William and Flora Hewlett Foundation

09/24/2025

Rising real estate costs are pushing artists and cultural organizations out of the communities they’ve helped shape.

That’s why we’re partnering with organizations like Community Arts Stabilization Trust, Community Vision, Vital Arts, Arts Council Santa Cruz County, School of Arts & Culture to support real estate solutions that keep culture rooted in place.

Across the Bay Area, our grantees are transforming buildings into community hubs — providing affordable housing for artists, establishing long-term cultural spaces, and collaborating across sectors to support belonging, wellness, and opportunity.

Learn how these efforts in Watsonville, San José, and beyond are helping communities preserve their cultural homes for generations to come:

The rising cost of space in the Bay Area, exacerbated by inflation and ongoing economic instability, has made it increasingly difficult for artists and cultural organizations to stay rooted in the communities they serve. According to a 2024 poll, 82% of residents in the Bay Area consider the cost of...

12/21/2024

New climate targets mark a significant milestone in America's journey toward a sustainable future. The U.S. government announcement will help create good-paying jobs, build a clean energy economy, and maintain our global competitiveness.

Our Environment Program Director Jonathan Pershing shares how this commitment creates a roadmap toward net-zero emissions by 2050. Read his full statement:

As the United States moves toward a clean energy economy, the federal government today announced a new, stronger climate target, as it fulfilled its obligation to report on its commitments on climate through 2035. The announcement outlines actions from various entities across the country — includi...

10/14/2024

The arts are a vital element of a well-rounded education. They provide students with the critical thinking skills and creativity young people need for learning, motivation, and self-expression. Every student deserves this transformative power in their education — a value shared by California voters who approved a historic investment in arts education through the Arts and Music in Schools (AMS) Act. A new study from SRI provides the first clear estimate of the teachers needed to meet current demands and provides recommendations for school administrators, higher education institutions, arts organizations, and funders on closing the gap. Together, we can ensure California has the visual and performing arts teachers needed to give every student access to a high-quality arts education. More from our Tom DeCaigny and Nathan Large on the new research and next steps:

“Creative license” refers to an artist’s ability to break from historical convention. A poet may stray from grammatical rules or invent new words, while a singer may embellish the melody of a well-known song. Artistic expansiveness is a core value of the Hewlett Foundation Performing Arts Prog...

09/30/2024

Momentum is building for Tribal energy sovereignty with the Alliance For Tribal Clean Energy’s launch of the Indigenous Power & Light Fund for Energy Sovereignty. With an initial goal of $100 million, this revolving fund will help Native American tribes and Alaska Native communities expedite energy initiatives and tackle the upfront costs of clean energy projects that federal funding often misses. With over a third of the funding already pledged, the fund is on track to reach its goal by the end of 2025, potentially unlocking billions in federal resources for Tribal energy projects.

Carrie Doyle, our Environment Program Officer, affirms, “The Fund will support Tribes as they work to take control of their energy futures and create impactful opportunities for economic development, energy sovereignty, and to be leaders in the transition to a clean energy economy.”

We’re honored to support the fund as a founding collaborator and support the fund alongside the MacArthur Foundation, The Lemelson Foundation, and other philanthropies. By centering Indigenous voices, this fund ensures that the solutions to our most significant environmental challenges will come from those who have long been the most impacted.

The Alliance for Tribal Clean Energy is dedicated to supporting Native American tribes in their self-determined transition to clean energy.

Read more about the effort: https://www.solarpowerworldonline.com/2024/09/new-fund-for-advancement-of-tribal-clean-energy-sets-100-million-goal/

📷: Alliance for Tribal Clean Energy

09/25/2024

We’re more motivated than ever to forge a future for women’s economic empowerment — thanks to the grantee partners who joined us at our .

The last three days were truly inspiring, bringing together some of the most dedicated, thoughtful, and creative minds who have established the Women’s Economic Empowerment field. We explored so many topics — from shifting power and decolonial approaches, to civic and policymakers engagement — all with the goal of promoting gender-responsive economic policies.

We leave this space with gratitude and excitement for the years ahead as we move gender from the outskirts to the center of macroeconomic policy.

09/21/2024

⏰The countdown is on to our ! We’re excited to welcome grantee partners, learn more about each other's efforts in the women’s economic empowerment field, and to deepen connections across researchers, advocates, policy experts, international institutions and women’s rights organizations advancing macroeconomic approaches that support women’s opportunities and well-being. See you there!

07/02/2024

We believe the arts are essential for people and communities to thrive and are dedicated to supporting artists in the Bay Area. In response to increasing economic and social challenges, our Performing Arts Program is expanding its support to artists through increased funding and a more holistic approach to their well-being.

Program Officer Adam Fong shares the details of our renewed efforts to ensure Bay Area artists and culture bearers both benefit from and shape the services, policies, and practices that most impact their creative agency and livelihood:

The Hewlett Foundation has supported the arts in the San Francisco Bay Area since its inception. We believe the arts are essential for individuals and communities to thrive and that artists are the cornerstone of cultural practices that enrich our lives and the region. Artists help us connect to our...

06/28/2024

Today, the Supreme Court issued 6-3 rulings overturning Chevron deference, longstanding principles established over four decades ago recognizing the value of expertise held within federal agencies. These principles enabled civil servants to bring their deep scientific and technical knowledge to the development of regulations in line with laws passed by Congress to protect the public. Read our Environment Program Director Jonathan Pershing’s statement on how these decisions harm nonprofits’ work and weaken the ability of government to apply sound expertise to address the needs of people, communities, and the planet: https://bit.ly/4eMiVZV

Today, the Supreme Court issued 6-3 rulings on Relentless, Inc. v. Department of Commerce and Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, overturning longstanding principles established over four decades ago recognizing the value of expertise held within federal agencies. These principles enabled civil se...

06/19/2024

Join us outside to commemorate Juneteenth 2024 with our grantee partner Outdoor Afro. We reflect on the 2.5 years that freedom was delayed for enslaved Black people in Galveston, Texas after the Emancipation Proclamation.

Outdoor Afro is launching their annual Making Waves swim program this summer to inspire people to go outdoors and reconnect with their local waterways. Learn more at bit.ly/OutdoorAfroJuneteenth2024

Illustration by Dajah Callen ()

06/13/2024

SCOTUS' decision maintaining access to mifepristone was the only sensible outcome — and good news for today. But we know this is a long fight. As we have done for more than five decades, we stand with our grantee partners to protect reproductive freedom for all people.