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Non-profit

Mozilla Foundation

Website:

www.mozilla.org/en-US/?v=1
Location:

San Francisco, CA
Tax ID:

20-0097189
Tax-Exempt Status:

501(c)(3)

Budget (2021):

Revenue: $30,686,124
Expenses: $23,340,264
Assets: $76,964,143
Type:

Technology Non-Profit
Formation:

2003
Executive Director:

Mark Surman

Contact InfluenceWatch with suggested edits or tips for additional profiles.

The Mozilla Foundation is a technology-focused nonprofit that wholly owns the Mozilla Corporation and the MZLA Technologies Corporation. 1 2 Best known for its Firefox web browser, 3 4 Mozilla Foundation partners with foundations, investors, and others 5 to advance is vision of the future of the internet and technology. 6

In 2020, Mozilla advocated that Facebook and Twitter “unfck the internet” by turning off its group recommendations feature on Facebook and the trending topics feature on Twitter to stop the spread of what it called “election misinformation.” 7 8 Also in 2020, Mozilla Foundation supported Google subsidiary video platform YouTube’s decision to censor what it identified as “harmful content” and the legally vague concept of misinformation. 9

Mozilla Foundation has distributed $22 million in award funds since 2015 and supported more than 200 fellows. This funding has supported organizations and individuals in 46 countries across six continents. 10 The Foundation’s funding partners include Omidyar Network, Craig Newmark Foundation, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Schmidt Futures, Ford Foundation, Siegel Family Endowment, Luminate, Internet Society, liberal financier George Soros’s Open Society Foundations, and the Leona M. and Harry Helmsley Charitable Trust. 11

History and Leadership

Mozilla was originally founded as an open-source technology project in 1998. 12 The Mozilla Foundation was officially established in July 2003 and consists of two wholly owned for-profit subsidiaries, the Mozilla Corporation and MZLA Technologies Corporation. 13 In 2004, the Mozilla Foundation was given tax-exempt status from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). 14

In 2005, Mozilla Corporation was established as a wholly owned taxable subsidiary that serves the nonprofit, public benefit goals of the Mozilla Foundation. 15 The Mozilla Foundation is headquartered in San Francisco, California, and has global operations in Australia, Canada, China, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, and other European countries. 16

Mark Surman is the executive director 17 and president of the Mozilla Foundation. 18 19 In a webinar hosted by left-leaning philanthropic consulting company Arabella Advisors, Surman said that Mozilla affirms that working from a left-wing intersectional perspective that includes critical race theory-influenced concepts such as racial justice and environmental justice is important to shape future technological developments. He also identified working with labor interests as an important use-case for technology in the future. 20

Activities and Funding

Mozilla Foundation is a technology-focused nonprofit that wholly owns the Mozilla Corporation 21 and the MZLA Technologies Corporation. 22 23 The Mozilla Foundation developed the Firefox Web Browser in 2004. 24 25 As of 2022, Mozilla Corporation has more than $1 billion in cash reserves and is paid by Google to be the default search engine on the Firefox home page. 26 27

The Mozilla Foundation claims that its role is to ensure the internet remains a force for good. 28 In October 2020, Mozilla advocated that Facebook and Twitter “unfck the internet” by turning off its group recommendations feature on Facebook and the trending topics feature on Twitter to stop the spread of what it called “election misinformation” prior to the 2020 Presidential election. 29 30 Also in 2020, Mozilla Foundation supported Google subsidiary video platform YouTube’s decision to censor what it identified as “harmful content” and misinformation. 31

The foundation has also released a pledge for the healthy internet, 32 conducts what it calls artificial intelligence algorithmic audits, 33 supports the development of “trustworthy artificial intelligence,” 34 and conducts other advocacy work. 35

