2013 Annual Report

2013 Program Area Highlight | The Arts

Chitrish Das Dance Company

Chitrish Das Dance Company

operates the largest classical Indian dance school outside of India, serving the Bay Area’s extensive demand for ethnically authentic classes and performances. Pulled between their artistic focus and burgeoning administrative requirements, CDDC sought a path towards both cultural and organizational sustainability. That’s why they applied for a 2013 cultural heritage grant from the W&EHF.

This organizational development grant supported the hiring of a full-time Administrative Director plus it helped to overhaul Chitrish Das Dance Company’s financial systems. It allowed CDDC to invigorate its own fundraising capabilities; it helped them to double their donor retention rate; and, on a personal level, it brought Chitrish Das soloists such as Rachna Nivas out of the office and onto the stage where they could present their own work. Through dance and dance instruction, CDDC keeps Indian cultural arts vibrantly present for those striving to remain connected to their cultural heritage.

2013 Program Area Highlight | Economic Security

Earned Assets Resource Network (EARN)

It is a disturbing truth: nearly half of American households lack the funds to survive even a modest emergency, let alone invest in their futures. Supporting low-income families in saving and investing — as Earned Assets Resource Network does — often has a transformative impact on lives. EARN delivers this empowering assistance in its role as one of the country’s largest providers of goal-based savings accounts.

In 2013, with support from the W&EHF, EARN pivoted from providing a cash match and 1 on 1 financial advising to thousands of people to a new model that aims to benefit tens or even hundreds of thousands of people each year. By focusing on developing clients’ financial capability and using technology to serve more people more effectively, EARN continues to advance in its goals — helping low-income people  invest in their own financial stability and increase their self-esteem. This makes a world of difference to EARN clients like Fatou, whose savings habits took her through higher education towards economic security.

2013 Program Area Highlight | Education

New Teacher Center

Research demonstrates that teacher practice increases in effectiveness when teachers have the opportunity to reflect on their work and collaborate with their colleagues. With a grant from the Fund, the New Teacher Center has put this wisdom into practice, developing a San Francisco Unified School District-wide teacher coaching network. This network, constructed in partnership with the district, supplies teachers with a systemic and effective approach to professional development.

Since 2013, the New Teacher Center and the SFUSD have been progressively expanding their local offerings. NTC—known for its focus on new teachers—here works not only with teachers, but also trains instructional coaches and collaborates with district and school leaders. The San Francisco office of New Teacher Center has also become a center of innovation, testing and implementing new practices in partnership with schools and districts. SFUSD teachers leverage NTC professional development to transform classrooms in underserved schools into the kind of learning environments that aptly meet the needs of diverse students. New Teacher Center continues to champion education with education, improving outcomes for students in underfunded schools.

2013 Program Area Highlight | Jewish Life

Urban Adamah

Community is comprised of individuals, but also of knowledge and environment and intention. From its organic farm in a blighted section of Berkeley, Urban Adamah invests in an ambitious vision for a healthy society. Its young adult Jewish volunteers provide low-income local residents with fresh produce and deliver sustaining education on food justice and health.

The W&EHF’s building partnerships program supports Urban Adamah in forging meaningful connections, including those developed through their weekly free food farmstand, run in conjunction with local social service agencies. More than a hundred families each week participate in the program. Urban Adamah’s fellows such as Ellie Gertler spend three months learning about urban gardening, Jewish tradition, and community building. As part of their experience, fellows intern at local food justice organizations, which work to increase access to healthy food in West Oakland, one of the largest food deserts in the Bay Area.

2013 Program Area Highlight | Other Interests

HOPE SF

Over the decades, public housing has unwittingly but profoundly isolated its residents from mainstream economic, cultural, and civic life. The children who face the widest achievement gap in public schools, the people hardest pressed to earn a living wage, those struggling with a wide range of health issues—they often reside in public housing.

When Federal money to rebuild public housing disappeared, San Francisco community leaders and government officials developed an audacious plan to rebuild our most rundown public housing and reconnect residents to the city. The Walter & Elise Haas Fund offered early and steadfast support to this plan—called HOPE SF—providing both resources and leadership to transform public housing projects into healthy mixed-income neighborhoods. Uniquely among initiatives in other cities, this plan keeps residents’ needs and aspirations central.

HOPE SF focuses on improving residents’ economic mobility, health, safety, and education while providing them with environmentally sound homes. This work advances in conjunction with support for community leadership. One example, the Walking School Bus program, organizes resident adults to escort kids to school, building community cohesion. The program gets students to school on time, reduces absenteeism, and improves participants’ health. While small in scope, the Walking School Bus is emblematic of the way HOPE SF starts with people and builds out from there to nourish community.