Yerba Buena Gardens Festival

What Yerba Buena Gardens Festival does

Yerba Buena Gardens Festival is an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit presenting organization founded in 2000 to deliver free, outdoor performing arts programming at Yerba Buena Gardens in downtown San Francisco. The organization operates a six-month annual season (May through October) of more than 100 admission-free events spanning music, dance, theater, circus, poetry, and children's programming across six venue spaces within the Gardens, including the Great Lawn (5,000 standing / 1,000 seated), Terrace, East Plaza, Children's Garden, and Crepe Myrtle Garden.

The Festival's core programmatic offerings include the Weekend Sessions flagship series, Thursday Lunchtime Concerts, Children's Garden Series, Poetic Tuesdays, Salsa Nights, Outdoor Classes, and the annual YBG ChoreoFest site-specific dance festival. The Special Projects arm commissions and supports new works by Bay Area playwrights, composers, and choreographers through Seed Commissions and residencies; the program has produced 75+ new works and presented 42,000+ artists since founding, reaching 2.3 million+ attendees cumulatively. The Festival also offers outdoor venue rental services for third-party event organizers.

The organization has no proprietary technology platform; its digital footprint consists of a website, calendar, and social media presence. Revenue is generated entirely through institutional grants, foundation support, individual donations, corporate and media sponsorships, hotel sponsorships (with San Francisco Marriott Marquis serving as 2024 Official Hotel Sponsor), venue rental fees, and government arts funding. Major funding partners include the National Endowment for the Arts, California Arts Council, San Francisco Arts Commission, Haas Fund, William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, The San Francisco Foundation, Gerbode Foundation, Kenneth Rainin Foundation, MAP Fund, Creative Work Fund, Fleishhacker Foundation, and Grants for the Arts. The Festival is governed by an 11-member Board of Directors and supported by a 12-member Arts Advisory Council and a ten-person staff including an Executive/Artistic Director with 23 seasons of tenure.

Name

Yerba Buena Gardens Festival

Legal name

Yerba Buena Gardens Festival

Website

https://ybgfestival.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Yerba Buena Gardens Festival is an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit presenting organization that hosts free outdoor performing arts events at Yerba Buena Gardens in downtown San Francisco, serving Bay Area residents and visitors with more than 100 admission-free performances annually across music, dance, theater, and cultural programming.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Performing Arts / Nonprofit Cultural Programming

NAICS

Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation (71)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900), Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro primary industry

Community Music & Dance Festivals (Non-Commercial/Local) (MPAGAEAH)

Keywords

• Outdoor performing arts
• Free public concerts
• Community arts festival
• Venue rental events
• Downtown San Francisco arts

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Fundraising: Independent nonprofit 501(c)3 that relies on donations from individuals, foundations, corporations, and government support to fund free programming. Accepts donations through website and various donor programs.
2. Venue Rentals: Outdoor venue rentals of Yerba Buena Gardens spaces (Great Lawn, Terrace, East Plaza, Children's Garden, Crepe Myrtle Garden) to third-party event organizers. Rental fees are competitive and proceeds help fund public programming.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Yerba Buena Gardens Festival is an independent nonprofit that produces free outdoor performing-arts programming year-round at Yerba Buena Gardens in downtown San Francisco. Its programming spans live music, dance, spoken-word, family/children's series, salsa nights, and outdoor classes, with supporting earned income generated through venue rentals for private events in the Gardens.

Product overview

Yerba Buena Gardens Festival is an independent nonprofit presenting organization that operates a portfolio of free, outdoor performing arts programs in downtown San Francisco's Yerba Buena Gardens from May through October each year. The Festival's core offerings include the Weekend Sessions (flagship music, dance, and theater series), Thursday Lunchtime Concerts, Children's Garden Series (interactive performances for families), Poetic Tuesdays, Outdoor Classes, and Salsa Nights. The Festival also runs a Special Projects program featuring commissioned works by Bay Area artists, including the annual YBG ChoreoFest dance festival and Seed Commissions for emerging artists. Additionally, the Festival offers venue rental services for private and promotional events at its outdoor spaces including the Great Lawn, Terrace, Children's Garden, and East Plaza.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Weekend Sessions Free weekend outdoor music performances open to the general public at Yerba Buena Gardens in downtown San Francisco.
• Thursday Lunchtime Concerts Free midday outdoor concerts during the work week, targeted at downtown workers and visitors in Yerba Buena Gardens.
• Children's Garden Series Free family-oriented outdoor performances and activities designed for children and families in Yerba Buena Gardens.
• Poetic Tuesdays Free outdoor spoken-word and poetry programming presented in Yerba Buena Gardens.
• Outdoor Classes Free outdoor movement, dance, or wellness classes held in Yerba Buena Gardens for the general public.
• Salsa Nights Free outdoor salsa and Latin music/dance programming in Yerba Buena Gardens, with audience participation.
• YBG ChoreoFest Free outdoor choreographic showcase festival featuring curated dance works in Yerba Buena Gardens.
• Special Projects Free one-off or limited-run outdoor arts presentations and community events in Yerba Buena Gardens.
• Venue Rentals Paid rental of outdoor spaces at Yerba Buena Gardens for corporate events, private functions, weddings, and community gatherings; earned income supports the festival's free public programming.

