECTING RUSSIAN RVR
V BAUTISTA
$300SERVICE TO THE SONOMA COAST
TRINA PETERSON
$200CONTRIBUTING TO COMMUNITY RESILIENCE