Walter & Elise
Haas Fund

2023 Annual Report

Investing in a more just and vibrant Bay Area for current and future generations.

Reflections

Looking back at — and learning from — 2023.

From Executive Director, Jamie Allison
and Board Chair, Bradley Haas

Dear Friends,

The last few years have been a time of transformation for the Walter & Elise Haas Fund.

In 2023, we continued to move into stronger alignment with our values – family, possibility, shared responsibility, and belonging – by listening to the needs of our grantee partners and communities. We are grateful to all of you because deeper listening brings greater clarity about how our values must be embodied at every level and in every part of our work. It is clear that when our approach is more holistic and focused on partnerships, the impact of our work is greater.

As funders, we know that our work to listen to and respond to the needs of our grant partners and our communities is more urgent than ever. Our nonprofit partners are continuing boldly forward toward their vision and mission amidst a time of unimaginable hardships and tragic loss, from the continued impacts of COVID and systemic injustice to the ongoing violence in Israel and Gaza. In the face of so much pain and grief, the memory of all those who have lost their lives demands that we speak out and take action. In moments of crisis, philanthropy must take seriously our responsibility to support our nonprofit partners to win, in both the immediate and long-term. That’s why we have made big shifts in our grantmaking and approach that lay the groundwork to create a better future for all of us.

Our values and operational pillars guide all of our work and serve as accountable measures so that we can be in strong relationship with community and that our community knows what to expect from us. Our staff and board are already finding alignment in how we operate. Here are some achievements and practices we hope to take into 2024 and beyond:

  • We are making larger and longer-term grants, such as the Endeavor Fund. We awarded seven leading BIPOC-led nonprofits $3.5 million each over seven years, a new direction that is much more meaningful to nonprofits and the communities they serve.
  • We are integrating our grantmaking portfolios, beginning with the creation of Economic Well-being to help close the racial and gender wealth gap and promote nonprofit well-being. We are planning for another integration in the next year.
  • We are shifting power to young people through youth-led grantmaking and shaping a new model of participatory grantmaking that engages and supports youth as full partners and leaders in our grantmaking on issues affecting them and their peers.
  • We are driving conversations on urgent topics among our peers on nonprofit job quality, with a series of blogs and presentations at conferences. Next year, we will be co-sponsoring a nonprofit worker well-being conference in partnership with James Irvine Foundation and ReWork the Bay of the San Francisco Foundation.

How we do our work is just as important as what we do. That’s why we are taking the following steps:

  • We are making our work less transactional and more transformational by incorporating community voices, and shifting our roles so that our staff can be in community with grantee partners as facilitators, rather than simply decision makers in a top-down sense.
  • We are weaving in trust-based practices, centering community, and building right relationships through all the ways we operate to be accountable to ourselves and our broader community.

In the year ahead, we also plan to be more transparent about how these shifts take shape internally and externally, and how we are embodying these practices. We will be reaching out to you and creating opportunities to receive feedback from grantees as well as our colleagues.

Lastly, this past year was Bradley’s first as Board Chair. We also welcomed three family members as new trustees and a trustee designate to our board. Bradley sees this iteration of the Fund as the living legacy of his great great grandparents and envisions them being proud of how we are taking action for what is needed today and in the future, which is what family philanthropy is all about – connecting generations. Thank you for being with us on this journey.

