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The San Francisco Foundation

Annual Giving
$181.4M
Grant Range
$3K - $0.5M
Decision Time
1mo

The San Francisco Foundation

Quick Stats

  • Annual Giving: $181.4 million (2023)
  • Total Assets: $1.9 billion
  • Success Rate: Not publicly disclosed
  • Decision Time: 30 days (Rapid Response Fund); varies by program
  • Grant Range: $3,000 - $500,000 (up to $10 million for exceptional grants)
  • Average Grant: $100,000
  • Geographic Focus: Five Bay Area counties (Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo)
  • Annual Grantees: Approximately 3,000 nonprofit organizations

Contact Details

Main Office: One Embarcadero Center, Suite 1400 San Francisco, CA 94111

Phone: (415) 733-8500 Fax: (415) 477-2783

Email Contacts:

Website: https://sff.org Funding Page: https://sff.org/what-we-do/funding/

Overview

Founded in 1948, The San Francisco Foundation is one of the nation's largest community foundations with $1.9 billion in assets and annual grantmaking exceeding $180 million. Since 2016, the foundation has operated under a bold "Equity Agenda," making racial equity and economic inclusion in the Bay Area their "north star" for at least a 10-year period. Led by CEO Fred Blackwell since 2014, the foundation has intentionally prioritized race and socioeconomic status in grantmaking, with 82% of funded organizations having BIPOC Executive Directors and 71% being BIPOC-led organizations. The foundation maintains top-quartile 10-year annualized returns among endowments and foundations. In partnership with their donor community, they provide grants to approximately 3,000 nonprofit organizations annually, serving the five Bay Area counties of Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, and San Mateo. The foundation has received a Four-Star rating from Charity Navigator with a perfect 100% score.

Funding Priorities

Grant Programs

Rapid Response Fund for Movement Building

  • Amount: $3,000 - $20,000 (one-time grants)
  • Timeline: Approved grants processed within 30 days; projects must be completed within 6 months
  • Application: Rolling basis through online Grantee Portal
  • Focus: Quick-turnaround funding for frontline social justice organizations responding to urgent, unanticipated events

FAITHS Community Partner Grants

  • Amount: Up to $25,000 (one-year grants)
  • Application: Annual cycle (applications open August 15, deadline September 29)
  • Notifications: February
  • Focus: Congregations and faith-based organizations (501(c)(3) or 501(c)(4)) strengthening communities, particularly those serving low-income communities and people of color

Invitation-Only Grants

  • Much of the foundation's grantmaking is by invitation only, particularly within their Racial Equity program
  • Includes programs in arts, mixed-income transit-oriented development, and workforce development
  • Funding decisions made in partnership with donors, institutional partners, and external committees

Leadership Programs

  • Koshland Young Leader Awards: Up to 12 community leaders receive five-year $300,000 fellowships and grants (San Francisco residents only)
  • Multicultural Fellowship Program: Multi-year developmental program for emerging leaders of color
  • Women of Color, Women of Power Program: Supports Bay Area women of color in leadership roles
  • Murphy Award and Cadogan Scholarship: Visual arts innovation support
  • SFF/Nomadic Press Literary Award: Recognition for poetry, fiction, and non-fiction

Bay Area Community Impact Fund

  • Low-interest, long-term capital for community organizations and small businesses
  • Recent loans totaling $2.4 million for projects focusing on businesses and communities of color

Priority Areas

The foundation's equity agenda focuses on:

  1. Racial Equity - Advancing racial justice across all program areas; primary lens for all grantmaking
  2. Economic Inclusion - Pathways to economic opportunity and financial stability
  3. Housing and Homelessness - Affordable housing solutions and homelessness prevention
  4. Movement Building - Strengthening voice and power of low-income residents and people of color
  5. Community Safety and Legal Defense - Supporting targeted communities including immigrants, LGBTQIA+, and BIPOC communities
  6. Faith-Based Community Organizing - Building power through faith-based organizations
  7. Arts and Culture - Supporting cultural vitality and innovation in the Bay Area

Recent Funded Initiatives:

