The San Francisco Foundation (SFF) is one of the nation’s largest community foundations. It is focused on “racial equity and economic inclusion” in the San Francisco Bay area.1 In 2023 SFF granted $171.4 million to 2,978 nonprofit organizations2 to support left-of-center issues such as expansionist immigration, abortion support, environmentalism, racial activism, low-income housing, and LGBT issues.3
It has received donations from several large left-of-center philanthropies including Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Ford Foundation, Omidyar Network, Annie E. Casey Foundation, David and Lucile Packard Foundation, and William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.4 Like other community foundations, it provides donor-advised funds to contributors through which those contributors may direct their contributions to other nonprofit organizations.5
Background
The San Francisco Foundation (SFF) was founded in 1948 as a community foundation to support minority communities in the Bay Area shortly after World War II by Marjorie Elkus of the Columbia Foundation, Leslie Ganyard of the Rosenberg Foundation, and Daniel E. Koshland Sr. who was CEO of Levi Strauss. Koshland became San Francisco Foundation’s first board chair.6
SFF is one of the nation’s largest community foundations. It is focused on “racial equity and economic inclusion” in the San Francisco Bay area.7 Corporations and philanthropists donate to the San Francisco Foundation and SFF then awards grants and loans focused on the San Francisco Bay Area communities.8
San Francisco Foundation is a signatory to Philanthropy’s Promise, an initiative of the left-wing National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy which commits SFF to granting at least 25 percent of its donations to advocacy and civic engagement9 and the majority of its donations to “underserved populations,” including low-income families, racial or ethnic minorities, women and girls, people with disabilities, the elderly, immigrants, and refugees.10 Its 2023 Annual Report indicates that the majority of its equity-focused grants are awarded to organizations that are led by or that support Black, Indigenous, and people of color.11
Grantmaking
2023
In its 2023 fiscal year, SFF granted $171.4 million to 2,978 nonprofit organizations.12 Many contributions supported left-of-center issues such as expansionist immigration, abortion support, environmentalism, racial activism, low-income housing, and LGBT issues.13
Some of the largest grants made by San Francisco Foundation include $660,000 to Center for Empowered Politics, a lobbying and advocacy organization for the Chinese Progressive Association (San Francisco); $1,330,975 to left-of-center philanthropy Tides Center; $1,010,000 to Mujeres Unidas y Activas to support Latina immigrants; $699,710 to Rubicon Programs to support programs for formerly incarcerated people; $5,588,000 to New Venture Fund to support voter advocacy groups Power to the Polls, Voting Rights Lab, and the Justice Innovation Lab; $5,177,011 to University of California, Berkeley; $7,893,783 to Tomkat Ranch, a regenerative ranching facility founded by billionaire philanthropist and former Democratic presidential candidate Tom Steyer and his wife Kat Taylor; $10 million to New Profit to “create economic opportunities in communities of color”; $34,659,201 to Goldman Sachs Philanthropy Fund for the Pichai Family Fund, a private foundation founded by Alphabet CEO Sundararajan Pichai; $4,260,000 to the Marin Community Foundation; $9 million to San Francisco Housing Accelerator Fund to support low income housing development; and $4,750,000 to NextGen America, an activist organization founded by left-wing billionaire Tom Steyer.14
San Francisco Foundation maintains a Rapid Response Fund to fund “movements” that require quick turnaround.15 In 2023 the Rapid Response Fund provided a grant to the Anti-Police Terror Project to support alternative housing due to the closing of Wood Street Commons, a large homeless camp in Oakland.16
Immigration
San Francisco Foundation makes grants to organization which push expansionist immigration policy. Notably in 2018, the organization made grants of $157,500 to Black Alliance for Just Immigration, $10,000 to National Immigration Law Center, $1,035,000 to Power California (formerly known as Mobilize the Immigrant Vote), and $1,620,000 to the Immigrant Legal Resource Center. 17
Abortion
SFF makes grants to organizations which push for more lenient abortion legislation in the United States. In 2018 the organization made grants of $85,000 to the National Network of Abortion Funds, $250,000 to the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, $2,137,220 to various state- and-region level Planned Parenthood offices, and $75,000 to NARAL Pro-Choice America. 18