In partnership,

Jamie Allison, Executive Director

Bradley Haas, Board Chair

Program Areas

The Arts

The Arts Portfolio By Strategy

45 %

Cultural Commons

$ 1,125,000

29 %

Arts
Education

$ 735,000

26 %

Creative
Work Fund

$ 658,500

Organization Strategy Amount
1947 Partition Archive Cultural Commons $50,000
Afrosolo Theatre Company Cultural Commons $500
Afrosolo Theatre Company and Destiny Muhammad Cultural Commons $50,000
Alliance For California Traditional Arts Cultural Commons $100,000
Amateur Music Network Cultural Commons $500
American Conservatory Theatre Foundation Cultural Commons $50,000
ARTogether Cultural Commons $50,000
Audium Incorporated Cultural Commons $500
Bay Area Girls Rock Camp Cultural Commons $50,000
Bayview Hunters Point Center For Arts And Technology Cultural Commons $50,000
Betti Ono Foundation Cultural Commons $50,000
Black Banjo Reclamation Project Cultural Commons $500
Black Women Birthing Justice Inc Cultural Commons $500
Black Women Birthing Justice Inc & Jen Gilomen Cultural Commons $50,000
Brava For Women In The Arts Cultural Commons $50,000
Bridge Live Arts Cultural Commons $75,000
Cal Performances Cultural Commons $50,000
California College Of The Arts Cultural Commons $500
Calle 24 Latino Cultural District Cultural Commons $500
Center For Asian American Media Cultural Commons $500
Chapter 510 Ink Cultural Commons $50,000
Chinese Culture Foundation Of San Francisco Cultural Commons $75,000
Chinese Historical Society Of America Cultural Commons $75,000
Circus Center Cultural Commons $500
Community Resource Initiative Cultural Commons $500
Create California Cultural Commons $60,000
Del Sol Performing Arts Organization Cultural Commons $500
Del Sol Performing Arts Organization & Genny Lim Cultural Commons $50,000
Destiny Arts Center Cultural Commons $50,000
Diamond Wave Cultural Commons $50,000
Earth Lab SF Cultural Commons $500
East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation Cultural Commons $500
El/La Para Translatinas Cultural Commons $500
Emerging Arts Professionals Cultural Commons $500
Emerging Arts Professionals Cultural Commons $75,000
Emerging Arts Professionals & Antwan Williams Cultural Commons $50,000
First Exposures Cultural Commons $50,000
Fresh Meat Productions Cultural Commons $100,000
Galeria Studio 24 Cultural Commons $500
Galeria Studio 24 & Marcel Pardo Ariza Cultural Commons $50,000
Gay Lesbian Bisexual Transgender Historical Society Cultural Commons $500
Gay Lesbian Bisexual Transgender Historical Society and Julián Delgado Cultural Commons $50,000
Golden Gate Audubon Society Inc Cultural Commons $500
Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy Cultural Commons $500
Heyday Cultural Commons $75,000
Immersive Arts Alliance Cultural Commons $500
Jewish Community Center Of San Francisco Cultural Commons $500
Jewish Community Center Of San Francisco & Day Schildkret Cultural Commons $50,000
La Pena Cultural Center Cultural Commons $75,000
Los Cenzontles Mexican Arts Center Cultural Commons $75,000
Magic Theatre Cultural Commons $50,000
New Conservatory Cultural Commons $500
Nihonmachi Little Friends Cultural Commons $500
Nihonmachi Little Friends and Melody Takata Cultural Commons $50,000
Northern California Grantmakers Cultural Commons $50,000
Oakland Leaf Foundation Cultural Commons $50,000
Oaklash Cultural Commons $500
Oaktown Jazz Workshop Cultural Commons $50,000
Palo Alto Art Center Foundation Creative Work Fund $500
Palo Alto Art Center Foundation and Kija Lucas Creative Work Fund $36,000
Performing Arts Workshop Inc Creative Work Fund $500
Petaluma Arts Council Creative Work Fund $500
Petaluma River Park Foundation Inc Creative Work Fund $500
Petaluma River Park Foundation Inc & Kayatta Patton Creative Work Fund $50,000
Queer Cat Productions Creative Work Fund $500
Root Division Creative Work Fund $50,000
San Francisco Arts Education Project Creative Work Fund $500
San Francisco Bay Area Little Brothers – Friends Of The Elderly Creative Work Fund $500
San Francisco Jazz Organization Creative Work Fund $500
School Of Arts And Culture At MHP Creative Work Fund $500
School Of Arts And Culture At MHP & Francisco Ramirez Creative Work Fund $50,000
Sonoma Community Center Creative Work Fund $500
Sonoma County Synagogue Center Creative Work Fund $500
South Of Market Community Action Network Creative Work Fund $500
Surfrider Foundation Creative Work Fund $500
Teatro Vision Creative Work Fund $500
Teatro Vision and Yosimar Reyes Creative Work Fund $50,000
The 500 Capp Street Foundation Creative Work Fund $500
The Center For Cultural Innovation Creative Work Fund $50,000
The Women’S Hiv Program At Ucsf Creative Work Fund $500
Tibetan Association Of Northern California Creative Work Fund $50,000
Ubuntu Theater Project Inc Creative Work Fund $50,000
Unseen California Creative Work Fund $500
Uptown Tenderloin Inc Creative Work Fund $500
West Edge Opera Creative Work Fund $500
Wholly H2O Creative Work Fund $500
World Arts West Creative Work Fund $500
World Arts West & Eric Solano Creative Work Fund $50,000
Youth Art Exchange Creative Work Fund $75,000