  • Bese Saka Initiative supporting 18 Black-led organizations
  • Asian American and Pacific Islander organizations standing up against hate
  • Latinx Power Fund
  • Partnership for the Bay's Future focusing on housing policy
  • Black Organizing Project

What They Don't Fund

Rapid Response Fund Exclusions:

  • General operating support
  • Ongoing programs
  • Capital improvements
  • Fundraising events
  • Previously planned campaigns
  • Internal organizational emergencies

FAITHS Program Exclusions:

  • Capital improvements
  • Grants to individuals
  • Event sponsorships

Investment Exclusions (reflecting funding values):

  • For-profit prisons
  • Predatory lenders
  • Fossil fuels
  • Tobacco
  • Firearms retailers

Geographic Restriction: Organizations must be based in or primarily serve one or more of the five Bay Area counties: Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, and San Mateo

Governance and Leadership

CEO

Fred Blackwell has served as Chief Executive Officer since 2014. He renewed the foundation's commitment to social justice through an equity agenda focused on racial and economic inclusion. Blackwell states: "I define [equity] as just and fair inclusion in a society where everyone can participate, prosper, and thrive, regardless of their race or where they live or their family's economic status or any other defining characteristic."

On the foundation's priorities, Blackwell has said: "We need to make sure that everybody has the chance to be a part of the prosperity of our region, regardless of their race or what neighborhood they grew up in. Our challenge as a society is to ensure that everyone has a chance to succeed. This is not just a moral imperative, but it's also an economic necessity."

Regarding the equity agenda: "We've pushed all our chips in the middle of the table around a bold equity agenda for greater racial and economic inclusion in the Bay Area region. That is at least a 10-year focus for the foundation."

Board of Trustees

Chair: David ibnAle, Managing Partner, Advance Venture Partners

Vice Chair: Justina Lai, Chief Impact Officer, Laird Norton Wetherby

Current Trustees:

  • Kimberly Brandon
  • Peter Bratt, Project Lead for The Village SF, Friendship House Association of American Indians
  • Christopher Burnett, President of Long Ridge Foundation and Long Ridge Action Fund
  • Ven. Reverend Miguel Bustos, Manager for Racial Reconciliation and Justice, The Episcopal Church
  • Molly Q. Ford, Vice President of Global Talent Brand Marketing, Salesforce
  • Sergio Garcia, Chief Executive Officer of Garcia Strategic Advisors LLC
  • Holly Kernan, CEO Nashville Public Radio (formerly KQED Chief Content Officer)
  • Yvette Radford, Vice President, External & Community Affairs, Kaiser Permanente
  • Abdi Soltani, Executive Director, ACLU of Northern California
  • Justin Steele, Co-Founder and CTO of Outdoorithm
  • Bob Uyeki

Application Process & Timeline

How to Apply

For Open Application Programs:

The foundation uses an online portal called Fluxx for grant applications.

  1. Visit the funding page at https://sff.org/what-we-do/funding/
  2. Review each fund's eligibility and application requirements
  3. New applicants: Select "create an account" in the Fluxx portal
  4. Past grantees: Select "reset or create new password" to claim your Fluxx account
  5. Complete the online application with required documentation

Rapid Response Fund:

  • Applications accepted on a rolling basis
  • Required uploads: project budget and fiscal sponsor letter (if applicable)
  • Draft applications are deleted after 90 days of inactivity
  • Office Hours: The foundation offers Zoom Office Hours for hands-on support with application questions

FAITHS Community Partner Grants:

  • Applications open: August 15
  • Deadline: September 29
  • Grant notifications: February (via email)
  • Grant period: January 2 start date (12-month grants)

For Invitation-Only Programs: Much of the foundation's grantmaking is by invitation only, particularly within their Racial Equity program. These grants are awarded through trustee discretion, donor partnerships, institutional partnerships, and external committee decisions.