In 2020, Mozilla Foundation tracked platform changes on social media platforms Facebook, Facebook image-based subsidiary Instagram, Google, Google video subsidiary YouTube, Twitter, and Chinese-owned TikTok regarding the ambiguous concepts of disinformation, misinformation, and other concepts. 36 That same year, Mozilla released a white paper on creating what it calls trustworthy artificial intelligence. The report addresses the legally undefined terms of misinformation and disinformation in its “safety and security” section and call for the regulation and enforcement of artificial intelligence systems and regulations. 37

In 2021, Mozilla Foundation Senior Advisor Alan Davidson was nominated by the Biden administration and confirmed by the U.S. Senate to lead the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), an agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce. 38 39

In 2021, Mozilla Foundation paid $874,286 to Upwork Global and $321,874 to Mozilla Corporation for contract and program service fees . 40

Partners and Programs

The Mozilla Foundation partners with foundations, investors, and other organizations to build and launch philanthropic initiatives. It has funded more than $20 million in award funds since 2015 and supported more than 200 individual fellows. 41

Mozilla’s funding partners include the Omidyar Network, Craig Newmark Foundation, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Schmidt Futures, Coil, Ford Foundation, Siegel Family Endowment, Luminate, Internet Society, liberal financier George Soros’s Open Society Foundations, and the Leona M. and Harry Helmsley Charitable Trust. 42

In 2015, Mozilla Foundation joined with liberal financier George Soros’s Open Society Foundations, left-of-center Ford Foundation, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation to form the NetGain Partnership, which aims to shape the development of the internet and other emerging technologies. 43 As of 2023, the NetGain Partnership is supported by its founding members and the left-of-center Democracy Fund, Skoll Foundation, and Wallace Global Fund. 44

In 2021, Mozilla Foundation spent $11,053,298 on leadership development to support fellowship programs, including its Data Futures Lab and various computer science-related programming. The foundation also spent $5,241,546 on the Movement Building Mozilla to “hold tech companies accountable” and $788,525 for its agenda-setting priorities, including investigating bias, labor rights, and transparency online. These funds were also used to publish reports on issues including the legally ambiguous concept of disinformation on social media networks Twitter and TikTok. 45

Mozilla’s fellowship program host organizations have included the left-of-center Anti-Defamation League, Witness, Digital Freedom Fund, The Citizen Lab, Color of Change, Data and Society, Freedom of the Press Foundation, Privacy International, 46 and others. Mozilla also hosts an innovation fellow from the left-of-center Siegel Family Endowment. 47

Mozilla also operates the Data Futures Lab project, which brings together labor interests with technologists to assess the future of technology. 48 49 The Data Futures Lab project is supported in part by grants from the Siegel Family Endowment. 50

Grantmaking

Mozilla has distributed $22 million in award funds since 2015 and supported more than 200 fellows. This funding has supported organizations and individuals in 46 countries across six continents. 51

In 2021, Mozilla Foundation’s grants included $60,000 to Access Now, $100,000 to Digital Democracy, $64,800 to Georgetown University, $100,000 to New America, $375,000 to left-of-center New Venture Fund, $60,100 to Team Community, $15,000 to the Association for Progressive Communications, $15,000 to The Future Society, $100,000 to This Is Place Foundation, and $300,000 to Women Win Foundation. 52

Funding

Mozilla Foundation receives its funding from individual contributions and grants. 53

In 2021, Mozilla Foundation reported revenue of $30,686,124 and expenses of $7,345,860. In 2020, the foundation reported revenue of $26,523,745 and expenses of $8,362,968. 54

In 2023, Mozilla Foundation received $250,000 from Siegel Family Endowment. 55 Mozilla Foundation also received $1,000,000 from the Siegel Family Endowment from 2020 to 2022. 56

In 2022, Mozilla Foundation received $250,000 from the left-of-center Rockefeller Brothers Fund. 57 In 2020, Mozilla Foundation received $2,764,221 from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. 58

Mozilla Foundation also received 12 grants worth $9,325,000 from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation between 2009 and 2016; 59 $1,999,690 from the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust in 2018; 60 and $350,000 from the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation in 2014. 61

