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Message from the Chair & CEO
Dear Friends of The San Francisco Foundation,
The Bay Area and the state of California are contending with gripping budget issues and decisions that are much larger than any one political party or agenda. The very future of our state and the enormous legacy we have collectively built is hanging in the balance.
Our great state and region were created through wise investments in education, innovative programs and services for the vulnerable, and a robust infrastructure of quality of life entities; public libraries, transportation, parks, and water systems. California, in its prime, was the go-to state for creativity, efficiency, humanity, and economic achievement.
We know that in order to make a long term recovery from the great recession, we must follow that same path of wise investments. Now is the time for all of us to join together and bring back the strong California and Bay Area that together we built.
This past year, The San Francisco Foundation has continued to listen for and seek out the outstanding people and organizations who are leading the recovery. We committed $5 million to our Priority Funding partners in Job Training and Creation, the Safety Net, and Foreclosure Response and Neighborhood Preservation. This was in addition to the $76 million that we granted out in 2010, with gratitude to our donors, past and present, whose vision and generosity created the endowment and donor advised funds from which the grants were made.
This coming year we are deepening our investments in public policy, advocacy, and civic engagement to promote progressive social change and achieve social justice. As you read our annual report – either online or the printed version – Californians are in the midst of great change and great challenge. We call on you to join with us and engage in the public discourse. There is a place for each and all of the diverse and important voices.
We combine forces with you, our donors, our partners in philanthropy, and the business, government, and nonprofit sectors, to stay engaged, act, vote, give, and lift every voice.
David A. Friedman Sandra R. Hernández, M.D.
Chair, Board of Trustees Chief Executive Officer
May 2011