Non-profit

Stephen M. Silberstein Foundation

Location:

BELVEDERE, CA

Tax ID:

91-1852739

Tax-Exempt Status:

501(c)(3)-PF

Budget (2020):

Assets: $83,470,437

Founder and President:

Stephen Silberstein

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The Stephen M. Silberstein Foundation was established by Stephen Silberstein in Belvedere, California, in May 1998.1 Records indicate the Foundation held more than $112 million in assets and donated about $6 million to left-of-center causes. According to Inside Philanthropy, “Nearly every major progressive policy and advocacy group in the U.S. has received money from Silberstein in recent years.”2

Silberstein made his fortune as co-founder and first president of Innovative Interfaces, established in 1978.3 The company emerged from Silberstein’s work as a computer programmer in the 1970s in the University of California Berkeley library, where he was responsible for the library’s total automation program which replaced a manual card catalog with a computer system.4 Innovative Interfaces develops automated systems for libraries, and has 2,400 library systems installed in 9,500 libraries in 66 countries.5

Activities

Education & Libraries

Berkeley and the Berkeley area have received substantial support from Silberstein and his foundation. A trustee of UC Berkeley Foundation and UC Berkeley Goldman School of Public Policy, Silberstein gave a $1 million grant to UC Berkeley Foundation in 2013.6 He has also given to the Berkeley Public Education Foundation as well as the Oakland School of the Arts.7 He supports libraries as well. Silberstein is on the board of the Belvedere-Tiburon Library Foundation.8 According to recent records, more than $200,000 went to Berkeley Public Library over two years. Donations have also been made to Belvedere-Tiburon Library and Alameda Free Library Association.

Policy & Human Rights

The Silberstein Foundation has made grants to many human rights groups and left of center policy outfits. Recipients of foundation donations include the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, Impact Fund, Tides Foundation, Amnesty International, Media Matters, the American Constitution Society, the American Civil Liberties Union, the Brennan Center for Justice, Campaign for America’s Future, the Center for American Progress, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, Common Cause, Economic Policy Institute, the Nation Institute, People for the American Way, Pro Publica, Human Rights Watch, and J street.910

The Stephen M. Silberstein Foundation does not have a website and Silberstein keeps a low public presence.11

Environment

Among environmentalist groups grantees include NatureBridge, the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Rainforest Action Network, San Francisco Baykeeper, Seacology, and the Sierra Club Foundation.12

Arts & Culture

Silberstein has given to explicitly political left-wing arts groups like the Brave New Foundation, which supports Brave New Films and Kitchen Sisters Productions. It also supports more conventional groups such as the San Francisco Film Society and the Berkeley Repertory Theater.13

Financials

During the fiscal year 2021, the Stephen M. Silberstein Foundation donated roughly $9,875,200 to several left-of-center organizataions including groups including American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) Foundation, As You Sow, the Center for American Progress (CAP), Media Matters for America, and Human Rights Watch. 14

Leadership

Stephen Silberstein is the President and Treasurer of the Stephen M. Silberstein Foundation. Prior to working at the Foundation, Silberstein served as Co-Founder of software company Innovative Interfaces, Inc. 15