Quantifiable outcome

• 42,000+ artists presented since founding
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core, supporting, major and separate.

• Yerba Buena Gardens ConservancycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organization supporting the gardens and festival operations. Separate entity from the festival.
• San Francisco Marriott MarquissupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerOfficial Hotel Sponsor for 2024 season. Located adjacent to Yerba Buena Gardens, provides convenient accommodations for festival attendees.
• SFJAZZmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-presenter of special projects including John Santos lecture series and other jazz programming. Deep collaborative relationship.
• Museum of the African Diaspora (MoAD)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-presenter of special projects including lecture series on Latin jazz and African diaspora music. Venue partner for programs.
• MetreonsupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerAdjacent shopping and dining destination for festival attendees. Promotional partnership.
• BARTablesupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerBART transit media sponsor promoting the festival to transit riders.
• Various Media SponsorssupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerCoyote Media, El Tecolote, Funcheap, KALW, KXSF, Latin Bay Area, Red Curtain Addict, Riff Magazine, 7x7, SF Station, SF Arts Monthly, Static & Blur, and others providing media exposure.
• Yerba Buena Center for the ArtsseparateOthersSeparate nonprofit arts organization. Festival is a completely separate entity from YBCA, Yerba Buena Gardens Conservancy, and Yerba Buena Community Benefit District.
• San Francisco Youth Guidance CentersupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity partner for Beyond the Blues prison education programming featuring lecture/performances.
• Prescott Circus TheatresupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerYouth development program based in West Oakland partnering with Circus Bella for pre-show performances.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• SFJAZZ: Major Bay Area jazz presenting organization and existing co-presentation partner of YBG Festival. Comparable programming scope in jazz and world music, with larger institutional capacity and a paid-ticket business model.
• Outside Lands Music Festival: Large ticketed music festival in Golden Gate Park. Comparable San Francisco outdoor festival context and audience base, though paid admission and broader commercial scale.
• SummerStage (City Parks Foundation): New York City's flagship free outdoor performing arts festival series, presenting music, dance, and theater across multiple borough parks. Closest national analog to YBG Festival's free outdoor presenting model at scale.

Others

• Children's Creativity Museum: Adjacent family programming venue in Yerba Buena Gardens and physical neighbor to YBG Festival's Children's Garden Series. Comparable audience segment (families with young children) and shared site, but operates as a year-round indoor children's museum rather than a performing arts festival.

Emerging players

• Litquake: San Francisco's literary festival and existing YBG Festival programming partner (selects poets for Poetic Tuesdays). Comparable Bay Area nonprofit model with free public programming and shared curatorial overlap in spoken word.

Direct peers

• Stern Grove Festival: San Francisco's other long-running free outdoor performing arts festival (since 1938), presenting music, dance, and cultural programming in Sigmund Stern Grove. Directly comparable model of free summer admission, multi-genre programming, and donation-based nonprofit funding in the same city.
• Hardly Strictly Bluegrass: Free multi-stage outdoor music festival held annually in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco. Comparable scale of free programming, donation/foundation funding model, and outdoor Bay Area venue.
• Mill Valley Music Festival: Free outdoor music festival in Marin County, presenting multi-genre programming to Bay Area audiences. Comparable free-admission model, outdoor format, and regional community focus.

Regional players

• Yerba Buena Center for the Arts: Separate nonprofit arts organization located adjacent to Yerba Buena Gardens in San Francisco. Overlapping curatorial scope (performing arts, commissions) and shared neighborhood, though YBCA operates indoor programming year-round rather than free outdoor.
• Festival of Arts / Pageant of the Masters (Laguna Beach): Long-running Southern California nonprofit arts festival with a comparable mix of curated programming, commissioned work, and community-focused mission. Same nonprofit presenting-organization archetype though ticketed and in a different region.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/ybgfestival
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/YerbaBuenaGardens
• Facebookfacebook.com/ybgfestival
• Instagraminstagram.com/ybgfestival
• TikToktiktok.com/@ybgfestival

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Yerba Buena Gardens Festival