Silicon Valley Community Foundation (SVCF)

Preparation for Census 2020: Leading up to the 2020 census, SVCF distributed more than $1.9 million in grants to 70 local organizations working at the grassroots level to encourage participation in the census and ensure an accurate count. Funding focused on hard-to-count populations and regions, including elderly residents and the rural San Mateo County coast, where nonprofits deployed trusted messengers to get the word out. Housing: In 2019, SVCF worked to protect, preserve and produce affordable housing in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties. Key strategies included local grantmaking, collaborating with corporate partners, focusing on preventing homelessness and supporting safety-net services to keep families in their homes. SVCF hosted Governor Gavin Newsom and a group of more than a dozen CEOs of the top local companies to gain more corporate commitments to improving housing availability in the high-priced Bay Area. Fighting systemic injustices in our region: After two years of advocacy activities by SVCF and partners, in 2019, Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 41, making it illegal to use gender and race to determine the compensation victims and families are awarded in civil cases involving injury and death. Responding to local tragedy: Within hours of the tragic Gilroy Garlic Festival shooting in July 2019, SVCF responded by establishing a relief fund in collaboration with Gilroy Foundation. SVCF administered more than $1.9 million in donations. As intended by donors, 100% of funds went directly to those affected: 22 injured victims or families of victims who died from gunfire, and to 98 additional victims who received hardship support.