References

  1. Hanen, Jonathan. “The Stephen M. Silberstein Foundation: California Dreamin’ of Social Democracy.” Capital Research Center Foundation Watch. July 2014. Accessed January 19, 2017. https://capitalresearch.org/article/fw/.
  2. Adeniji, Ade. “Progressive Causes and More: A Look At Steve Silberstein’s Philanthropy.” Inside Philanthropy. November 5, 2015. Accessed January 18, 2016. http://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/2015/11/5/progressive-causes-and-more-a-look-at-steve-silbersteins-phi.html.
  3. Adeniji, Ade. “Progressive Causes and More: A Look At Steve Silberstein’s Philanthropy.” Inside Philanthropy. November 5, 2015. Accessed January 18, 2016. http://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/2015/11/5/progressive-causes-and-more-a-look-at-steve-silbersteins-phi.html.
  4. Goldman School of Public Policy University of California Berkeley. “Steve Silberstein.” Accessed January 18, 2017. https://gspp.berkeley.edu/about/leadership/board-of-advisors/steve-silberstein.
  5. Adeniji, Ade. “Progressive Causes and More: A Look At Steve Silberstein’s Philanthropy.” Inside Philanthropy. November 5, 2015. Accessed January 18, 2016. http://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/2015/11/5/progressive-causes-and-more-a-look-at-steve-silbersteins-phi.html.
  6. Adeniji, Ade. “Progressive Causes and More: A Look At Steve Silberstein’s Philanthropy.” Inside Philanthropy. November 5, 2015. Accessed January 18, 2016. http://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/2015/11/5/progressive-causes-and-more-a-look-at-steve-silbersteins-phi.html.
  7. Adeniji, Ade. “Progressive Causes and More: A Look At Steve Silberstein’s Philanthropy.” Inside Philanthropy. November 5, 2015. Accessed January 18, 2016. http://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/2015/11/5/progressive-causes-and-more-a-look-at-steve-silbersteins-phi.html.
  8. Adeniji, Ade. “Progressive Causes and More: A Look At Steve Silberstein’s Philanthropy.” Inside Philanthropy. November 5, 2015. Accessed January 18, 2016. http://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/2015/11/5/progressive-causes-and-more-a-look-at-steve-silbersteins-phi.html.
  9. Adeniji, Ade. “Progressive Causes and More: A Look At Steve Silberstein’s Philanthropy.” Inside Philanthropy. November 5, 2015. Accessed January 18, 2016. http://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/2015/11/5/progressive-causes-and-more-a-look-at-steve-silbersteins-phi.html.
  10. WikiLeaks. “FWD: Silberstein Foundation: The truth finally comes out.” Accessed January 19, 2017. https://wikileaks.org/podesta-emails/emailid/2010.
  11. Hanen, Jonathan. “The Stephen M. Silberstein Foundation: California Dreamin’ of Social Democracy.” Capital Research Center Foundation Watch. July 2014. Accessed January 19, 2017. https://capitalresearch.org/article/fw/.
  12. “Stephen M. Silberstein.” Inside Philanthropy. Accessed January 18, 2016. http://www.insidephilanthropy.com/guide-to-individual-donors/stephen-m-silberstein.html.
  13. “Stephen M. Silberstein.” Inside Philanthropy. Accessed January 18, 2016. http://www.insidephilanthropy.com/guide-to-individual-donors/stephen-m-silberstein.html.
  14. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). STEPHEN M SILBERSTEIN FOUNDATION. 2021. Part XIV. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/911852739/202213199349108336/full
  15. “Stephen M. Silberstein.” LinkedIn, Accessed September 25, 2023. https://www.linkedin.com/in/steve-silberstein-05b88210

Directors, Employees & Supporters

  1. Stephen Silberstein
    President and Treasurer

Donation Recipients

  1. Alliance for Justice (AFJ) (Non-profit)
  2. American Constitution Society for Law and Policy (Non-profit)
  3. American Prospect (Non-profit)
  4. Amnesty International USA (AIUSA) (Non-profit)
  5. As You Sow (Non-profit)
  6. Brave New Films (Non-profit)
  7. Center for American Progress (CAP) (Non-profit)
  8. Center for Political Accountability (Non-profit)
  9. Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) (Non-profit)
  10. Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) (Non-profit)
  11. Courage Campaign Institute (Non-profit)
  12. Defenders of Wildlife (Non-profit)
  13. Democracy Now Productions (Democracy Now!) (Non-profit)
  14. Demos (Non-profit)
  15. Drug Policy Alliance (Non-profit)
  16. Economic Policy Institute (EPI) (Non-profit)
  17. Ella Baker Center for Human Rights (Non-profit)
  18. Ettinger Foundation (Non-profit)
  19. Food and Water Watch (FWW) (Non-profit)
  20. Green Science Policy Institute (Non-profit)
  21. Human Rights Watch (Non-profit)
  22. Institute for America’s Future (Non-profit)
  23. Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (Non-profit)
  24. Media Matters for America (Non-profit)
  25. Mother Jones (Non-profit)
  26. National Popular Vote (NPV) (Non-profit)
  27. Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) (Non-profit)
  28. New Organizing Institute (NOI) (Non-profit)
  29. New Venture Fund (NVF) (Non-profit)
  30. People for the American Way (PFAW) Foundation (Non-profit)
  31. Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) (Non-profit)
  32. Ploughshares Fund (Non-profit)
  33. Progressive Congress (Non-profit)
  34. ProgressNow (Non-profit)
  35. ProPublica (Non-profit)
  36. Public Citizen Foundation (Non-profit)
  37. Roosevelt Institute (Non-profit)
  38. Sierra Club Foundation (Non-profit)
  39. State Innovation Exchange (SIX) (Non-profit)
  40. Tesseract Research Center (Non-profit)
  41. Tides Foundation (Non-profit)
  42. Washington Monthly (Non-profit)
  43. William J. Brennan Center for Justice (Non-profit)
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Nonprofit Information

  • Accounting Period: December - November
  • Tax Exemption Received: May 1, 1998

  • 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
    2020 Dec Form PF $0 $0 $83,470,437 $1 $0 $0 $0 $0
    2019 Dec Form PF $0 $0 $87,266,434 $1 $0 $0 $0 $0 PDF
    2015 Dec Form PF $0 $0 $86,156,179 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 PDF
    2014 Dec Form PF $0 $0 $85,585,136 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 PDF
    2013 Dec Form PF $0 $0 $87,325,226 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 PDF
    2012 Dec Form PF $0 $0 $89,947,653 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 PDF
    2011 Dec Form PF $0 $0 $91,609,664 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 PDF

    Additional Filings (PDFs)

    Stephen M. Silberstein Foundation

    29 EUCALYPTUS RD
    BELVEDERE, CA 94920-2435