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Tipping Point Community

Annual Giving
$31.0M
Grant Range
$10K - $1.0M

Tipping Point Community

Quick Stats

  • Annual Giving: $24.5 million (2023); $31 million (2024)
  • Success Rate: Not publicly disclosed
  • Decision Time: Not publicly disclosed (selective invitation process)
  • Grant Range: $10,000 - $1,000,000+
  • Geographic Focus: San Francisco Bay Area (Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara counties)

Contact Details

Address: 220 Montgomery Street, Suite 850, San Francisco, CA 94104
Phone: 415-348-1240
Email: info@tippingpoint.org
Website: https://tippingpoint.org

Overview

Founded in 2005 by Daniel Lurie, Tipping Point Community is a San Francisco Bay Area poverty-fighting organization with assets supporting $24.5-31 million in annual grantmaking. The organization finds, funds, and strengthens the most promising poverty-fighting solutions so everyone in the Bay Area can prosper. Tipping Point operates through four key impact areas—Housing, Early Childhood, Education, and Employment—paired with policy and systems change work. Since Sam Cobbs became CEO in January 2020, the organization has expanded its approach to include both direct service grantmaking and policy work to disrupt the conditions that hold poverty in place. In 2024, Tipping Point's grantees impacted 91,000 Bay Area residents, and the organization and its grantees advocated for over $280 million in additional funding for anti-poverty programs. The organization operates on a unique funding model where board members cover all operating costs, ensuring 100% of donor contributions go directly to poverty-fighting solutions.

Funding Priorities

Grant Programs

Tipping Point funds organizations across four impact areas with approximately 48 portfolio grantees plus project-based investments:

  • Employment (12 portfolio grantees): Organizations providing occupational skills training for career-track, in-demand quality jobs, plus policy efforts strengthening paid work-based learning opportunities for job seekers facing structural barriers
  • Housing (11 portfolio grantees): Direct-service organizations and systems-change efforts for neighbors experiencing or at risk of homelessness, with priority on targeted prevention, supporting Black and Latinx San Franciscans, and accountability/transparency in the homelessness response system
  • Education (13 portfolio grantees): Programs supporting educational advancement from high school through college, with emphasis on first-generation students and college completion
  • Early Childhood (12 portfolio grantees): Organizations helping low-income pregnant people, parents, caregivers, infants and toddlers, prioritizing Alameda, Contra Costa, and Santa Clara counties
  • Project Investments: Targeted initiatives such as youth homelessness prevention (partnership with Visa Foundation) and family homelessness prevention

Application Method: Rolling basis through online interest form; grants awarded upon board approval following rigorous vetting process

Priority Areas

  • Unrestricted and flexible funding to maximize nonprofit impact
  • Organizations led by people of color (explicitly prioritizing Black, Latinx, AAPI, and Indigenous-led organizations historically underinvested in by philanthropy)
  • Organizations with proven track records and data systems to collect, analyze, and utilize performance metrics
  • Organizations serving Bay Area counties: Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara
  • Both well-established and early-stage organizations (minimum: completed pilot program)
  • Policy and systems change efforts alongside direct service delivery

What They Don't Fund

  • Organizations outside the six-county Bay Area focus
  • Programs without completed pilot versions
  • Organizations unable to demonstrate metrics and data collection capabilities
  • Programs outside the four impact areas (Housing, Early Childhood, Education, Employment)

Governance and Leadership

Current Leadership:

  • Sam Cobbs, CEO (since January 2020): Brings over 25 years of nonprofit experience focused on fighting poverty and serving vulnerable populations. Cobbs has stated, "Our goal is to make a measurable difference—to use our experience to work with intention and urgency to defeat poverty," and "The systems that are perpetuating poverty are not broken, they were built this way. On purpose."
  • Daniel Lurie, Board Chair and Founder: Founded Tipping Point in 2005, stepped down as CEO in 2020. Lurie explained his founding vision: "I saw a need in the Bay Area for an organization to get people engaged and involved in giving back. Tipping Point Community was built to fill that need." He chose the name because "I liked Malcolm Gladwell's notion that a few passionate people with a good idea can spark change, big change."
  • Brandi Hudson, Leadership Council Chair

Board Composition: Board of Directors includes local philanthropists such as former San Francisco 49ers player Ronnie Lott and Katherine August deWilde. The Board covers all fundraising and operational costs, ensuring every dollar donated supports poverty-fighting solutions in the Bay Area.

Key Leadership Philosophy: CEO Sam Cobbs emphasizes accountability and systemic change: "We can no longer point our finger at broken, blameless systems. The system is made up of people, including each of us, who make decisions every day." Under his leadership, Tipping Point has been "deliberate in our funding, support, and measurement. Our work is purposeful."