Environmentalism
SFF funds organizations in the United States which support environmentalism. In 2018, the organization made grants of $275,000 to 350.org, $360,000 to the Tides Center, $145,000 to the Tides Foundation, $948,834 to the Environmental Defense Fund, and $60,000 to the Groundswell Fund. 19
Race
The San Francisco Foundation was one of the original donors to fund the creation of the California Black Freedom Fund (CBFF) at the end of 2020. The CBFF is a left-of-center grantmaking organization that funds California-based groups that seek to eliminate what it perceives as systemic racism. It used funding from the original donors to provide grants that went towards advocacy for targeted redistricting, so-called racial equity, and the firing of who it determines are racist police officers. 20
LGBT Issues
The organization makes a large number of grants to support organizations focused on LGBT issues as well as more broadly focused organizations which house programs to support such issue. For example, in 2018, the organization made grants of $156,000 to the National Center for Lesbian Rights, $15,000 Queer Cultural Center, and $165,000 Horizons Foundation to go toward an LGBT Permanent Endowment within the organization. 21
Left-of-Center Grantmaking
SFF also makes a large number of grants annually to organizations which advocate for left-of-center and liberal issues. For example, the organization made a $114,000 to the Southern Poverty Law Center, a controversial left-of-center organization which serves as a watchdog of what it claims to be extremist organizations. It also supports organizations which push race-politics such as the ACLU to which it made a $149,000 grant, and the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, to which it made a $25,000 grant. The organization also made a $10,000 grant to the Hopewell Fund, a left-of-center organization which pushes liberal economic policy and that is managed by Arabella Advisors, a left-of-center company that advises a number of left-leaning organizations. . 22
Collaboratives
San Francisco Foundation has invested in several collaboratives in partnership with other left-of-center organizations. SFF partnered with several groups including Jobs With Justice, James Irvine Foundation, Grove Foundation, Chinese Progressive Association (San Francisco), United for Respect, and Walter and Elise Haas Fund to sponsor ReWork the Bay to address housing, jobs, and voting initiatives for Bay Area residents.23
Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Ford Foundation, Facebook, and San Francisco Foundation partnered to create Partnership for the Bay’s Future to support low-income housing development for the Bay Area.2425
Other collaboratives funded by SFF are Great Communities Collaborative, HOPE SF, Keep Oakland Housed, and Oakland Codes.26
Donors
SFF’s 2023 annual report lists several large left-leaning donors including Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, Crankstart Foundation, Ford Foundation, Friedman Family Foundation, Heising-Simons Foundation, Omidyar Network, Silicon Valley Community Foundation, Sobrato Family Foundation, Annie E. Casey Foundation, David and Lucile Packard Foundation, James Irvine Foundation, Walter and Elise Haas Fund, and William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.27
Leadership
Fred Blackwell became San Francisco Foundation CEO in 2014. He was a director for the Annie E. Casey Foundation.28 Blackwell worked for then-San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom (D) and as a city administrator for the City of Oakland.29 He is a board member of left-of-center nonprofits Independent Sector and The Bridgespan Group.30
Bob Friedman is SFF’s board chair. Friedman earned a law degree from Yale Law School. Soon after he founded left-of-center think tank Corporation for Enterprise Development which changed its name to Prosperity Now in 201731 and is funded by left-of-center foundations such as the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.32 Friedman is a board trustee of Ecotrust and of Rosenberg Foundation.33
References
- “About Us.” San Francisco Foundation – Who We Are. Accessed November 25, 2023. https://sff.org/about-us/
- Annual Report 2023: Coming Back Together. San Francisco Foundation – Who We Are. Accessed November 25, 2023. https://sff.org/2023-annual-report-coming-back-together/
- San Francisco Foundation. Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax. (Form 990 – Schedule I). 2022.
- Annual Report 2023: Coming Back Together. San Francisco Foundation – Who We Are. Accessed November 25, 2023. https://sff.org/2023-annual-report-coming-back-together/
- “Open a Donor Advised Fund.” The San Francisco Foundation, March 17, 2023. https://sff.org/make-an-impact/open-a-daf/.
