CONTACT:
Rebecca Salner, Media Relations Officer
Silicon Valley Community Foundation
650.450.5525 or rsalner@siliconvalleycf.org

COMMUNITY FOUNDATION AWARDS GRANTS FOR REGIONAL PLANNING

MOUNTAIN VIEW — Silicon Valley Community Foundation will award more than $800,000 in grants to improve local and regional planning efforts that are designed to create livable communities for all residents in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties.

Each of the 10 grants awarded is designed to improve local and regional planning processes, increase public involvement in critical planning decisions and raise awareness about the social, environmental and economic benefits of smart growth policies.

By 2035, the Bay Area’s population is expected to increase by nearly 2 million residents, many of whom will be seeking both jobs and housing.

“The question is not whether our region will continue to grow,” said Emmett D. Carson, CEO and president of the community foundation. “The question is will we plan for growth? Land use plans, together with transportation plans, are the most important factors in determining the quality of life and long-term environmental health of our region.”

Without well planned, concentrated development, we run the risk of exacerbating urban sprawl that can encroach on open space, force too many of us to continue to drive too far between our homes, our jobs and needed services, and contribute to increased pollution. Already, more than 100,000 workers commute to Silicon Valley for jobs every day from outside the region.

Carson said the problems caused by such sprawl are particularly acute for communities of color and in socio-economically disadvantaged neighborhoods, where residents without access to a vehicle cannot get to jobs, health care, education or other essential services.

Through its grantmaking, the community foundation is supporting organizations and efforts that promote smart growth policies to reduce traffic and air pollution, create affordable housing and mixed use developments close to transit, and ensure that all communities have access to services.

TransForm received a $112,500 grant to support its efforts to open a satellite office in San José to engage residents in advocating for express bus service in the Santa Clara-Alum Rock corridor. The grant also will help TransForm develop its “Cool Neighbor” certification program, which encourages low-traffic developments. TransForm believes that if residents become engaged, they can change the way development decisions are made.

The Housing Leadership Council of San Mateo County, which will receive an $85,000 grant, plans to recruit and train residents to advocate for mixed income housing and transit oriented development. The Council wants to expand participation by reaching out to low-income and underrepresented communities and to educate residents about the environmental, social and economic benefits of good planning.

Greenbelt Alliance received $75,000 to help it advocate for general plan updates in San Jose, Mountain View and Santa Clara that can become model plans for environmental sustainability, affordability, smart transportation and overall livability. The Alliance wants to ensure that low-income residents and communities of color have a voice in municipal planning and the general plan process based on accurate information.

The full list of grantees is available at www.siliconvalleycf.org

About Silicon Valley Community Foundation
Silicon Valley Community Foundation is a catalyst and leader for innovative solutions to our region’s most challenging problems. Serving all of San Mateo and Santa Clara counties, the community foundation has $1.5 billion in assets under management and 1,500 philanthropic funds. The community foundation provides grants through donor advised and corporate funds in addition to its own Community Endowment Fund. In addition, the community foundation serves as a regional center for philanthropy, providing donors simple and effective ways to give locally and around the world. Silicon Valley Community Foundation launched in January 2007 following the landmark merger of Community Foundation Silicon Valley and Peninsula Community Foundation and is now one of the largest community foundations in the nation. Find out more at www.siliconvalleycf.org.