Responding to several years of declining support for artists and new art works, The Columbia Foundation, Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund, Miriam and Peter Haas Fund, and Walter and Elise Haas Fund launched the Creative Work Fund in September 1994. Since its inception, the Fund has awarded $17 million in grants for collaborations between artists and organizations to create new art works.
From Creative Work to Creative Power
Based on our 2024 learnings from community engagement we are concluding the Creative Work Fund and launching a new phase of grantmaking that serves individual artists and their community partners.
The Creative Power Awards is a reimagined program designed to amplify creative voices and expand opportunities for artists in our community. Founded on the belief that art and culture is essential to a connected Bay Area, where the community can imagine a better, more expansive future. Creative Power Awards recognize the leadership and contribution of individual artists working in the arts ecosystem with arts nonprofits for both the preservation of culture and positive community transformation.