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It has been exactly a full year to the day since we announced our five grantmaking strategies for the community foundation’s unrestricted endowment. It also has been a full year since the capital markets started the worst economic downturn in recent history. Now, more than ever, leaders from government and nonprofit organizations have been championing the need for public-private partnerships to help those struggling with the impact of the ongoing recession. I am extremely proud that, in addition to talking about the perceived value of such partnerships, we have moved forward to do this work. Our partnership with San Mateo County to jointly distribute $1 million to safety net organizations is a concrete example of efforts to put our words into action. In addition, the community foundation awarded $500,000 to food and shelter providers in Santa Clara County. The full list of our grantees is posted on our website.

Our Regional Meeting on October 15 will continue this focus on partnerships featuring a panel discussion with experts discussing the impact and challenges of the major shift we are experiencing in the nonprofit sector due to the economic landscape. The panel will be moderated by Mercury News Editorial Page Editor Barbara Marshman, and feature San Mateo County Manager David Boesch; Jeffrey Cheung, president and CEO of OneCalifornia Bank; Michele Jackson, executive director of Shelter Network; Will Lightbourne, director of the social services agency of Santa Clara County; and Renee Saucedo, director of the San Francisco Day Laborer Program. The Regional Meeting is your opportunity to learn more about our work and to network with like-minded donors, professional advisors, local leaders, and corporate and nonprofit partners. I hope you will join us and take part in a reception following the program to continue the discussion. We look forward to seeing you.

During the summer, we had a rare opportunity to host a TechNet Policy Round Table for President Obama’s new chief technology officer, Aneesh Chopra, while he was visiting northern California. The lively discussion focused on job creation and innovation drivers by our region’s top tech CEOs and senior executives. This is one of many public-private efforts to engage our community leaders to identify needs and effect change.

As we look forward to the fall season, we are preparing for our busiest time of year. Our most recently awarded scholarship recipients begin their journey into higher education. Professional advisors in our Valley Council are gathering for their annual member luncheon next week. Our Community Schools Initiative is expanding its impact with a new family engagement component.

We also are releasing our second financial report, Investing In the Common Good, which outlines our investment performance and financial position for 2008. I am delighted that our strong financial controls and engaged board oversight resulted once again in a clean audit. We remain well-positioned to continue our mission of strengthening the common good today and for many years to come.