LETTER FROM THE CEO:
Using Research to Make an Impact

The vision of Silicon Valley Community Foundation is to be a comprehensive center for philanthropy that inspires greater civic participation throughout San Mateo and Santa Clara counties. As I continue to meet with donors and nonprofit groups across our region, I am often asked: What does it mean to be a comprehensive center for philanthropy? My response has been: Communities are not monolithic, and community foundations at their best, should reflect the diverse needs and interests within the community. To some, we are a philanthropic advisor and facilitator of donor gifts. To others, we are a grantmaking institution pursuing local and regional initiatives. For others, we are an information clearinghouse for accurate data about trends affecting our home. Still others see us as a charitable investment house responsible for ensuring strong returns on their charitable capital.  We do and must play all of these roles, and do them well.

In our second year as a new community foundation, we have multiple projects in progress. We are investing in research and surveys that will help us serve donors and our community better, as well as be informed about the challenges facing our region. We continue to award grants across the region and are developing a high-impact grantmaking and initiative program. As a comprehensive center for philanthropy, sharing the data research with partners and others who share this commitment is essential to our work.   

We invite you to learn about a new community issue or stay informed of current challenges through our growing library of resources and to participate in one or both of our upcoming survey projects.

Upcoming Donor Survey!

The community foundation family includes more than 1,500 donors and fund advisors, and we are committed to providing each with a world-class donor experience.  A short, online survey will help us better understand each donor’s experiences, preferences and ideas for the future.    

You will receive a link to the online survey by Friday, March 14. If you do not receive your invitation to participate by this date or have questions about it, please contact Leigh Stilwell, our vice president, donor engagement, by email or by phone at 650.450.5532. Survey responses will be anonymous unless you choose to identify yourself.

Your contributions are important to shaping the experience of all donors to Silicon Valley Community Foundation, and we thank all of you for providing us with important feedback.

Coming soon!  Community Input Project Survey

To augment our official convenings and informal conversations over the past year with the Community Input Project, we will launch an online community survey of issue areas later this month. Donors and community groups are encouraged to share their ideas through the survey; it will be available on our website. The survey information will be an important component – along with data from our nine strategic conversations and a comprehensive review of prior research and reports – as we create strategies and funding directions for our new community foundation.  Questions about the community survey should be directed to Erica Wood, vice president, community initiatives, convening and research by email or phone at 650.450.5536  

Our strategic conversations brought together community leaders to hear from national and regional experts and identified promising approaches to challenges involving affordable housing, arts and culture, child and youth development, civic engagement, community economic development, education, environment, health and immigration. Much of this research, including issue briefs, meeting summaries and video presentations, is available on our website for donors, community groups and others who are dedicated to investing time and resources in our community.

Release of National Report: 2008 Silicon Valley Index

We are excited that, through our new partnership with Joint Venture: Silicon Valley Network, we will be able to enhance the nationally recognized 2008 Silicon Valley Index and use the research to illuminate our work. Click here to download a copy of the report.

The Index measures the strength and challenges of our region’s economy and the health of the community in five distinct areas and across 40 different indicators.  It provides an analytical foundation for leadership and decision making, and for the first time, includes data and statistics on San Mateo County.

This year the Index tells us that some in our region are thriving, some are doing better and some are not. Those in the middle are getting squeezed, as economic turbulence forces them to move between jobs and work for firms that offer fewer benefits. 

Armed with this latest data and information, we have immense opportunity to make a difference in our community. In a large sense, the Index is a wake-up call for all of us that we must work across sectors to address the complex challenges facing our region, especially for families with the fewest resources.

The value and relevance of this research is evidenced by coverage in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and International Herald Tribune and the attendance of 1,100 people at the State of the Valley conference which was sponsored by the community foundation. 

Blue Ribbon Commission on Ending Homelessness and Solving the Affordable Housing Crisis

Anyone who has reviewed the Index or our Affordable Housing issue brief understands why we hosted a briefing on a plan by Santa Clara County’s Blue Ribbon Commission to end homelessness and solve the affordable housing crisis.  More than 40 donors and community leaders met at our headquarters in Mountain View and discussed the innovative approaches the Commission is putting forward.  Our work with the Commission helps demonstrate some of the ways we are working to inspire even greater civic participation and to convene people who want to make a difference in our region. If you would like more information on how to get involved, please contact Ellen Clear, vice president, grantmaking by email or phone at 650.450.5537.

Investing, participating and sharing good research is just one of the ways we are committed to serving as a partner and resource to those who want to make our community a better place. I hope you will participate in our research projects and take full advantage of the many tools, resources and staff expertise available through the community foundation.

Emmett D. Carson, Ph.D.
CEO and President