References

  1. “Home.” Mozilla. Accessed September 13, 2023. https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/?v=1.
  2. “Mozilla Foundation.” Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax. (Form 990). 2021. Schedule R. Part IV. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/200097189/202203199349300105/full.
  3. [1] “Mozilla Foundation releases the highly anticipated Mozilla Firefox 1.0 web browser.” Mozilla Press Center. November 9, 2004. Accessed September 16, 2023. https://blog.mozilla.org/press/2004/11/mozilla-foundation-releases-the-highly-anticipated-mozilla-firefox-1-0-web-browser/.
  4. Kraus, Rachel. “How Facebook, Twitter, YouTube reacted to big events in 2020, including Trump’s many lies.” Mashable. March 8, 2021. Accessed September 16, 2023. https://mashable.com/article/election-misinformation-timeline-mozilla-foundation.
  5. “What We Fund.” Mozilla Foundation. Accessed September 13, 2023. https://foundation.mozilla.org/en/what-we-fund/fellowships-and-awards-partners/.
  6. “Who we are.” Mozilla. Accessed September 16, 2023. https://foundation.mozilla.org/en/who-we-are/.
  7. Binder, Matt. “Mozilla tells facebook and Twitter to ‘unfck the internet’ before the U.S. election.” Mashable. October 202, 2020. Accessed September 16, 2023. https://mashable.com/article/mozilla-facebook-twitter-open-letter-misinformation.
  8. “Tweet.” Twitter. Posted October 16, 2020. Accessed September 16, 2023. https://twitter.com/firefox/status/1317225160454279168?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1317225160454279168%7Ctwgr%5E919b412b508d363101e77bfd0ef7ae26059c7fb3%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fmashable.com%2Farticle%2Fmozilla-facebook-twitter-open-letter-misinformation.
  9. Brandi Geurkink and Helena McDonald. ”Congratulations, YouTube… Now Show Your Work.” Mozilla Foundation. July 6, 2020. Accessed September 16, 2023. https://foundation.mozilla.org/en/blog/congratulations-youtube-now-show-your-work/.
  10. “What we fund.” Mozilla. Accessed September 16, 2023. https://foundation.mozilla.org/en/what-we-fund/.
  11. “What We Fund.” Mozilla Foundation. Accessed September 13, 2023. https://foundation.mozilla.org/en/what-we-fund/fellowships-and-awards-partners/.
  12. “Who we are.” Mozilla. Accessed September 16, 2023. https://foundation.mozilla.org/en/who-we-are/.
  13. “Mozilla Foundation and Subsidiaries.” Hood & Strong LLP Certified Public Accountants. December 31, 2021 and 2020. Accessed September 16, 2023. https://assets.mozilla.net/annualreport/2021/mozilla-fdn-2021-fs-final-1010.pdf.
  14. “Notice of Determination.” Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service. June 17, 2004. Accessed September 16, 2023. https://static.mozilla.com/foundation/documents/mf-irs-determination-letter.pdf.
  15. “The Mozilla Foundation.” Mozilla. Accessed September 16, 2023. https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/foundation/moco/.
  16. “Mozilla Foundation and Subsidiaries.” Hood & Strong LLP Certified Public Accountants. December 31, 2021 and 2020. Accessed September 16, 2023. https://assets.mozilla.net/annualreport/2021/mozilla-fdn-2021-fs-final-1010.pdf.
  17. “Mozilla Foundation.” Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax. (Form 990). 2021. Part VII. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/200097189/202203199349300105/full.
  18. “Who we are.” Mozilla Foundation. Accessed September 16, 2023. https://foundation.mozilla.org/en/who-we-are/leadership/.
  19. “Philanthropy’s role in the development of AI in the Public Interest.” Arabella Advisors Zoom Meeting. Accessed September 13, 2023. https://us06web.zoom.us/rec/play/XRjxdtO7qqciEHRPIZ5i6OB_nQKnBfO5sb74XXrfbPU5cCO3zZ2SpRuV5XRX1NYEYea8wVT4k2Bk30M.mbO5j7dfFPS0vhl9?hasValidToken=false&canPlayFromShare=true&from=share_recording_detail&continueMode=true&componentName=rec-play&originRequestUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fus06web.zoom.us%2Frec%2Fshare%2FvYwp41l-qWvZLMzZ71CMA9i090-rCj6wNDn4Jg-RyXzF-ZoliUww8OAR6voyvmff.cxUyPOlerpmL1IJX
