Sunset Heights Association of Responsible People (SHARP)

History

SHARP indicates on its website that the organization was operational as early as 1897. Originally known as the Sunset Heights Improvement Club, the organization purchased its headquarters 1910, and has since built a headquarters that includes a childcare center, senior citizen housing, and numerous multi-use rooms. ²

Left-of-Center Environmentalism

SHARP has financially supported or expressed support for numerous left-of-center and liberal environmentalist organizations.

Since 2020, SHARP has supported Climate Action Now events in the San Francisco area. Climate Action Now is a fiscally sponsored project of Earth Island Institute, a left-of-center environmentalist organization opposed to timber harvesting on federal land in the United States. SHARP supported events run by Climate Action Now which aimed to remove pavement in San Francisco, replacing it with community gardens. The organization provided trees, soil, and tools for the events. ³

SHARP donated $3,000 in 2018 to the California Academy of Sciences, a San Francisco-based museum that has a long history of pushing left-of-center environmentalist agendas. SHARP specified that the donation was to be used for “research in science and sustainability solutions”. ⁴

Immigration

SHARP has fiscally supported numerous organizations that advocate for expansionist immigration policy or provide charity services to illegal immigrants. In 2017, SHARP made grants of $4,200 each to Pangea Legal Services, a law-clinic that provides legal representation for illegal immigrants facing deportation; and to Good Samaritan Family Resource Center, a left-of-center organization largely supported by the Episcopal Church that provides family and education services to illegal immigrants. ⁵

SHARP held a meeting in 2017 with guest speakers Niloufar Khonsari, an immigration attorney for Pangea Legal Services; and Ana Herrera, an immigration attorney for DSCS Deportation Defense; both of whom made complaints against Trump administration immigration policies. The organization’s coverage of the event also highlights discussion regarding the Trump administration’s travel ban from certain Muslim-majority countries, which Khonsari referred to as a “Muslim ban.” Khonsari also discussed the 2015 murder of Kate Steinle by an illegal immigrant, brushing the murder off as “one-in-a-million,” and continuing to praise the “sanctuary city” status of San Francisco. ⁶

Grantmaking

Among grants made to other San Francisco local organizations, SHARP has made large donations to numerous organizations which advocate for issues not immediately connected to its own mission statement. SHARP donated $2,500 in 2018 to Power California, a voter mobilization organization that pushes left-of-center ideas with immigrants in the state of California. It also donated $3,000 in 2018 to Central American Resource Center (CARECEN), a left-leaning immigrant advocacy organization. ⁴

Leadership and Board of Directors

Dennis Minnick is the president of SHARP. Minnick owns a photography services shop in San Francisco and has worked as a freelance photographer since the 1970s. ⁷ Minnick has donated to numerous Democratic-connected individuals and organizations. Most notably, he has donated $435 since 2020 to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee; and $30 in 2020 to Amy McGrath for Senate, the PAC associated with the failed 2020 campaign of Amy McGrath for U.S. Senate from Kentucky. ⁸

Frank Noto is a former president of SHARP and is the vice president and as a member of the board of directors for the organization. Noto works as the president of GCA Strategies, a San Francisco PR firm. ⁹ Noto has made large donations to numerous Democratic Party organizations. Most notably, Noto has donated $9,550 to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee since 2016, $10,600 since 2004 to the Democratic National Committee. Noto has also supported numerous Democratic Party presidential candidates and other Democratic politicians. He donated $2,000 in 2004 to John Kerry for President, $300 in 2008 to Obama for America, $800 in 2016 to Hillary for America, and $1,000 in 2020 to Biden for President. He also donated $250 in 2004 to Friends of Barbara Boxer, the PAC associated with Democratic Senator Barbara Boxer’s 2004 incumbent run for Senate. ¹⁰

Finances

In 2019, SHARP reported total revenue of $132,018 and total expenditures and disbursements of $142,324. The organization reported net assets in the same year of $2,388,809, largely made up of the organization’s ownership of its headquarters in San Francisco. ¹¹