Dear Friends and Colleagues,

The past year has been one of growth and transition for all of us at the Walter & Elise Haas Fund. As we faced a series of challenges in responding to shifts in public policy, and as we continued to see costs of living in the Bay Area soar, we channeled those concerns into commitment and action.

Working in partnership with our peers in philanthropy and government, the Fund continued to address the barriers to equity in the Bay Area. We renewed our support for HOPE SF, a project redefining how public housing can support thriving communities. Responding to growing need, we increased our support for the vital safety net services that keep families fed, safe, and housed. In Oakland, the Fund supported ICA Fund Good Jobs, a project that helps develop small businesses so those businesses can bolster the community with the kind of good jobs that offer benefits and advancement opportunity.

In public schools, the Walter & Elise Haas Fund celebrated the successes of programs like Trellis Education, which trains and supports a growing field of STEM teachers unburdened by education debt. We see, with the benefit of perspective and time, how the seed funding we offered to nascent Jewish organizations in previous years has helped launch a new wave of compelling, exciting organizations built around inclusivity and multi-faith collaboration. Capital projects also received Fund support in 2018, such as our grant to the Community Arts Stabilization Trust (CAST), which helps non-profit arts organizations continue to serve San Franciscans in the face of rising real estate costs.

All of this work, and more like it, comes thanks to the strength and commitment of our community. As the Board President of the Walter & Elise Haas Fund, I fully understand how the lion’s share of the effort — and the credit — belongs to the grantees we are honored to support.

I also want to extend my gratitude to Jamie Allison, who is now starting her second year as the Fund’s Executive Director. We, the trustees, appreciate her thoughtfulness, patience, good humor, and judgement as she stepped into the lead role at the Fund.

On behalf of the Walter & Elise Haas Fund, thank you for working alongside us.

Sincerely,
Peter E. Haas, Jr.
Board President

Dear Friends,

Joining the Walter & Elise Haas Fund has been — and continues to be — a privilege and a joy. I’ve been blessed to join a compassionate and effective philanthropic organization with a longstanding record of bringing access and opportunity to all Bay Area residents.

As I integrated myself into the Fund’s work in 2018, I joined my new colleagues in supporting the arts, economic security, education, Jewish life, and safety net services. You can gain some additional insight into where and how we’ve focused efforts in each of those program areas over the past year in this report.

In my first year as executive director, the staff, trustees, and I took the opportunity to reassess the Fund’s work with fresh eyes. We reevaluated everything from our internal procedures to the impact we want to make through grantmaking. In one such instance, we undertook a review of Safety Net grantmaking over that program’s first ten years. Sadly, the need for basic support — food and housing — was even greater in 2018 than it was during the peak of the 2008 recession, when the program was launched.

Median rents and the Self-Sufficiency Standard both increased by nearly 50% in the past decade. As one result of this, the number of San Francisco Unified School District students experiencing homelessness also increased — by nearly 200%. Seeing this cascading growth in demand reinforced our commitment to continuing and even increasing the budget of our Safety Net Program, which had been envisioned as temporary.

The challenges before us are great, but we are not discouraged. We are invigorated by our work with you to make the Bay Area more just, vibrant, and healthy.

During 2018, I met many of the leaders connected to the Fund. And the more I learn about your work, the greater my optimism about what comes next. There is an incredible spirit among Fund grantees. Your resourcefulness and creativity are deeply uplifting.

I’m joyful that the community, board, and staff of the Fund have welcomed me so warmly and that you all continue to offer such an estimable example of what heart and will can accomplish.

Thank you for including me in this work.

Jamie Allison
Executive Director