  20. “Philanthropy’s Role in the Development of AI in the Public Interest.” Arabella Advisors Zoom Meeting. Accessed September 13, 2023. https://us06web.zoom.us/rec/play/XRjxdtO7qqciEHRPIZ5i6OB_nQKnBfO5sb74XXrfbPU5cCO3zZ2SpRuV5XRX1NYEYea8wVT4k2Bk30M.mbO5j7dfFPS0vhl9?hasValidToken=false&canPlayFromShare=true&from=share_recording_detail&continueMode=true&componentName=rec-play&originRequestUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fus06web.zoom.us%2Frec%2Fshare%2FvYwp41l-qWvZLMzZ71CMA9i090-rCj6wNDn4Jg-RyXzF-ZoliUww8OAR6voyvmff.cxUyPOlerpmL1IJX.
  21. Kraus, Rachel. “How Facebook, Twitter, YouTube reacted to big events in 2020, including Trump’s many lies.” Mashable. March 8, 2021. Accessed September 16, 2023. https://mashable.com/article/election-misinformation-timeline-mozilla-foundation.
  22. “Home.” Mozilla. Accessed September 13, 2023. https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/?v=1.
  23. “Mozilla Foundation.” Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax. (Form 990). 2021. Schedule R. Part IV. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/200097189/202203199349300105/full.
  24. Kraus, Rachel. “How Facebook, Twitter, YouTube reacted to big events in 2020, including Trump’s many lies.” Mashable. March 8, 2021. Accessed September 16, 2023. https://mashable.com/article/election-misinformation-timeline-mozilla-foundation.
  25. “Firefox.” Mozilla. Accessed September 16, 2023. https://www.mozilla.org/en-GB/firefox/new/.
  26. “Why Has Google Spent a Half-Billion Dollars on Firefox?” Bloomberg Newsletter. May 5, 2023. Accessed September 16, 2023. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2023-05-05/why-google-keeps-paying-mozilla-s-firefox-even-as-chrome-dominates#xj4y7vzkg.
  27. “Mozilla Foundation and Subsidiaries.” Hood & Strong LLP Certified Public Accountants. December 31, 2021 and 2020. Accessed September 16, 2023. https://assets.mozilla.net/annualreport/2021/mozilla-fdn-2021-fs-final-1010.pdf.
  28. “Who we are.” Mozilla. Accessed September 16, 2023. https://foundation.mozilla.org/en/who-we-are/.
  29. Binder, Matt. “Mozilla tells facebook and Twitter to ‘unfck the internet’ before the U.S. election.” Mashable. October 202, 2020. Accessed September 16, 2023. https://mashable.com/article/mozilla-facebook-twitter-open-letter-misinformation.
  30. “Tweet.” Twitter. Posted October 16, 2020. Accessed September 16, 2023. https://twitter.com/firefox/status/1317225160454279168?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1317225160454279168%7Ctwgr%5E919b412b508d363101e77bfd0ef7ae26059c7fb3%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fmashable.com%2Farticle%2Fmozilla-facebook-twitter-open-letter-misinformation.
  31. Brandi Geurkink and Helena McDonald. ”Congratulations, YouTube… Now Show Your Work.” Mozilla Foundation. July 6, 2020. Accessed September 16, 2023. https://foundation.mozilla.org/en/blog/congratulations-youtube-now-show-your-work/.
  32. “Pledge for a Healthy Internet.” Mozilla. Accessed September 16, 2023. https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/about/manifesto/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_content=manifesto-referral.
  33. “Mozilla Open Source Audit Tooling (OAT) Project.” Mozilla. Accessed September 16, 2023. https://foundation.mozilla.org/en/what-we-fund/fellowships/oat/.
  34. “Who we are.” Mozilla. Accessed September 16, 2023. https://foundation.mozilla.org/en/who-we-are/strategy/
  35. “Advocacy.” Mozilla. Accessed September 16, 2023. https://foundation.mozilla.org/en/advocacy/.
  36. “US Elections 2020: Platform Policies Tracker.” Mozilla. Accessed September 16, 2023. https://foundation.mozilla.org/en/campaigns/election-policy-tracker/.
  37. “Creating Trustworthy AI.” Mozilla. December 2020. Accessed September 16, 2023. https://assets.mofoprod.net/network/documents/Mozilla-Trustworthy_AI.pdf.
  38. Eggerton, John. “Biden Nominates Mozilla, Google Vet Alan Davidson to Head NTIA.” Multichannel News. October 26, 2021. Accessed September 16, 2023. https://www.nexttv.com/news/biden-nominates-mozilla-google-vet-davidson-to-head-ntia.
  39. “President Biden Announces Key Nominations.” The White House. October 26, 2021. Accessed September 16, 2023. https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/10/26/president-biden-announces-key-nominations-8/.