- “Strong Foundations.” San Francisco Foundation – Our Story. Accessed November 25, 2023. https://sff.org/sff-75th-anniversary/our-story/strong-foundations/
- “About Us.” San Francisco Foundation – Who We Are. Accessed November 25, 2023. https://sff.org/about-us/
- Meredith May. “Fred Blackwell in his dream job at SF Foundation.” SFGate. October 21, 2014. Accessed November 25, 2023. https://www.sfgate.com/living/article/Fred-Blackwell-in-his-dream-job-at-SF-Foundation-5838263.php
- “San Francisco Foundation.” Candid Foundation Directory. Accessed November 25, 2023. https://fconline.foundationcenter.org/fdo-grantmaker-profile?key=SANF001
- “Philanthropy’s Promise.” Candid – Philanthropy News Digest. Accessed November 25, 2023. https://philanthropynewsdigest.org/features/on-the-web/philanthropy-s-promise#:~:text=A%20project%20of%20the%20National%20Committee%20for%20Responsive,people%20with%20disabilities%2C%20the%20elderly%2C%20immigrants%2C%20and%20refugees.
- “Our Equity Agenda.” San Francisco Foundation – Annual Report. Accessed November 25, 2023. https://sff.org/2023-annual-report-coming-back-together/
- Annual Report 2023: Coming Back Together. San Francisco Foundation – Who We Are. Accessed November 25, 2023. https://sff.org/2023-annual-report-coming-back-together/
- San Francisco Foundation. Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax. (Form 990 – Schedule I). 2022.
- San Francisco Foundation. Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax. (Form 990 – Schedule I). 2022.
- “San Francisco Foundation.” GuideStar profile. Accessed November 25, 2023. https://www.guidestar.org/profile/01-0679337
- “Stories of Impact.” San Francisco Foundation – Annual Report. Accessed November 25, 2023. https://sff.org/2023-annual-report-coming-back-together/
- 2018 IRS Form-990 Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax. Schedule I, Part II: Continuation of grants and other assistance paid to organizations and governments.
- 2018 IRS Form-990 Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax. Schedule I, Part II: Continuation of grants and other assistance paid to organizations and governments.
- 2018 IRS Form-990 Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax. Schedule I, Part II: Continuation of grants and other assistance paid to organizations and governments.
- California Black Freedom Fund, February 4, 2021. https://cablackfreedomfund.org/#partners.
- 2018 IRS Form-990 Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax. Schedule I, Part II: Continuation of grants and other assistance paid to organizations and governments.
- 2018 IRS Form-990 Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax. Schedule I, Part II: Continuation of grants and other assistance paid to organizations and governments.
- “Our Partners.” ReWork the Bay. Accessed November 25, 2023. https://reworkthebay.org/
- “Collaboratives.” San Francisco Foundation – What We Do. Accessed November 25, 2023. https://sff.org/what-we-do/collaboratives/
- “Who We Are.” Partnership for the Bay’s Future. Accessed November 25, 2023. https://baysfuture.org/who-we-are/#about
- “Collaboratives.” San Francisco Foundation – What We Do. Accessed November 25, 2023. https://sff.org/what-we-do/collaboratives/
- Annual Report 2023: Coming Back Together. San Francisco Foundation – Who We Are. Accessed November 25, 2023. https://sff.org/2023-annual-report-coming-back-together/
- LinkedIn – Fred Blackwell. Accessed November 25, 2023. https://www.linkedin.com/in/fred-blackwell-ab608a2/
- Meredith May. “Fred Blackwell in his dream job at SF Foundation.” SFGate. October 21, 2014. Accessed November 25, 2023. https://www.sfgate.com/living/article/Fred-Blackwell-in-his-dream-job-at-SF-Foundation-5838263.php
- “Fred Blackwell.” San Francisco Foundation – Who We Are – Our Team. Accessed November 25, 2023. https://sff.org/team-members/fred-blackwell/
- LinkedIn – Robert Friedman. Accessed November 25, 2023. https://www.linkedin.com/in/robertbobfriedman/
- “Our Funders.” Prosperity Now 2021 Annual Report. Accessed November 25, 2023. https://docs.prosperitynow.org/annual-report-2021
- LinkedIn – Robert Friedman. Accessed November 25, 2023. https://www.linkedin.com/in/robertbobfriedman/