Photograph of Victor at his loom.
Eureka, CA. Sept. 2, 2026- The Victor Thomas Jacoby Award committee is now accepting applications from visual artists and craftspeople within the city of Eureka through Oct. 15, 2026. The fund, held at the Humboldt Area Foundation + Wild Rivers Community Foundation, supports up to four awards of $10,000 each.
Each year, the award varies in focus. In 2025, it supported the work of Humboldt County artists and craftspeople. Painter Gina Tuzzi, jewelry maker and soft soldering artist Jessica Lebert, and media artist and educator Sarah Lasley were celebrated in a ceremony which also honored the life of Jacoby, a gifted artist whose chosen medium was French tapestry.
“Victor’s commitment to enriching Humboldt County through art, creativity, and craftsmanship is at the center of the Victor Thomas Jacoby Award,” says Savannah Sonia, Grants and Scholarships Manager at HAF+WRCF. “We recognize his legacy through his support of the creative energy that makes our community so vibrant. At the Foundation, we deeply value the vision Victor promoted by celebrating his contributions and honoring his dedication to nurturing creativity in our region.”
Established by Victor before his death in 1997, the award is dedicated to supporting Humboldt County visual artists and craftspeople and to encouraging the exploration of new ideas, materials, techniques, mediums, and images, as well as excellence.
For questions, including whether a particular medium qualifies for this award, please contact Marsh Heartwells, Grants & Scholarships Associate, at MarshH@hafoundation.org. Applications can be submitted through the Foundation’s Grants Portal, located at hafoundation.org/apply.
About HAF+WRCF:
For five decades, the Humboldt Area Foundation — joined by the Wild Rivers Community Foundation in 2004 — has proudly served the counties of Humboldt, Trinity and Del Norte in California, Curry County in Southern Oregon, and the unceded lands of many Indigenous peoples. Today, the Foundation acts as a single entity with a generational vision and decade-long goals of supporting “Racial Equity, Thriving Youth and Families, Healthy Ecosystems and Environments, and a Just Economy and Economic Development.” Since 1972, the Foundation has awarded more than $148.5 million in grants and scholarships from hundreds of charitable funds established by generous individuals, families and businesses in our community. The Foundation also provided countless hours of technical assistance, advocacy, and convening throughout the region.
For more information about HAF+WRCF, visit hafoundation.org or call (707) 442-2993.