Social Justice

The economic downturn has had a significant impact on all sectors, including foundations and their endowments. The San Francisco Foundation has seen its assets decrease due to the ongoing recession, resulting in an immediate need to reduce operating expenses in the near term in order to optimize and sustain grantmaking and support services to the communities we serve. As part of these budget reductions, we have begun some restructuring, which regrettably includes the reduction of several staff positions.

The San Francisco Foundation remains deeply committed to Social Justice as a core value. Our Social Justice mission and work run deeply throughout all Program areas of the Foundation. We remain steadfast in our commitment to address disparities and strengthen the rights and voices of the most vulnerable in our community.

As part of the program changes, the Foundation has begun to restructure its Social Justice Program area. We will continue our commitment to Social Justice grantmaking and support, and in the interim will deliver that grantmaking and support through an integrated strategy involving the Foundation’s five other Program areas: Arts and Culture, Community Development, Community Health, Education, and Environment. In the near future, we will undertake a planning process that will solicit community input from key constituencies to inform our longer-term plans.

The restructuring of our Social Justice Program area took effect on April 1, 2009.

James Head, Director of Programs, is the point of contact for Social Justice grantees and stakeholders. James also oversees the FAITHS Program.

Tessa Rouverol Callejo, FAITHS Program Coordinator, leads our work with the Bay Area faiths community.

Navin Moul, Social Justice Multicultural Program Fellow, works on Social Justice grantmaking and related projects.

The Social Justice Restructuring

June 2009

The San Francisco Foundation honors the important mission and work of our grantees aiming to bring equity and justice to the most vulnerable in our Bay Area communities. We appreciate our partnership with these key nonprofit organizations as our restructuring proceeds. As we move forward with our restructuring of the Social Justice Program, we wanted to share our initial process for continued support. Visit our Grants and Awards page for more information about the upcoming application process.