Disaster Resilience

Disaster Resilience Portfolio By Strategy

100 %

Disaster Preparedness

$ 350,000

Organization Strategy Amount
Eden I&R Inc Creative Work Fund $150,000
Legal Access Alameda Creative Work Fund $100,000
San Francisco Community Agencies Responding To Disaster Creative Work Fund $100,000

Economic Well-Being

Economic Well-Being Portfolio By Strategy

73 %

Endeavor Fund

$ 3,605,000

9 %

Policy Grants

$ 450,000

18 %

Possibility Grants

$ 900,000

Organization Strategy Amount
Alameda Health System Foundation Creative Work Fund $100,000
All Due Respect Creative Work Fund $50,000
Bay Area Community Services Inc Creative Work Fund $100,000
Californians For Justice Education Fund Creative Work Fund $3,000
Californians For Justice Education Fund Creative Work Fund $25,000
Coleman Children And Youth Services Creative Work Fund $100,000
Coleman Children And Youth Services Creative Work Fund $25,000
Coleman Children And Youth Services Creative Work Fund $3,000
Communities For A Better Environment Creative Work Fund $100,000
East Bay Alliance For A Sustainable Economy Creative Work Fund $3,500,000
East Bay Alliance For A Sustainable Economy Creative Work Fund $3,000
East Bay Community Law Center Creative Work Fund $3,500,000
East Bay Community Law Center Creative Work Fund $3,000
Education Trust Inc Creative Work Fund $100,000
Fund The People Policy Grants $50,000
La Cocina Policy Grants $3,500,000
La Cocina Policy Grants $3,000
Maven Collaborative Policy Grants $100,000
Mypath Policy Grants $25,000
Mypath Policy Grants $3,000
Oakland Kids First Policy Grants $3,000
Oakland Kids First Policy Grants $3,500,000
Oakland Promise Policy Grants $3,500,000
Oakland Promise Policy Grants $3,000
Oakland Unified School District Policy Grants $100,000
Oasis For Girls Policy Grants $50,000
People Organizing To Demand Environmental & Economic Rights Policy Grants $100,000
Rework The Bay Policy Grants $100,000
San Francisco Rising Policy Grants $100,000
San Francisco Unified School District Policy Grants $150,000
Sustainable Economies Law Center Policy Grants $50,000
Young Womens Freedom Center Policy Grants $3,000
Young Womens Freedom Center Policy Grants $3,500,000
Youth Organize! California Policy Grants $3,500,000
Youth Organize! California Policy Grants $3,000

Jewish Life

Jewish Life Portfolio By Strategy

77 %

Building Partnerships for Social Justice

$ 1,555,000

23 %

Diversity is
a Strength

$ 475,000

Organization Strategy Amount
Anti-Defamation League Policy Grants $150,000
Dayenu: A Jewish Call To Climate Action Policy Grants $300,000
Glide Foundation Policy Grants $125,000
Graduate Theological Union Policy Grants $75,000
Interfaith America Policy Grants $100,000
Interfaith Council Of Alameda County Policy Grants $60,000
Islamic Networks Inc Policy Grants $60,000
Jewish Community Federation of SF, Marin, Peninsula & Sonoma Counties Policy Grants $100,000
Jewish Community Relations Council Of San Francisco Marin & Peninsula Policy Grants $100,000
Jews Of Color Initiative Policy Grants $150,000
Join For Justice Inc Policy Grants $100,000
Kairos Center for Religions, Rights and Social Justice Policy Grants $25,000
New Pluralists Policy Grants $150,000
Philanthropy For Active Civic Engagement Policy Grants $25,000
Shalom Bayit Policy Grants $60,000
T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights Policy Grants $100,000
The LUNAR Collective Policy Grants $50,000
Union For Reform Judaism Policy Grants $100,000
Urban Adamah Policy Grants $50,000
Western States Center Policy Grants $100,000
Wilderness Torah Policy Grants $50,000

