A powerful way San Francisco Foundation supports our donors is by pairing a donor’s desire to make the most of their generous giving with SFF’s networks and expertise.
One such donor is the Menorah Park Community Impact Fund which is hosted at SFF. Joan Levison, Menorah Park’s Executive Director, recently approached SFF for ways to identify Bay Area organizations involved in low-income senior housing.
Joan and the Menorah Park Board wanted a partner to help identify organizations that support low-income senior housing needs across multiple venues such as supportive services, housing legal assistance, capital campaigns, food security, and general operating support. Joan also was looking for support in the detailed and specialized paperwork and record-keeping required for grantmaking. Through her learning and analysis of how to make that impact, she also wanted to ensure the fund supported newer, under-resourced, and BIPOC-led organizations.
SFF was well-positioned to help. Our work to create a racially just and economically inclusive Bay Area means that we must solve our housing crisis, and in doing so, we must center those who are most at the margins.
Her senior philanthropic advisor, J. M. Johnson, introduced Joan to Demitrius Burnett, a housing expert and Senior Program Officer for SFF’s Place Pathway. With their deep networks and intimate knowledge of Bay Area housing issues, they met with Joan to discuss her interests and needs. They explored exactly how she wanted to make an impact. With these goals in mind, Demitrius shared a deeper overview of the sector and his perspective as a grantmaker in this area.
Together, they found great organizations to fit the targeted impact goals Joan was aiming for, several of which were new to the fund’s giving portfolio.
This resulted in $1 million in giving to housing nonprofits, of which $810,000 went to organizations recommended by SFF. These donations will help these organizations deepen their focus on the senior population, influence housing policy, and develop housing that will provide priority access to older adults with low incomes.
Learn more:
- All In On Housing – learn about SFF’s work to build a Bay Area where people of all races and backgrounds can thrive in safe, affordable, and vibrant communities.
- Learn How to Make an Impact – learn about our team of programmatic experts who intimately understand the social and economic challenges in the Bay Area and have deep relationships with the nonprofits and policymakers that are most effectively tackling those challenges.
