Silicon Valley Community Foundation Announces Silicon Valley Regional Fund
Mountain View, California (PRWEB) October 08, 2015 -- To help find regional solutions for the challenges that face a wide range of Bay Area communities, Silicon Valley Community Foundation announced today that it will expand its regional grantmaking work by further engaging with San Francisco County.
Expansion to San Francisco reflects the numerous requests SVCF has received both from its donors and from San Francisco-based charities. The change also reflects a changing dynamic among donors, who understand that Bay Area community needs extend across county lines.
“People strongly want to support community needs across what they see as a common region,” said Emmett D. Carson, Ph.D., CEO and president of SVCF. “The local problems we aim to solve can be tackled more effectively when we adopt a more inclusive definition of our local region. This new approach presents us with an opportunity to influence public policy at the regional and state levels. In turn, that can lead to a higher quality of life for all Silicon Valley residents and commuters.”
Silicon Valley Community Foundation for nearly a decade has focused its community endowment grantmaking efforts on addressing tough social problems in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties, and will continue to do so. Its strategic grantmaking and initiatives to improve lives in Silicon Valley have focused on education, economic security, immigration and building strong communities with a focus on housing and transportation.
To address these community issues across the entire interconnected area, SVCF has established the Silicon Valley Regional Fund. Dr. Carson announced the launch of the fund today at SVCF’s Regional Meeting, a gathering of more than 700 representatives from nonprofit organizations, philanthropy, government, educational institutions and the general public.
Through the Silicon Valley Regional Fund, SVCF will raise funds to expand housing and transportation strategies that link nonprofit organizations in San Francisco, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties.
SVCF will release its first Request for Proposals specific to regional approaches sometime in early 2016 once funding has been secured. The RFP will invite nonprofit organizations working to improve affordable housing and transportation in Silicon Valley to apply for funding.
“Many people work in one part of the Bay Area, live in another, and perhaps grew up in yet another,” Carson said. “With this more comprehensive regional approach, we can have a more meaningful impact on community needs.”
To donate to the Silicon Valley Regional Fund or for more information, please contact donate(at)siliconvalleycf(dot)org.
About Silicon Valley Community Foundation
Silicon Valley Community Foundation makes all forms of philanthropy more powerful. We serve as a catalyst and leader for innovative solutions to our region’s most challenging problems, and through our donors we award more money to charities than any other community foundation in the United States. SVCF has $6.5 billion in assets under management. As Silicon Valley’s center of philanthropy, we provide thousands of individuals, families and corporations with simple and effective ways to give locally and around the world. Find out more at siliconvalleycf.org.
Sue McAllister, Silicon Valley Community Foundation, http://www.siliconvalleycf.org, +1 650-450-5513, [email protected]
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