  40. “Mozilla Foundation.” Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax. (Form 990). 2021. Part VII. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/200097189/202203199349300105/full.
  41. “What We Fund.” Mozilla Foundation. Accessed September 13, 2023. https://foundation.mozilla.org/en/what-we-fund/fellowships-and-awards-partners/.
  42. “What We Fund.” Mozilla Foundation. Accessed September 13, 2023. https://foundation.mozilla.org/en/what-we-fund/fellowships-and-awards-partners/.
  43. “Five Major Foudnations Announce Groundbreaking Plans to Develop Public Interest Technologies.” Open Society Foundations. February 16, 2016. Accessed September 16, 2023. https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/newsroom/five-major-foundations-announce-groundbreaking-plans-develop-public-interest.
  44. “About.” NetGain Partnership. Accessed September 16, 2023. https://www.netgainpartnership.org/about.
  45. “Mozilla Foundation.” Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax. (Form 990). 2021. Part III. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/200097189/202203199349300105/full.
  46.  “What we fund.” Mozilla. Accessed September 16, 2023. https://foundation.mozilla.org/en/what-we-fund/fellowships-and-awards-partners/.
  47.  “Siegel Research Fellows.” Siegel Family Endowment. Accessed September 15, 2023. https://www.siegelendowment.org/research/fellows/.
  48. “Philanthropy’s Role in the Development of AI in the Public Interest.” Arabella Advisors Zoom Meeting. Accessed September 13, 2023. https://us06web.zoom.us/rec/play/XRjxdtO7qqciEHRPIZ5i6OB_nQKnBfO5sb74XXrfbPU5cCO3zZ2SpRuV5XRX1NYEYea8wVT4k2Bk30M.mbO5j7dfFPS0vhl9?hasValidToken=false&canPlayFromShare=true&from=share_recording_detail&continueMode=true&componentName=rec-play&originRequestUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fus06web.zoom.us%2Frec%2Fshare%2FvYwp41l-qWvZLMzZ71CMA9i090-rCj6wNDn4Jg-RyXzF-ZoliUww8OAR6voyvmff.cxUyPOlerpmL1IJX.
  49. “Data Futures Lab.” Mozilla. Accessed September 16, 2023. https://foundation.mozilla.org/en/data-futures-lab/.
  50. “About Our Grantees.” Siegel Family Foundation. Accessed September 13, 2023. https://www.siegelendowment.org/grantees/.
  51. “What we fund.” Mozilla. Accessed September 16, 2023. https://foundation.mozilla.org/en/what-we-fund/.
  52. “Mozilla Foundation.” Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax. (Form 990). 2021. Schedule I. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/200097189/202203199349300105/full.
  53. “Donate.” Mozilla. Accessed September 13, 2023. https://foundation.mozilla.org/en/what-we-fund/fellowships-and-awards-partners/?form=donate.
  54. “Mozilla Foundation.” Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax. (Form 990). 2021. Part I. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/200097189/202203199349300105/full.
  55. “2023 Giving To Date.” Siegel Family Endowment. Accessed September 15, 2023. https://www.siegelendowment.org/2023-giving-to-date/.
  56. “Hope in the Details: Our Year in Review 2022.” Siegel Family Endowment. December 20, 2022. Accessed September 15, 2023. https://www.siegelendowment.org/insights/hope-in-the-details-our-year-in-review-2022/.
  57. “Mozilla Foundation.” Rockefeller Brothers Fund. July 26, 2022. Accessed September 16, 2023. https://www.rbf.org/grantees/mozilla-foundation.
  58. “Mozilla Foundation.” Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Accessed September 16, 2023. https://www.gatesfoundation.org/about/committed-grants/2020/11/inv017867.
  59. “Mozilla Foundation.” MacArthur Foundation. Accessed September 16, 2023. https://www.macfound.org/grantee/mozilla-foundation-42446/.
  60. “Mozilla Foundation.” Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust. February 6, 2023. Accessed September 16, 2023. https://helmsleytrust.org/grants/mozilla-foundation-1717/.
  61. “Digital Badges Initiative.” Charles Stewart Mott Foundation. 2014. Accessed September 16, 2023. https://www.mott.org/grants/201300590-01/.
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Nonprofit Information

