Northern California Grantmakers

Last week, NCG staff had the opportunity to participate in the Silicon Valley Community Foundation’s 5th Anniversary Regional Meeting. A special celebration to mark what is traditionally known as the “wood anniversary” – while admittedly not the most alluring of celebratory symbols, perhaps a fitting metaphor for the lasting and powerful impact this community foundation has already had in the Peninsula. The redwoods dotting the landscape jump to mind.

Featuring an inspiring keynote from Vice President Al Gore, the afternoon event left guests with a sense of pride for the great work undertaken in the past years, and a charge moving forward to set sights on implementing change with a long-term vision.

SVCF President & CEO, Dr. Emmett Carson welcomed the crowd of more than 1,400 guests and shared highlights of the foundation’s successes, both since the earliest days of the merged foundation (over $1 billion in grants awarded in just 5 years, more than the combined grantmaking of the parent foundations over their lifetime) and in the last year (the establishment of a Donor Circle for the Environment, seeded with a $100,000 matching gift from the David & Lucile Packard Foundation).

Dr. Carson also shared with the audience a newly released report, Tying the Knot: The Founding of Silicon Valley Community Foundation, this detailed case study, captured by award-winning journalist Janet Rae-Dupree outlines the candid details of a complicated merger between two, very different, community foundations (the Community Foundation of Silicon Valley serving Santa Clara County and the Peninsula Community Foundation serving San Mateo County).

The union of these complementary, yet fundamentally different, foundations is told in this compelling case study that shares moments of inspiration as well as deeply rooted philosophical challenges in the creation of the largest community foundation in existence.

Happy birthday, Silicon Valley Community Foundation – we are are all very fortunate indeed for the thoughtful investments you make in our region!

The Mercury News just reported on how NCG member Silicon Valley Community Foundation may be working with the City of San Jose to address the effects of payday loans, a service that provides short-term bridge loans to individuals, typically with high interest. Three stories in this:

1. SVCF is investing. As Bruce Trachtenberg’s summary at the The Nonprofit Quarterly notes, The City of San Jose is poised to apply for a $200K grant from SVCF to

help research ways to slow, even halt the number and locations of payday shops, most likely through zoning restrictions similar to those that have been used in other cities.

2. The foundation is researching and advocating. A current grantmaking strategy for economic security specifically targets Anti-Payday Lending Policy Advocacy, supported by research and some tracking of media response.
3. And they are using public-private partnership. After working with the community to develop a policy advocacy position, this work with the City of San Jose could be an important next step effecting change at the municipal and State levels.

NCG just published a case study of SVCF’s Anti-Payday work at P4: The Philanthropy Public Policy Portal. Take a look at those and the other case studies we’re posting up there, and  let us know if your foundation is engaged in similar strategies.

NCG member Silicon Valley Community Foundation is hosting video of their October 27, 2009, Regional Meeting on their SVCF YouTube channel.

At this second Regional Meeting of 2009, panelists Rosa Perez, Will Lightbourne, Michele Jackson, Jeffrey Cheung, David Boesch were asked:

“What is the most significant change you have seen in your area since the onset of the recession?”

See the panel response on SVCF’s YouTube channel.