Press Releases
Contacts:
Jenny Park
415-249-5888 / jenny@goldmanfund.org
Amber Whiteside
415-277-4918 / amber@allisonpr.com
November 8, 2011
RICHARD AND RHODA GOLDMAN FUND CONCLUDES GRANTMAKING WITH $4.5 MILLION IN NEW GRANTS
Foundation's 60 Years of Philanthropy Includes $25 Million in Legacy Grants to Select Organizations;
2012 Will Serve as Administrative Year to Wrap Up Transition
SAN FRANCISCO--After six decades of supporting nonprofit organizations in the San Francisco Bay Area and around the world, the Richard and Rhoda Goldman Fund will wrap up its grantmaking with more than $4.45 million in new grants approved by the Fund's Board of Directors on October 17. The latest grants mark the conclusion of the Fund's grantmaking work; 2012 will be an administrative year.
Highlights among the newly approved grants include:
$175,000 to UpStart Bay Area to provide support and raise visibility for Jewish social entrepreneurs;
$300,000 to Corporate Accountability International to reduce the use of bottled water and strengthen municipal tap water systems;
$160,000 to five Israeli nonprofits to support pluralism and freedom from religious coercion in Jerusalem;
$400,000 to the National Abortion Federation to ensure safe access to reproductive health clinics; and
$125,000 in holiday grants to 25 San Francisco nonprofits that serve the homeless, immigrants, domestic abuse victims, at-risk youth and other vulnerable populations.
As part of its closure, the Fund approved $25 million in legacy grants to five organizations that have had long-standing relationships with the Fund and represent issues of personal importance to the Goldman family: Congregation Emanu-El, Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy's Lands End project, the Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco, the Peninsula, Marin and Sonoma Counties, the Richard and Rhoda Goldman School of Public Policy at UC Berkeley, and Stern Grove Festival.
"The Board is committed to making the transition as smooth as possible for everyone involved. Our efforts so far, including the latest set of grants, give every indication that we're well on track to do so," said Amy Lyons, executive director. "This is in no small part because of the Board and staff's hard work. We are all proud of what the Fund has accomplished over the years."
Meanwhile, the Fund is in the early stages of producing a commemorative book to document the philanthropic legacy of the founders and the Richard and Rhoda Goldman Fund. The book is scheduled for completion next spring. The Fund plans to archive its records and memorabilia with the Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life at the University of California, Berkeley's Bancroft Library.
About the Goldman Fund:
Since its establishment in 1951 by San Francisco philanthropists and civic leaders Richard and Rhoda Goldman, the Goldman Fund has contributed more than a half-billion dollars to a variety of charitable causes in San Francisco, as well as nationally and internationally. The Fund supports programs that focus on improving the quality of life in the San Francisco Bay Area, the environment and Jewish affairs.
