Current Social Investments
Silicon Valley Children's Fund
San Jose,CA (www.svcf.org)
Executive Director: Minh Ngo-Gonzalez
Grant Year: 2007 (Affinity)
Silicon Valley Children’s Fund is a known catalyst and respected partner in developing support model programs for the abused, neglected and abandoned children who come to the Children’s Shelter and live in our community. SVCF was awarded $50,000 by the Self-Reliance Affinity Group for their Middle School Foster Youth Program.
Center for Resource Solutions (CRS)
San Francisco, CA (www.resource-solutions.org)
President: Dr. Jan Hamrin
Grant Year: 2007 (Affinity)
The Center for Resource Solutions is a national nonprofit working to build a robust renewable energy market by increasing the demand for and supply of renewable resources.They have been awarded $50,000 by the Environment Affinity Group to enable them to ensure that California's climate change policies incorporate individual actions taken by forward-thinking corporations and individuals.
International Development Exchange (IDEX)
San Francisco, CA (www.idex.org)
Executive Director: Pete Stanga
Grant Year: 2007 (Affinity)
IDEX partners with grassroots groups in Africa, Asia, and Latin America while actively engaging and educating North Americans in the challenges facing communities in these regions. Since 1985, IDEX has channeled over $3.3 million to fund more than 500 self-help community projects working for social change and economic independence for people, particularly women, indigenous people and youth, who earn less than $1 a day. IDEX has been awarded $30,000 by the International Affinity Group to engage rural impoverished Indian and Mexican women in solutions to their own local economic development challenges.
Unitus
Redmond, WA (www.unitus.com)
President and CEO: Geoff Davis
Grant Year: 2007 (Affinity)
Unitus fights global poverty by using a venture capital model to increase access to microfinance. They work to accelerate the growth of the world's highest-potential emerging microfinance institutions. By providing capital investments and capacity-building consulting, they empower these organizations to scale and provide life-changing financial services to dramatically more of the world's working poor. Unitus was awarded $20,000 by the International Affinity Group to assist their work in fighting global poverty through microfinance.
Positive Coaching Alliance
Palo Alto, CA (http://www.positivecoach.org)
Executive Director: Jim Thompson
Grant Year 1: 2007 (STRENGTH)
Positive Coaching Alliance (PCA) believes that winning is a goal in youth sports, but there is a second, more important goal of using sports to teach life lessons through positive coaching. PCA provides live, research-based training workshops and practical tools for coaches, parents and leaders who operate youth sports programs. Their STRENGTH grant will be used to support the growth of PCA’s trainer corps in additional cities, standardizing trainer workshops and integrating more multimedia into their training materials.
Bay Area Women's Sports Initiative (BAWSI)
Santa Clara, CA (http://www.bawsi.org/)
CEO: Marlene Bjornsrud
Grant Year 1: 2007 (STRENGTH)
BAWSI strives to create programs and partnerships through which women athletes bring health, hope and wholeness to the Bay Area community. Founded in 2005 by Olympic and World Cup soccer stars Brandi Chastain and Julie Foudy and Marlene Bjornsrud, former general manager of the San Jose CyberRays women's professional soccer team, BAWSI provides a meaningful path for women athletes to become a more visible and valued part of the Bay Area sports culture. BAWSI's STRENGTH grant will support a replication of BAWSI after-school girl’s exercise program in San Mateo County by utilizing college-aged female athletes as coaches at four elementary schools. It will also support the development of ongoing program replication strategy, and improvements in information technology infrastructure.
Family Connections
Menlo Park, CA (www.familyconnections.org)
Executive Director: Renee Zimmerman
Grant Year 1: 2007 (STRENGTH)
Family Connections is a tuition-free parent participation preschool for low-income families in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties. Their mission is to empower parents with positive parenting skills and prepare children for success in elementary school. Family Connections will use their STRENGTH grant to improve their information technology infrastructure, update and expand marketing and communications tools, and secure physical office space.
San Jose Conservation Corps and Charter School
San Jose, CA ( www.sjcccharterschool.org )
Executive Director: Bob Hennessy
Grant Year 1: 2006 (STRENGTH)
The San Jose Conservation Corps and Charter School (SJCC) is a non-profit organization that provides youth with a quality high school education and teaches valuable work and life skills that empower them to become responsible, productive and caring citizens. They will use their STRENGTH grant to secure staffing and licensing for a new child care facility and to develop and implement a professional marketing and public awareness campaign.
Acterra: Action for a Sustainable Earth
Palo Alto, CA (www.acterra.org)
Executive Director: Michael Closson
Grant Year 1: 2005 (STRENGTH)
Acterra’s mission is to protect and restore our local natural environment through stewardship, education and leadership. As the organization builds from a local into a regional restoration influence, the STRENGTH grant will support its strategic planning and fund development activities.
Fresh Lifelines for Youth
San Jose, CA ( www.flyprogram.org )
Executive Director: Christa Gannon
Grant Year 1: 2005 (STRENGTH)
The mission of Fresh Lifelines for Youth (FLY) is to educate disadvantaged and at-risk youth to help them become more responsible, accountable and capable of making healthier lifestyle choices. FLY’s objective is to reduce juvenile crime and incarceration through legal education, mentoring and peer leadership services that develop personal assets in at-risk youth. Through their STRENGTH grant, FLY will develop the fundraising capacity needed to support its expansion into San Mateo County.
New Teacher Center
UC Santa Cruz, CA (www.newteachercenter.org)
Executive Director: Ellen Moir
Grant Year 1: 2004 (STRENGTH)
The New Teacher Center’s mission is to improve student learning by supporting the development of an inspired, dedicated, and highly-qualified teaching force. The STRENGTH grant award will support the New Teacher Center in extending its teacher mentoring program into more subjects through the development of tools and training.