Racial Justice

Racial Justice Portfolio By Strategy

59 %

Health &
Well-Being

$ 500,000

41 %

Community Organizing

$ 350,000

Organization Strategy Amount
AAPI Force-EF Policy Grants $50,000
Artist As First Responder Policy Grants $50,000
Asian Pacific Fund Policy Grants $50,000
Black Citizen Policy Grants $50,000
Black Cultural Zone Community Development Corporation Policy Grants $50,000
Black Organizing Project Inc Policy Grants $50,000
Chinese Progressive Association Policy Grants $50,000
East Oakland Collective Policy Grants $50,000
Ella Baker Center For Human Rights In California Policy Grants $50,000
Greenlining Institute Policy Grants $50,000
Homeless Childrens Network Policy Grants $50,000
LUNAR Policy Grants $50,000
Next River Policy Grants $50,000
OCCUR Policy Grants $50,000
Planting Justice Policy Grants $50,000
Sogorea Te’ Land Trust Policy Grants $50,000
Urban Ed Academy Policy Grants $50,000

Safety Net

Safety Net Portfolio By Strategy

15 %

Information & Referral

$ 30,000

32 %

Legal Services

$ 65,000

54 %

Direct Services

$ 110,000

Organization Strategy Amount
A Safe Place Policy Grants $30,000
Bayview Hunters Point YMCA Policy Grants $10,000
Eden I & R Inc Policy Grants $30,000
International Rescue Committee Inc Policy Grants $30,000
Legal Aid Association Of California Policy Grants $30,000
Legal Link Policy Grants $35,000
Mei Fong And Associates Policy Grants $30,000
Raphael House Of San Francisco Inc Policy Grants $10,000

Mission-Related

Mission-Related Portfolio By Strategy

17 %

Board & Staff

$ 354,886

33 %

Capital

$ 700,000

18 %

Field-Building

$ 385,560

32 %

Responsive Grants

$ 675,000

Organization Strategy Amount
Able Works Policy Grants $5,000
Access Reproductive Justice Policy Grants $10,000
Alliance For Justice Policy Grants $5,000
Artists Television Access Policy Grants $10,000
Bay Area Young Survivors Policy Grants $50,000
Black Funders Network Of The Bay Area Policy Grants $45,000
Boardsource Policy Grants $20,000
Candid Policy Grants $15,000
Center For Effective Philanthropy Inc Policy Grants $25,000
Color Congress Policy Grants $120,000
CTE TAY Hub Policy Grants $400,000
East Bay Community Foundation Policy Grants $50,000
Emerging Practitioners In Philanthropy Policy Grants $30,000
Environmental Grantmakers Association Policy Grants $3,560
Gamelan Sekar Jaya Capital $150,000
Goldman School of Public Policy Capital $150,000
Grantmakers Concerned With Immigrants And Refugees Capital $5,000
Grantmakers For Effective Organizations Capital $6,000
Grantmakers For Effective Organizations Capital $70,000
Grantmakers In The Arts Capital $25,000
Jewish Funders Network Capital $2,500
Justice Funders Capital $12,500
Kingmakers Of Oakland Capital $15,000
Kingmakers of Oakland Capital $75,000
National Center For Family Philanthropy Inc Capital $10,000
New Israel Fund Community Designated Grants $10,000
Northern California Grantmakers Community Designated Grants $50,000
Northern California Grantmakers Community Designated Grants $18,000
PEAK Grantmaking Community Designated Grants $30,000
PEAK Grantmaking Inc Community Designated Grants $3,000
Philanthropy For Active Civic Engagement Community Designated Grants $10,000
Solidaire Network Inc Community Designated Grants $50,000
South West Community Corporation Community Designated Grants $150,000
Urban Clinic Community Designated Grants $90,000

Grantmaking

Economic Well-Being

 $4,955,000

38%

Arts

 $2,518,500

19%

Jewish Life

 $2,030,000

16%

Mission-Related

 $2,115,446

Racial Justice

 $850,000

7%

Disaster Resilience

 $350,000

3%

Safety Net

 $205,000

2%

Detailed 2023 financial information, including audits, tax returns and investment performance, and project descriptions of grants awarded in 2023 can all be accessed on our website.

Allocation

Arts

55%
40%
5%

Disaster Resilience

29%
71%

Economic Well-Being

79%
14%
7%

Jewish Life

57%
36%
7%

Safety Net

85%
15%

Mission-Related

60%
40%

Racial Justice

88%
12%

Total Grantmaking

68%
27%
5%

 General Operating Support  Project Support  Capital