Decision Timeline

Rapid Response Fund: Approved grants processed within 30 days of application submission

FAITHS Program: Approximately 4-5 months from September deadline to February notification

General Timeline: Varies by program; specific timelines not publicly disclosed for invitation-only programs

Notification Method: Email notifications for all programs

Success Rates

The foundation does not publicly disclose detailed application statistics, success rates, or competitiveness data. However, context suggests:

  • The foundation supports approximately 3,000 organizations annually with total grants of $181+ million
  • In 2023, they distributed 1,561 awards
  • Competition is likely substantial given the foundation's reputation and limited open-application opportunities
  • Priority given to small organizations (budgets ≤$500K), grassroots efforts, and BIPOC-led organizations

Reapplication Policy

The foundation does not publish a specific reapplication policy for unsuccessful applicants. Applicants should contact programs@sff.org for guidance on reapplying.

Application Success Factors

What The Foundation Prioritizes

Racial and Economic Equity Framework: The foundation has intentionally prioritized race and socioeconomic status in all grantmaking. Applications must demonstrate:

  • Explicit equity framework addressing unique needs, challenges, and strengths of marginalized communities
  • Clear focus on racial and/or economic inequities
  • Leadership by or strong connections to communities served

For Rapid Response Fund:

  1. Timely and Urgent: Responding to an unanticipated catalyzing event or urgent external challenge
  2. Immediate Impact: Strategic projects with clear timeline, goals, and outcomes that positively affect communities right away
  3. Movement and Power-Building: Explicitly aims to build voice and power of people of color or other marginalized communities
  4. Concrete and Focused: Discrete projects (not ongoing programs) completable within 6 months

Priority Applicants:

  • Small organizations with budgets ≤$500K
  • Grassroots efforts and collaborative initiatives
  • Faith-based organizations
  • Fiscally sponsored projects
  • BIPOC-led organizations (82% of funded organizations have BIPOC Executive Directors)

Organization Characteristics

Based on 2024 grantmaking data:

  • 82% of funded organizations have Executive Directors who identify as BIPOC
  • 71% are BIPOC-led organizations
  • 54% of grants made to organizations headquartered in the Bay Area
  • Strong emphasis on organizations serving low-income communities

Application Quality Factors

Strong Applications Include:

  • Clear description of the urgent need or catalyzing event (for Rapid Response Fund)
  • Specific, measurable outcomes with defined timelines
  • Explicit discussion of how the project addresses racial/economic equity
  • Demonstration of community leadership and power-building approach
  • Realistic project budgets aligned with program guidelines
  • Evidence of organizational capacity to execute quickly and effectively

Supported Project Examples:

  • Protests and solidarity actions with targeted communities (immigrants, LGBTQIA+, BIPOC)
  • Community safety and legal defense initiatives
  • Know-your-rights trainings
  • Healing justice and wellness support
  • Organizing convenings and leadership development
  • Public awareness campaigns

Strategic Considerations

Bay Area grantseekers — particularly developing leaders and nonprofits working in the economic equity space — should keep this funder on their radar.

Given that much grantmaking is invitation-only, organizations should:

  • Build visibility through participation in Bay Area equity-focused networks and coalitions
  • Demonstrate track record of effective community organizing and equity work
  • Maintain updated organizational information in foundation databases
  • Consider starting with open-application programs to establish relationship

Key Takeaways for Grant Writers

  • Equity is non-negotiable: Every application must explicitly address racial and/or economic equity with a clear framework. This is the foundation's "north star" and primary lens for all grantmaking decisions.

  • BIPOC leadership matters: With 82% of funded organizations having BIPOC Executive Directors, leadership composition is a significant factor in funding decisions.

  • Start with open programs: Given extensive invitation-only grantmaking, begin relationship-building through accessible programs like the Rapid Response Fund ($3,000-$20,000) or FAITHS grants (up to $25,000).

  • Speed and urgency for Rapid Response: This fund requires demonstrated urgent need, clear 6-month timelines, and immediate community impact. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis with 30-day processing.

  • Small and grassroots preferred: The foundation explicitly prioritizes organizations with budgets under $500K and grassroots community efforts over larger, established institutions.

  • Movement-building focus: Simply providing services is insufficient; projects must demonstrate how they build power and amplify voices of marginalized communities.

  • Geographic specificity required: Clearly demonstrate how your work serves one or more of the five eligible Bay Area counties (Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo).

References

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