  • Accounting Period: December - November
  • Tax Exemption Received: June 1, 2004

    • Available Filings

    Period Form Type Total revenue Total functional expenses Total assets (EOY) Total liabilities (EOY) Unrelated business income? Total contributions Program service revenue Investment income Comp. of current officers, directors, etc. Form 990
    2021 Dec Form 990 $30,686,124 $23,340,264 $76,964,143 $2,500,814 Y $9,931,949 $20,231,848 $532,734 $1,341,269
    2020 Dec Form 990 $26,523,745 $18,160,777 $66,895,760 $2,443,080 Y $9,564,873 $16,500,194 $457,113 $2,314,014
    2019 Dec Form 990 $28,388,184 $21,889,786 $55,587,834 $2,176,198 N $11,713,240 $15,930,548 $659,885 $1,890,505 PDF
    2018 Dec Form 990 $27,531,742 $23,276,272 $46,429,229 $2,588,395 Y $13,991,926 $13,148,125 $390,654 $1,991,100 PDF
    2017 Dec Form 990 $20,586,446 $24,206,401 $33,419,850 $3,145,473 N $9,841,565 $10,193,707 $458,546 $977,129 PDF
    2016 Dec Form 990 $21,346,401 $21,293,197 $34,645,899 $2,744,162 N $12,455,200 $8,493,431 $353,181 $1,693,374 PDF
    2015 Dec Form 990 $19,458,887 $15,267,138 $33,009,293 $1,985,709 Y $12,429,238 $6,519,514 $445,798 $1,713,143 PDF
    2014 Dec Form 990 $19,309,416 $15,855,574 $29,010,007 $1,546,301 Y $12,570,258 $6,275,937 $437,665 $954,343 PDF
    2013 Dec Form 990 $13,493,744 $13,728,023 $25,144,149 $1,290,644 N $6,909,597 $6,129,936 $446,218 $421,525 PDF
    2012 Dec Form 990 $9,046,361 $9,822,851 $25,377,720 $1,373,997 N $5,805,972 $2,719,942 $524,216 $0 PDF
    2011 Dec Form 990 $3,954,108 $5,391,119 $26,187,098 $2,407,937 Y $3,323,273 $31,602 $596,550 $363,828 PDF

    Additional Filings (PDFs)

    Mozilla Foundation

    2 Harrison Street, No. 175
    San Francisco, CA 94105-6130