The goal is to enhance the quality of life through the arts with programs that are accessible to, and affordable for, a broad and diverse public. Columbia Foundation focuses its grantmaking on the following:

The creation of new work and the performance or exhibition of art by non-profit organizations:

$50,000 to the ALMEIDA THEATRE COMPANY, London, England, for Oedipus Rex and Oedipus at Colonus by Sophocles, a theater work directed by Michael Attenborough planned to open at the Almeida Theatre in May 2004; and for IO, by Harrison Birtwistle, a new opera commission and presented as part of the Almeida Opera Festival 2004.

$50,000 to the BERKELEY REPERTORY THEATRE, Berkeley, Ca., for production of British playwright David Edgar's new work, Continental Divide, two plays – one from the vantage point of the Republican Party, the other from the Democratic Party – that explore the ethics, ambition, political legacies, and ideals surrounding a gubernatorial debate and politics in present-day America.

$15,000 to the CREATIVE WORK FUND, San Francisco, for annual administrative support for the 2001-02, 2002-03, and 2003-04 grant years.

$155,000 to the CREATIVE WORK FUND, San Francisco, for a final grant for the 2004-2005 year to provide funds for individual artists to create new art works in collaboration with other artists or community organizations.

$30,000 to the JOE GOODE PERFORMANCE GROUP, San Francisco, for the creation and performance of Hometown, a multi-media work that incorporates videos made from the perspective of inner-city teenagers into a new piece of dance-theater using choreographer Joe Goode's unique text-based approach. Hometown is a collaboration between Joe Goode Performance Group, composer Beth Custer, and Teaching Intermedia Literacy Tools, a nonprofit organization that promotes intermedia literacy for youth through hands-on experience with media-making processes.

$50,000 to the ROYAL NATIONAL THEATRE, London, England, for the world premiere of a new play by Nicholas Wright entitled His Dark Materials based on the award-winning trilogy by Philip Pullman.

$50,000 to the YERBA BUENA CENTER FOR THE ARTS, San Francisco, for the production and presentation of thirteen multidisciplinary projects by twenty-three artists, commissioned specifically for the Center's 10th Anniversary in October 2003.

$50,000 to YOUTH SPEAKS, San Francisco, for the Living Word Festival of Literary Arts, for the creation of new literary work and the emergence of new literary art forms by writers, poets, and performance artists living on the West Coast, with a focus on artists of color and queer artists.

Art that encourages civic awareness of, and a focus on, the need to develop sustainable communities and economies, and to protect human rights:

$60,000, payable over three years, to the HEADLANDS CENTER FOR THE ARTS, Sausalito, Ca., for the Bridge Project's residencies and public programs involving artists who are active as creative catalysts in the field of community development and the environment.

Art from a variety of cultures and perspectives, and art that engages people from diverse cultures:

$30,000 to BRAVA! FOR WOMEN IN THE ARTS, San Francisco, for continuing support of Two Generations, One HeartBEAT, a collaborative theatrical project that brings Colored Ink, a performance group developed by at-risk youth involved in the Brava Theater Academy, together with renowned poets for a variety of performances and workshops, with youth participants also gaining valuable skills in theater production and administration from the BRAVA staff.

$55,000, payable over two years, to CREATIVITY EXPLORED, San Francisco, for implementation of its Marketing Plan (2004-2006) to help further strengthen and diversify the organization's funding base through increased earned income. Creativity Explored is a visual arts center for adults with developmental disabilities in San Francisco.

$75,000, payable over three years, to LOS CENZONTLES MEXICAN ARTS CENTER, San Pablo, Ca., for organizational development to increase revenue from ticket income, marketing of products, corporate sponsorships of major events, and a major donor campaign. Los Cenzontles is a community arts center that provides affordable arts education and cultural events to youth and their families in West Contra Costa County.