From learning to perform on stage for the first time to creating films in the classroom and expressing themselves through murals and storytelling, arts education gives young people opportunities to build confidence, creativity, and community.
Community Foundation Sonoma County is proud to announce 18 Arts Education Grants supporting nonprofits that provide high-quality visual, performing, and literary arts experiences for children and youth across Sonoma County. Together, these organizations are expanding access to the arts while helping young people develop skills that extend far beyond the classroom.
This year’s grantees represent a wide range of artistic disciplines, from music and filmmaking to dance, theater, visual arts, and creative writing. Together, they are helping ensure more young people have opportunities to learn, create, and discover their own voices.
Here are three programs receiving support this year.
Play Marimba!
Photo courtesy of Play Marimba!
For many students, Play Marimba! is more than a music program. It’s a place where they build confidence, develop leadership skills, and find a sense of belonging through joyful, culturally rooted music education.
Since 2018, the organization has provided free marimba instruction to more than 1,500 students each year across 15 Sonoma County public schools. Students perform throughout the community at venues and events including the Green Music Center, Día de los Muertos celebrations, the Children’s Museum of Sonoma County gala, and many more.
“For our students, the Grita Marimba! ensemble is the place where they discover that their talent matters and their voice belongs on a stage. Community Foundation Sonoma County’s support makes it possible to keep that door open for every student who walks through it, regardless of what their family can afford.” — Tobias Sparks, Co-Founder & Music Director, Play Marimba!
True West Film Center
Through its Integrated Filmmaking Intensive, True West Film Center brings professional teaching artists into Sonoma County classrooms, where students learn filmmaking and media literacy while exploring subjects like English, history, and social studies.
Rather than a one-time workshop, the program is designed as an immersive educational residency that helps more than 500 students develop creative storytelling skills, critical thinking, and confidence through the process of making their own films.
“Support from Community Foundation Sonoma County is making it possible for young people across Sonoma County to experience filmmaking not just as an art form, but as a powerful tool for creativity, collaboration, and self-expression. Through True West Film Center’s Filmmaker Intensive, students gain hands-on technical skills while building confidence, critical thinking, and the ability to tell stories that reflect their own lives and communities. Arts funding like this is so important because it creates opportunities for young people to discover their voices, connect with one another, and imagine new possibilities for their futures. We are deeply grateful for the Foundation’s investment in the next generation of storytellers and creative leaders.” – Kathryn Philip, Founder & Executive Director, True West Film Center
¡DALE!
Photo courtesy of ¡DALE!
Created by On The Margins, Inc., ¡DALE! empowers BIPOC and LGBTQIA2+ youth through arts, storytelling, muralism, and zine-making.
The program combines artistic expression with leadership development, giving young people opportunities to strengthen their voices, build community, and explore healing-centered practices that foster belonging.
“The Arts Fund transformed creativity into a leadership strategy. Throughout the ¡DALE! program, artistic expression became a way for youth to process their experiences, strengthen relationships, and imagine solutions for their communities. The arts investment also inspired one youth organizing team focused on mental health to design and host a Culture & Arts Night, bringing together visual arts, music, and other creative modalities to spark conversation, reduce stigma, and foster healing. Their event demonstrated that organizing can be rooted not only in advocacy, but also in celebration, creativity, and cultural pride.” – Gricelda Correa, Director of Community Engagement, On The Margins
Supporting Creativity Across Sonoma County
These three organizations are just a few of the 18 nonprofits receiving Arts Education Grants this year. Together, they reflect the many ways arts education strengthens young people, enriches our community, and creates opportunities for every child to learn, express themselves, and thrive.
View the full list of 2026 Arts Education Grant recipients.