Application Process & Timeline

How to Apply

Tipping Point does not have a traditional open grant application process. Instead, they use a selective invitation-based approach:

  1. Initial Contact: Organizations complete an online interest form available at https://tippingpoint.org/strategy/bay-area-grant-seekers/
  2. Staff Review: A team member will contact organizations that align with funding priorities if they are actively searching for new portfolio grantees or projects
  3. Due Diligence Process: If interested, staff arranges an informational site visit and conducts rigorous due diligence examining program models, leadership teams, financials, and metrics
  4. Board Recommendation: Staff makes funding recommendations to the Board of Directors for final approval

Important Note: Tipping Point accepts unsolicited letters of inquiry through their interest form, but funding is highly selective and based on active search for organizations meeting specific criteria.

Decision Timeline

Tipping Point does not publish specific decision timelines. The process includes:

  • Initial interest form submission
  • Staff review and outreach (timing varies based on active search priorities)
  • Site visit and due diligence period (if selected for further consideration)
  • Board approval and grant award

Organizations should expect a thorough, multi-month vetting process rather than a quick turnaround.

Success Rates

2023 Statistics: 85 grants awarded totaling $24,489,583

While Tipping Point does not publish application success rates, the organization maintains a selective portfolio approach. With approximately 48 core portfolio grantees plus project-based investments, competition for new portfolio spots is significant. The rigorous vetting process suggests a highly competitive selection environment.

Reapplication Policy

Not publicly disclosed. Given Tipping Point's portfolio model emphasizing long-term partnerships and multi-year support, unsuccessful applicants may be considered in future funding cycles as the organization's strategic priorities evolve.

Application Success Factors

Based on Tipping Point's documented selection criteria and organizational priorities:

Proven Track Record & Data Infrastructure:

  • Organizations must have "completed, at minimum, a pilot version of their program"
  • Must demonstrate systems to "collect, analyze, and utilize data"
  • Tipping Point "funds organizations that have proven successes"
  • Evaluation includes "incredibly thorough vetting of organizational infrastructure, performance, and leadership"

Leadership Diversity:

  • Strong priority for organizations "led by people of color"
  • Explicit recognition that "Black, Latinx, AAPI, and indigenous-led organizations have historically been underinvested in by philanthropy"

Alignment with Impact Areas:

  • Clear fit within Housing, Early Childhood, Education, or Employment focus areas
  • Demonstrated approach to poverty-fighting with measurable outcomes
  • Geographic focus on six Bay Area counties (Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara)

Organizational Strength:

  • Strong leadership teams
  • Sound financial management (Lurie has stated: "If a group has performed poorly or if a group has mismanaged funds, we cut them immediately")
  • Metrics-driven approach to program evaluation
  • Both direct service delivery and/or policy/systems change orientation

Strategic Approach:

  • Evidence of models that can scale or achieve systemic impact
  • Alignment with Tipping Point's philosophy of disrupting "the conditions that hold poverty in place"
  • Capacity to utilize unrestricted funding effectively

Current Portfolio Examples: Recent additions include Rising Sun Center for Opportunity (Oakland-based climate-ready workforce development for low-income individuals, particularly women, justice-impacted people, and youth). Long-term partnerships include College Track (grew from 25 ninth graders in East Palo Alto to nearly 5,500 scholars nationwide with Tipping Point support).

Key Takeaways for Grant Writers

  • Portfolio model, not open application: Tipping Point seeks organizations to join a selective portfolio through an interest form process, not traditional grant cycles. Success requires strategic alignment with active search priorities.
  • Unrestricted funding prioritized: Tipping Point provides unrestricted and flexible funding, allowing organizations maximum programmatic control. Demonstrate capacity to steward unrestricted funds effectively.
  • Data and metrics are non-negotiable: Organizations must have proven systems to collect, analyze, and utilize performance data. Pilot programs are minimum requirement; established track records strengthen candidacy.
  • Diversity in leadership is a priority: Organizations led by people of color—particularly Black, Latinx, AAPI, and Indigenous leaders—receive explicit prioritization in funding decisions.
  • Multi-year partnership approach: Tipping Point evaluates organizations annually and provides ongoing support including strategic planning and leadership development, not just one-time grants. Demonstrate readiness for deep partnership.
  • Bay Area focus is strict: Geographic eligibility limited to six counties (Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara). Organizations must serve this region.
  • Systems change matters: Under CEO Sam Cobbs, Tipping Point increasingly values organizations working on both direct service and policy/systems change to address root causes of poverty.

References

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