Arts Education: To increase creative opportunities for children and youth who otherwise have limited access to studying the arts or to interact with working artists, including:

• Programs in public schools, led by professional artists and arts educators and addressing state and district arts education standards.
• After-school programs serving immigrant and low-income populations or bringing together young people from a range of backgrounds.
• Programs employing exemplary youth development and youth leadership principles.
• Projects strengthening systems through which arts education programs are delivered to children and youth.
• Programs through which artists share their skills, knowledge, and leadership with children and youth.

Preservation of Cultural Heritage: To support preservation of cultural heritage, particularly among recent immigrants. This may include:

• Programs fostering the preservation and generational transfer of cultural traditions.
• Programs helping to strengthen social networks among recent immigrants through creation and presentation of art.
• Programs increasing public awareness and appreciation of artistic practices of immigrant communities.
• Programs through which artists share their skills, knowledge, and leadership within their culturally distinct communities.

Cultural Commons: Fostering shared understanding and a stronger sense of community through participation in the arts.

• Programs that reach large audiences representing a true cross-section of local residents for shared arts experiences.
• Programs that use the arts to foster cross-cultural understanding and inclusiveness by engaging participants with different backgrounds and life experiences.
• Programs that integrate art and public discussion as a means of addressing challenging issues and content.

The Creative Work Fund: Fostering partnerships between artists and nonprofit organizations to create new work and engage the public in new ways.

• The Creative Work Fund, a program of the Walter and Elise Haas Fund, is supported by grants from the Columbia Foundation, The James Irvine Foundation, the Mimi and Peter Haas Fund, The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, and the Phyllis C. Wattis Foundation. For a detailed program description and application information, please see its Web site at creativeworkfund.org.

* How To Apply: For a step-by-step guide to the Fund's grant application process, please see the For Grantseekers section of our Web site.