We envision a Bay Area where everyone has a chance to get a good job, live in a safe and affordable home, and have a strong political voice.
Our strategic focus of this agenda is on a just and equitable recovery and on leading the way for our communities, partners, and staff to engage in radical reimagining and transformative solidarity to create a better reality for all. With a community-driven vision for a more equitable and just Bay Area, we can continue to dismantle the old systems and rebuild them anew. Together with community leaders, nonprofits, and donors, we are committed to an agenda that advances racial equity and economic inclusion for everyone in the Bay Area. We want all people in the Bay Area to be economically secure, rooted in vibrant communities, and civically engaged.
We know this will be a continuous learning experience, but one with a very clear goal — to make the Bay Area a place that offers true opportunity for everybody.
Click on the sections below to learn about the ways we focus on our equity agenda through our work.
Grantmaking to Advance Racial Equity
We have intentionally prioritized race and socioeconomic status in our grantmaking because our policies and systems have created barriers for low-income people of color when it comes to housing, education, criminal justice, jobs, and civic participation. The future of the Bay Area depends on our ability to ensure that everyone can participate, prosper, and reach their full potential.
These interconnected strategies — building power, creating financial well-being, and preserving communities — work together to make our region more equitable, healthier, happier, and more prosperous.
Our equity grantmaking is structured under these interconnected focus areas:
- People grantmaking focus
- Place grantmaking focus
- Power grantmaking focus
- Policy & Innovation
Watch video of our Chief Impact Officer, Judith Bell talking about our equity grantmaking that was introduced in 2016 and continues to be our north star today.
All In On Housing
At SFF, we are working to build a Bay Area where people of all races and backgrounds can thrive in safe, affordable, and vibrant communities. We cannot make meaningful progress toward equity and inclusive prosperity without addressing the region’s affordable housing crisis.
That is why SFF is all-in on housing.
Collaboratives
Together with our partners, the San Francisco Foundation is tackling challenges to housing, employment, access to transit, and civic participation in the Bay Area. These collaborative efforts allow funders, donors, government agencies, and community organizations to pool resources and expertise to create large-scale, long-term solutions to these challenges. Each of these initiatives advances our goal of creating a more equitable region where everyone has what they need to thrive.
Funding Opportunities
We offer a range of funding opportunities for nonprofits (or fiscally sponsored organizations) in the five Bay Area counties.
Leadership Programs and Awards
The San Francisco Foundation has responded to the challenges and opportunities of the Bay Area for more than 70 years. In that time, we have developed lasting partnerships across communities and invested in long-term transformative work of community leaders and up and coming leaders in neighborhoods throughout the region. These commitments are lived out in the following programs that are integral to the vision of equity in the Bay Area.
Art Programs and Awards
The foundation is proud to bestow a variety of awards in literature, visual arts, film/video and playwriting that help foster innovation and individual artistic growth within our community.
Investments
Through our investments, we advance racial equity and economic inclusion by allocating capital to communities of color and managing our capital through an increasingly diverse set of asset managers. We invest our assets in alignment with our values and with the long-term goal of generating strong investment results.
