San Francisco Foundation

OVERVIEW: The San Francisco Foundation is one of the largest community foundations in the nation and funds a broad range of equity-focused nonprofit organizations in the Bay Area.

IP TAKE: This is a major funder in the Bay Area of California. Grantseekers should note that funding opportunities change and evolve frequently and that it is worthwhile to check the foundation’s funding opportunities page often, as most programs run open application programs with varying guidelines and due dates. This is an accessible, transparent funder.

PROFILE: Created in 1948, the San Francisco Foundation is a community foundation that serves San Francisco, Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, and San Mateo counties. It was founded by several prominent citizens to promote racial equity and economic inclusion. It seeks to “mobilize resources and act as a catalyst for change to build strong communities, foster civic leadership, and promote philanthropy in the San Francisco Bay Area.” Today, the foundation’s grantmaking focuses on racial equity, community faith-based organizations and rapid response grants for movement building. The foundation also makes low-interest investments community organizations and small businesses and runs awards programs for the San Francisco area’s impactful artists and young leaders.

Grants for Community Development and Racial Equity

SFF’s community grants, as with all of its other grantmaking, emphasizes racial equity and inclusion. Grants are often focused on job training, and employable skill building. Foreclosure prevention, mental health and providing quality affordable housing are also key topics.

FAITHS Community Partner Grants works to support local congregations and faith-based organizations to strengthen the community and increase racial and economic equity in the region. The program prioritizes funding for groups that “serve low-income communities and people of color in one or more of five Bay Area counties (Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, and San Mateo)” and “provide programs for underserved communities (e.g. low-income people of color, systems involved and/or formerly incarcerated residents, low-wage workers, youth, homeless individuals, seniors, and immigrants).” Grant amounts range from $6,000 to $8,000 for a one-year grant and $6,000 to $16,000 for a two-year grant.
SFF’s Racial Equity grantmaking is centered on four interconnected funding initiatives: People Grantmaking, Place Grantmaking, Power Grantmaking, Policy and Innovation. People Grantmaking works to help “Bay Area residents […] make a good living and build long-term financial well-being for their families and communities.” It does this by focusing on Creating Just Laws and Practices, Building Worker Power, and Building Community Wealth. The Place Grantmaking initiative’s efforts include “protecting tenants from evictions, preventing homelessness, preserving affordable places to live, and producing new housing for people across the region.”
- Power Grantmaking supports Strengthening Grassroots Community Organizing, Developing the Next Generation of Leaders, and Promoting Voter Engagement.
- Policy and Innovation includes “affordable housing, worker rights (including immigrant worker rights), and fines and fees related to the criminal legal system.’ It funds research and data gathering and makes grants for what it calls the “3Ps housing strategy”: the protection, preservation, and production of affordable housing. Applications for these four initiatives are accepted by invitation only, although grantseekers can find information about funding cycles on the website as they open.
The Rapid Response Fund for Movement Building grants provide “quick-turnaround funds to frontline social justice organizations that are strengthening the voice and power of low-income residents and people of color.” They provide one-time grants between $3,000–$20,000 for “discreet projects” of no more than six months duration. Funded projects must benefit residents Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco and/or San Mateo counties. FAQ for these grants are here, and guidelines for applying are here.
The Koshland Program and the Koshland Young Leader Awards program were created to support community leaders in San Francisco. Each year, the former awards up to 12 community leaders with a five-year $300,000 fellowship and grant with which to support community projects. The latter awards 11 San Francisco Unified School District juniors with $10,000 each to fund tuition and/or education-related expenses.

Grants for Visual Arts, Theater, and Writing

The foundation supports Bay Area artists and arts organizations through its Art Awards programs. In a break from previous years’ grantmaking, the foundation has expanded its purview beyond the visual arts and its arts focus areas now include literature, visual arts, theater, and playwriting.

The Artistic Hubs Cohort program works to help offset the rising cost of living and working in the Bay Area. It supports arts organizations and cultural programs by providing general operating support and technical assistance for up to 15 arts organizations that “advance racial and economic equity and serve as cultural anchors for underserved communities.” Supported organizations represent a variety of artistic styles and genres, budget sizes, and locations within the five Bay Area counties. Support is by invitation only, and unsolicited requests for funding are not accepted.
The foundation supports creative writing and the literary arts through its SFF/Nomadic Press Literary Awards. The award recognizes 20 writers with $5,000 for their outstanding work in poetry, fiction, and non-fiction. The literary award is not administered by SFF, but applicants can submit their work via Nomadic Press’ website here.
The foundation supports theater and playwriting through the Rella Lossy Award, which goes to recognize an emerging playwright’s unproduced script that will premiere at a Bay Area theater within a given year.
The Jack K. and Gertrude Murphy Award and the Edwin Anthony and Adalaine Boudreaux Cadogan Scholarships support Bay Area Master of Fine Arts students. Grant amounts for Murphy Award and the Cadogan Scholarships vary with each award season, but in the past amounts were $40,000 and $6,5000 respectively. Winners’ work will be displayed in a professionally curated exhibition at SOMArts Cultural Center. Apply here.

Grants for Higher Education

The San Francisco Foundation does not list higher education as one of its grantmaking priorities, but its past grantmaking history reveals that it makes substantial grants in this space. Previous grantees that have received more than $1 million include University of California at Berkeley Foundation, Dartmouth College, University of California at Santa Cruz Foundation, Harvard College, and Stanford University. Dozens of other colleges and universities have received gifts in the tens of thousands, with several falling in the hundreds of thousands of dollars range.

Grants for LGBTQ

While the foundation does not provide specific program details for LGBTQ support, past grantmaking broadly indicates that organizations, programs, and projects operating in this space are an important part of its mission. Previous grantees include the Oakland LGBTQ Community Center, the Transgender, Gender Variant and Intersex Justice Project and the Lavender Youth Recreation and Information Center.

Important Grant Details:

The San Francisco Foundation maintains over $1 billion in assets and makes over $100 million in grants a year. Grants generally range from $5,000 to $500,000, with grants over $1 million made only occasionally.

The foundation’s average grant size is about $30,000. SFF’s grantees include a broad range of large, well-established nonprofits and smaller community-led groups. The foundation does not support capital improvements, event sponsorships, political campaign contributions, or make grants to individuals.
Grantmaking is mainly limited to the San Francisco area; however, it does occasionally fund groups outside of the state.
For additional information about past grantmaking, see the foundation’s recent Financial Reports. Grantseekers can apply to most grants via the foundation’s Grantee Portal.

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