Northern California Grantmakers

NCG member the Evelyn and Walter Haas Jr. Fund has awarded UC Berkeley $16 million “to expand academic programs in various aspects of ethnic, religious and sexual diversity and to fund scholarships for low-income community college students who transfer to the campus.”

Funding Cal’s Initiative for Equity and Inclusion, the funding will go towards:

• five new faculty chairs in diversity-related research
• scholarship matching for community college transfer students
• 30 new or revised American Cultures courses, required of all undergraduates
• expanded mentoring and career development for faculty members
• new tools for evaluating the effectiveness of the initiative
• competitive grants for students and faculty for innovate projects to affect campus climate
• resources and classes for students and employees for bridging cultural, physical and societal differences.

Read Haas Jr.’s article on the grant.

Read UC Berkely’s press release.

Read LA Times blog post on grant.

Northern California Grantmakers would like to take a moment to recognize the remarkable life and contributions of Evelyn Haas who passed away Wednesday here in San Francisco.

”Evelyn Haas, philanthropist, patron of the arts, matriarch of one of the Bay Area’s most prominent families…[and] widow of Walter A. Haas Jr., led the family foundation, the Evelyn and Walter Haas Jr. Fund, which has contributed more than $364 million to hundreds of community and cultural organizations that make the Bay Area what it is. They include the San Francisco Symphony, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the restoration of Crissy Field and The Chronicle’s Season of Sharing Fund.”

The Haas family have been active institutional members within the NCG community since its inception. Evelyn Haas was an integral part of the Haas family’s legacy in the field of philanthropy, which will no doubt continue to impact the Bay Area for generations to come. Her passing will be a great loss to the Bay Area community.

Read the San Francisco Chronicle article commemorating Evelyn Haas’ life online.