Northern California Grantmakers

NCG was pleased to partner once again with the San Francisco Business Times as a sponsor of the 2012 Corporate Philanthropy Awards which was held Wednesday, July 18 at the Fairmont hotel here in San Francisco.

We were also excited to see so many of our members honored during the awards breakfast.

Here are some member highlights:

• The list of Top Corporate Philanthropists in the Greater Bay Area included 18 NCG members–28% of the list.
• NCG members took 13 of the top 20 spots.
• NCG member JPMorgan Chase & Co broke into the top 5 for the first time.
• NCG member Wells Fargo received a “Beyond the Check” Community Partner in Sustainability award.
• NCG member Clorox Company received a “Beyond the Check” Community Change and Impact award.
• Several NCG members were recognized with the Community Commitment Award given to companies who gave 1% or more of their company-wide net profit to community organizations. They included: JPMorgan Chase, PG&E, Salesforce.com, Levi Strauss, GAP, Clorox and Bank of Marin.

The top 10 corporate givers  honored at this year’s event were:

1. Google
2. Chevron
3. Wells Fargo*
4. Safeway Inc.
5. JPMorgan Chase & Co.*
6. Cisco Systems Inc.*
7. Bank of America*
8. PG&E*
9. Genentech Inc.*
10. Intel Corp.

*NCG member

Congratulations to all the award recipients and honorees at this year’s event. And for a complete list of the 65 corporate grantmakers honored, check out the latest issue of the San Francisco Business Times.

Since last Thursday when the natural gas explosion and fire devastated a San Bruno neighborhood, there have been many generous donations on the part of individuals and organizations to help with the fire relief efforts.

NCG members have also responded and we’d like to highlight the following members* for their efforts:

AAA of Northern California, Nevada & Utah has arranged for AAA members whose car was lost or damaged by the explosion and fire to receive a rental from their partner Hertz. They will also provide debit cards to their members who were displaced from their homes to help with immediate living expenses.

Bank of America has pledged $25,000 to the Bay Area chapter of the American Red Cross for relief efforts.

Jewish Community Federation is accepting donations that “will be directly distributed to the most effective service providers in the Jewish and general communities.”

Levi Strauss Foundation is offering victims of the explosion/fire a $250 gift card. The gift cards are available through Bay Area Red Cross chapters and can be spent at any Levi’s Store. Victims can receive disaster relief by calling 1-888-443-5772 or going to redcrossbayarea.org.

PG&E has established a “Rebuild San Bruno Fund” which will make available up to $100 million for the residents and city of San Bruno to help recover from the explosion and fire.

The San Francisco Foundation has established a San Bruno Relief Fund. The foundation approved $100,000 to launch the fund.

Silicon Valley Community Foundation has set up a San Bruno Fire Fund. The foundation is offering an initial $100,000 match on all gifts to aid in the response and recovery of this neighborhood.

Wells Fargo has donated to the Bay Area Red Cross to aid victims, will allow customers to make donations to the Red Cross at any of its ATMs in San Mateo County during the month of September.

ZeroDivide Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer Tim Wu gives his first-hand account of witnessing the San Bruno explosion and fire on the foundation’s blog.

*Not an exhaustive list. If you’re an NCG member please let us know how you are responding to the San Bruno explosion and fire.