A Call for Tax Reform is a Call for Equity
The Tax Alliance for Economic Mobility recently sent around a compelling call to action on the issue of national tax reform. As the Tax Alliance clearly and correctly points out, an important goal of our tax system—beyond funding the government—is to aid Americans in developing their financial security. In this goal the system has failed.
Responding Effectively to Disaster
On April 25, a 7.8-magnitude earthquake devastated the country of Nepal. More than 4,600 people lost their lives, thousands more were injured, and much of the nation remains at risk from disease, a lack of basic supplies, and from tremendous psychological trauma. As we’ve seen with other disasters elsewhere in the world, the governmental infrastructures
Cooking Up Big Ideas in The Kitchen
Can you create spaces for people to gather and do Jewish things together that are meaningful, inspirational, and well-designed? Can Judaism be curated? These were questions that Fund grantee The Kitchen wanted to understand. A small group of us pondered these questions over two days with IDEO, the global design and innovation firm based in San
Nonprofits talking tax policy? Why might we do that?
I recently spent the day with colleagues and nonprofit leaders at the CalNonprofits Annual Convention, sharing the stage in a plenary discussion with fellow foundation CEOs on the topic of What Should Philanthropy Be Doing Better? While there I was excited to see a new toolkit in action, the product of a three year collaboration between CompassPoint,
Pam David Quoted in the Chron
Steven Winn’s story, SF Bay Area Philanthropy Runs Deep, which appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle on Sunday October 20, 2013, gives a look back to philanthropy in San Francisco from the Gold Rush to the digital age. Executive Director, Pam David, is quoted in the article remarking on the notable contributions from Jewish philanthropists.
Signing On: Philanthropy’s Promise
The Fund has signed on to Philanthropy’s Promise, the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy’s initiative which values a focus on marginalized communities and high-impact, socially just strategies that promote positive social change. By signing, we are not just underscoring the alignment of our values with a diverse group over 150 of big and small private foundations, corporate foundations,
An Alternative History of the Elise S. Haas Bequest
A little more than 20 years ago, devoted philanthropist and longtime advocate for the arts Elise S. Haas gave a remarkable group of paintings, sculptures, and works on paper to SFMOMA. Join the Fund in reading SFMOMA Assistant Curator of Painting and Sculpture Caitlin Haskell’s investigation of the collection over at the Open Space Blog. Caitlin’s first entry
Six Weeks at the Walter & Elise Haas Fund
The Coro Fellowship in Public Affairs is a nine month, graduate-level experiential leadership training program that prepares individuals for effective and ethical leadership in the public affairs arena through six-week project placements in different sectors. Eunice Kwon is a Coro Fellow placed at the Walter & Elise Haas Sr. Fund. I have one more day
Data That’s Meaningful…
I recently read a highly recommended article by Fay Twersky in the Chronicle of Philanthropy, titled “Keep Charity Evaluation Tests Relevant to the Needs of the People Served“. Fay, a senior advisor to the Hewlett Foundation, is one of the smartest people in the nonprofit sector. She has tremendous experience in small and large scale
