President's Message

Dear Friends and Colleagues:

Looking back at 2010, there is much for which we are grateful. As president of the Board of Trustees, a 4th generation descendant of Walter and Elise Haas, and as an active member of our Bay Area community, I am proud that the organizations we support provide our community with hope, compassion, and strength.

The Walter & Elise Haas Fund board and staff thoroughly understand the importance of providing stability during these turbulent economic times. In order to balance the needs in our community with our commitment to creating a Fund that is sustainable for future generations, in 2010 we both addressed the challenges of this lean year and kept our grantmaking budget close to 2009 levels. In addition, when it became clear that grantees could benefit significantly from the security offered by longer-term grants, we reinstated multiyear grantmaking. Reinstating multiyear grants asserts our confidence in both the work of our grantees and in their ability to provide ongoing service to the community.

In reflecting on the work done by the Fund in 2010, I take the utmost encouragement from our grantees themselves. Our board and staff have been greatly inspired by the innovative, effective, and devoted contributions that nonprofit community organizations provide. We are truly humbled by their efforts.

I also want to make special note of the Fund's very special grants this year honoring the memories of Richard N. Goldman, husband of Rhoda Haas Goldman, and Evelyn D. Haas, wife of Walter A. Haas, Jr. My great-uncle and great-aunt made their own indelible marks on our extended family's philanthropic legacy; San Francisco is a better place because of their wisdom and generosity, and they are deeply missed.

To all of you who join us in striving to build a healthy, just, and vibrant society, I add my heartfelt thanks.

Best regards,


Jennifer C. Haas
President, Board of Trustees