Foundation Relations
The Foundation Relations staff works with faculty and administrators to secure funds from private foundations to support programs that advance San Francisco State University’s mission to provide an exceptional, accessible and affordable education.
SF State’s emphasis on community engagement and experiential learning, among undergraduates as well as graduate students, attracts private foundations seeking to impact diverse communities through educational programs and research, as well as community based initiatives.
Foundations are also helpful in the early phase of innovative initiatives that may shape best practices or public policy improvements in health, education and other areas – and leverage government support to further advance these objectives beyond the Bay Area.
The office works to secure foundation funding for both College priorities and University-wide priorities, promote private foundation funding opportunities among faculty and units, build campus capacity in private foundation fundraising, and advance partnerships with private foundation funders through communication, stewardship and other activities.
Activities and Services
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Conducts private foundation research and identification for College and University-wide priorities
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Provides private foundation contacts where appropriate
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Conducts private foundation calls on behalf of College and University-wide priorities
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Hosts campus visits of foundation representatives
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Monitors and coordinates centrally coordinated private foundations
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Assists with proposal preparation and submission for College and University priorities
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Monitors major foundation activities for changes in giving priorities, staffing, board and leadership
Grant Highlights
The Richard and Rhoda Goldman Foundation provided SF State with an endowment gift of $3.75 million in 2008 to create the Richard and Rhoda Goldman Chair in Israel Studies, a new faculty position focusing on the scholarly study of Israel. A portion of the endowment funds will also be used to help elevate the Jewish Studies Program to a full academic department, the first of its kind in the California State University (CSU) system and the first free-standing Department of Jewish Studies in any Bay Area university offering undergraduate study.
http://www.sfsu.edu/~jewish/community.html
In 2008 the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation provided multi-year funding in the amount of $450,000 to the SF State School of Nursing for SF State’s innovative master’s of science degree in nursing program with Stanford Hospitals & Clinics (“Stanford”) and the Lucile Packard Children's Hospital (“Packard”). The Stanford/Packard MSN Cohort Program provides an opportunity for working registered nurses to obtain a master's of science in nursing (MSN) degree in two years while working almost full time. The Moore Foundation funding will help SF State expand and evaluate the current program with a view towards studying the feasibility of establishing a similar cohort program with San Francisco hospitals.
http://www.nursing.sfsu.edu/about_us.aspx
Two grants from the Walter and Elise Haas Fund have funded the Village Dancers Program in the School of Music and Dance, College of Creative Arts, to provide free dance instruction to low-income youth of color in San Francisco’s Bayview Hunter’s Point, Visitation Valley and Western Addition neighborhoods. In 2006, a grant in the amount of $24,655 was made, and in 2008, the Haas Fund gave an additional $24,000 in support. The Village Dancers Program, created and led by Albirda Rose, professor of dance, helps SF State dance students perfect their craft of teaching dance to diverse students while providing consistent dance instruction to youth who may not otherwise have the opportunity to learn to express themselves through the art of dance.
http://musicdance.sfsu.edu/community/Village_Dancers
Please contact Lisa Lim, Director of Foundation Relations, at 415/338-6599 or at lisalim@sfsu.edu to learn more about the SF State foundation relations process.
