Strategic Planning for a Stronger Future

Dear Friend,

As our communities contend with the fallout from this tough economy, The San Francisco Foundation is keeping an ear to the ground for where the need is greatest, what trends portend, and how to make the most impact. We honor both our donors’ vision and generosity, and our grantees’ tenacity and dedication, in their continuing partnership with us to help strengthen our beloved Bay Area.

With a view to the recovery, and positioning The San Francisco Foundation to be a strong and nimble partner to our donors and community members, we are engaging in strategic planning. What we have heard, and continue to see and experience, is about the dramatically increasing need among the most vulnerable, and the rapidly shrinking resources on all fronts. The fallout from the decimated state budget and other decreasing government funding is creating severe challenges, especially to the most vulnerable.

Our goal is to be adaptive and responsive, and we are developing this plan to guide us through the next three years. We anticipate wrapping up the planning by early 2010, and beginning implementation soon thereafter.

We are also responding immediately with focused grantmaking strategies. To target basic human needs such as food, shelter, cash assistance, and domestic violence support, we created our Safety Net Impact Fund. The recession has necessitated dramatic changes in the nonprofit sector as a whole. For nonprofit organizations that are adapting for sustainability by reinventing, regrouping, or resizing, we launched our Nonprofit Transitions Fund, through which we are investing a total of $700,000 to key organizations that we believe will be important to the region’s recovery.

As the community foundation of the Bay Area, community input has been critical in informing and guiding our strategic plan. During the past year, we have solicited a multitude of diverse perspectives and inputs from our various constituencies. Through online surveys, in-person convenings, focus groups, interviews, and questionnaires, we have heard from our grantees in all issue areas, our FAITHS leaders, our Koshland neighborhoods, donors, funding partners, civic leaders, and key groups and individuals from the government and private sectors. We are also mining the rich leadership, connections, expertise, and creativity of our staff.

We will post updates and continue to invite constituents to enlighten us with their perspectives and expertise.

Sincerely,

Sandra R. Hernández, M.D.
Chief Executive Officer