What is your Mission?
San Diego Foundation inspires enduring philanthropy and enables community solutions to improve the quality of life in our region.
What do you offer to the community?
Our strategic priorities include advancing racial and social justice, fostering equity of opportunity, building resilient communities, and delivering world-class philanthropy to realize our vision of just, equitable, and resilient communities. We realize this vision through our partnerships and collaboration with our donors and fundholders, civic and business leaders, and our grantees and local nonprofit organizations. For more than 47 years, SDF and its donors have granted more than $1.4 billion to support nonprofit organizations strengthening our community.
What was your organization/company’s biggest accomplishment in the past six months – one year?
In February 2023, received a historic, transformative unrestricted $100 million cash gift from the estate of local entrepreneur Jay Kahn, the largest-ever gift of its kind to a San Diego nonprofit. The first grants from Kahn’s gift, which is the third-largest gift of its kind to a U.S. community foundation, include $150,000 unrestricted grants to 10 San Diego-based music education nonprofits to advance their work with under-resourced children. Aside from a portion of Kahn’s gift that will support housing and other strategic plan initiatives, more than $86 million will establish the Jay Kahn Endowment Fund at San Diego Foundation so that Kahn’s legacy and impact continue to grow and transform San Diego County in perpetuity.
What event/program or campaign do you have coming up that you would like to share with our readers?
In July, San Diego Foundation will recognize local college students, donors, and the Community Scholarship Program with its annual Scholarship Celebration. SDF anticipates awarding more than $3 million in scholarships this academic year to nearly 1,000 students! The Community Scholarship Program is made possible through the generous donor support of 146 unique charitable funds at San Diego Foundation and is the largest in the region outside of the university system. Since 1997, the program has awarded more than $46 million to more than 12,000 college students from San Diego. Learn more about the SDF Community Scholarship Program.