Longtime San Francisco resident Phyllis Cannon Wattis was a devoted fan of the arts. She loved to paint and also loved music, including jazz and opera. She supported many arts organizations throughout her life – in the area of fine arts, as well as the performing arts.
Wattis served on the boards of several arts-related organizations, including the San Francisco Opera, the San Francisco Symphony, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, where she was a strong supporter of these organizations.
“She supported organizations large and small,” noted her granddaughter, Carlie Wilmans. “She was very generous.” Wilmans added, “She recognized how the arts can change the way people think, the way the world works.”
When Wattis died in June 2002, she had set money aside that she wanted to be allocated to philanthropy, especially in the area of the arts.
Since then, Wilmans has carried on her grandmother’s legacy with the Phyllis C. Wattis Foundation, which provides grants to nonprofit organizations that are focused on fine arts and performing arts, including dance, music and theater. “It is a wonderful way to carry on her memory,” said Wilmans.
The foundation hones in on organizations that are doing cutting-edge work that is pushing the envelope, Wilmans explained.
The foundation has two grant cycles each year – one in the spring and another in the fall, according to Wilmans. Letters of inquiry are accepted in January for the spring grant cycle and in July for the fall grant cycle.
In 2011, the foundation received 200 letters of intent, according to Wilmans, who had the difficult task of narrowing the pool down to 50, out of which 15 actually received grants. “It’s rigorous,” Wilmans emphasized.
“It’s competitive. We want the money to have a significant impact.”
Wilmans further stated that in order to receive a grant, a nonprofit must not only be focused on the arts, but must also hold an IRS extension letter or be sponsored by an IRS extension letter. An organization can receive a maximum grant of $50,000.
The Phyllis C. Wattis Foundation will only consider proposals for support for a specific project or program. Applications will not be considered for general support, operating expenses, capital expansion, endowment funds, seed grants, scholarships, awards, or for research and planning.
The foundation is funded by the Wattis estate. It is required to give 5 percent of its value every year, according to Wilmans. In 2011, the foundation gave $445,000 to 14 organizations. Wilmans felt that one of the challenges of running the organization is having limited resources, saying that there are a lot of organizations doing great work and she wishes the foundation could give money to everybody.
One organization benefiting from these grants has been the Black Rock Arts Foundation – BRAF – a San Francisco-based nonprofit that was established in May 2001 to promote public, community-based art installations. BRAF was awarded $50,000 from the Phyllis C. Wattis Foundation in May 2011. These funds were put towards its civic arts program, according to Executive Director Thomas McCabe.
“The Phyllis C. Wattis Foundation's clear and simple grant process gave us the opportunity to share our vision in a natural, logical narrative format,” McCabe said. “Because our mission is so aligned with the foundation's goals, it was easy to tell our story, outline our hopes for the future, and illustrate the value of our partnership with the foundation.”
BRAF’s civic arts program “is on a trajectory of a steady growth that would not be possible without the boost of funding the Wattis Foundation provided,” McCabe noted. “Because of their generous grant, we were able to jump on opportunities to collaborate with acclaimed artists – artists like Marco Cochrane, whose dazzling, monumental work Bliss Dance now stands on Treasure Island, and Kate Raudenbush, whose poignant, elegant work Future's Past will be installed in the Hayes Valley neighborhood this spring.”
The foundation has “been instrumental to shaping the unique character of the Bay Area,” McCabe further added. “BRAF is deeply honored to be included in the legacy of Wattis Foundation’s funded organizations. We’re grateful for the foundation’s focus on funding high-caliber works of art that add to the enrichment of civic life in the Bay Area. We share the foundation's commitment to highlighting the Bay Area as a cultural center of ground-breaking approaches to art-making and public exhibition.”
McCabe further noted, “BRAF’s public art installations in San Francisco have won the affection of residents and notable attention of city officials and other arts organizations. Our projects become cherished neighborhood centerpieces and unique tourist attractions, bringing joy and wonder into the daily lives of citizens and visitors. As BRAF’s reputation grows, more talented artists and trusted institutions reach out to us in interest of collaboration.”
The Berkeley Repertory Theatre – commonly known as the Berkeley Rep, and the home of emerging and established artists since 1968 – has also received grants from the Phyllis C. Wattis Foundation, one in 2006, and another in 2009, according to Development Director Lynn Eve Komaromi.
The 2006 grant worth $50,000 was for “To the Lighthouse,” a play adopted from a Virginia Wolf novel. “It was a new play,” said Komaromi. “We were premiering. They like to support more risky, cutting-edge work. It was a bold, new work, taking something that was a narrative and having it adopted for the stage.”
The 2009 grant was also worth $50,000 and was used to “support the world premiere of ‘American Idiot,’ which went on to be the most successful show in our history, transferring to New York and nominated for several Tony Awards,” noted Komaromi. “The show is now on a national tour which will return to the Bay Area this summer. We were incredibly grateful for the foundation’s support on this groundbreaking work.”
The Berkeley Rep – which attracts an audience of 180,000, serves 20,000 students annually and hosts dozens of community groups – recently applied for renewed support from the Phyllis C. Wattis Foundation and was declined, which was disappointing, Komaromi admitted. She understands, however, that more and more nonprofits are applying for grant money in the current tough economic environment and that the foundation has limited resources.
“The funding environment has become increasingly competitive in this new economy, and I can only imagine how challenging it is for foundations like Wattis to choose which organizations to support when there are so many that are worthy,” Komaromi noted.
In conclusion, Komaromi noted, “I think it’s great that Carlie represents the next generation of philanthropists. Her grandmother left quite a legacy. It’s wonderful to see this new generation of philanthropists that are supporting the arts community. The great thing about the Wattis is that they are investing in risk-taking – they’re encouraging artists to take risks. That’s important.”
Wilmans holds site visits with organizations that are new to the foundation or have had a recent leadership change. She also sits on a number of boards, including the San Francisco Museum of Modern Arts, the California College of the Arts, and the American Conservatory Theater – A.C.T., a large nonprofit theater company in San Francisco that offers both classical and contemporary theater productions.
In addition to her responsibilities with the Phyllis C. Wattis Foundation, Wilmans also runs the 500 Capp Street Foundation. “I don’t know how many hours I log,” she said. “It’s fun. I love it.”
In congruence with her grandmother, Wilmans has always been interested in the arts. She holds a degree in art history from Sonoma State University and studied pre-Columbian art at the University of Texas at Austin.
Phyllis C. Wattis was born and raised in Utah. She attended the University of California at Berkeley in the 1920s and lived in San Francisco from 1936 until her death on June 5, 2002 at age 97.
What would Wattis think if she were alive today? “She’d be proud,” Wilmans said. “We’re keeping her intentions alive and I can’t think she wouldn’t be proud.”
More information about the Phyllis C. Wattis Foundation can be found by visiting www.wattisfoundation.org, or by calling 415.986.1571.
