Founded 3 January 2007 | Type of business Donor-advised fund | |
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Predecessor Peninsula Community Foundation and Community Foundation Silicon Valley (merged in 2006, new foundation launched 2007) Location San Mateo and Mountain View, California, United States of America Area served Silicon Valley (San Mateo County, California and Santa Clara County, California) Key people Emmett D. Carson, Ph.D. (CEO and President)
Lianne Araki (Executive Assistant to the President and Board Liaison) Website www.siliconvalleycf.org | ||
Silicon valley community foundation what is a community foundation
The Silicon Valley Community Foundation is a donor-advised community foundation that serves the Silicon Valley community. The two counties served are Santa Clara County, California and San Mateo County, California.
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Silicon valley community foundation change
Early history: 2006–2011
Silicon Valley Community Foundation was formed on July 12, 2006, through the merger of two community foundations in the Bay Area: the Peninsula Community Foundation (headquartered in San Jose, California) and Community Foundation Silicon Valley (headquartered in San Mateo, California). Silicon Valley Community Foundation launched officially on January 3, 2007.
In September 2008, Silicon Valley Community Foundation announced five key grantmaking strategies: Economic Security, Education, Immigrant Integration, Regional Planning and a Community Opportunity Fund to address time-sensitive community needs including safety-net services (2008-2013).
2012
On December 18, 2012, Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan announced a donation of 18 million Facebook shares to the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, which at the time of the donation were worth a total of about $500 million.
Silicon Valley Community Foundation raised a total of $985 million in 2012. Assets under management grew to about $2.9 billion, and the foundation awarded a total of $292 million in grants in the year 2012.
In December 2012 SVCF helped relaunch Caltrain's Holiday Train, a nine-year tradition was brought back after a two-year hiatus. The event features a lit "show-train" that runs the first weekend in December and encourages viewers to bring toys to benefit Toys for Tots and Salvation Army.
2013
On December 19, 2013, Zuckerberg announced a donation of 18 million Facebook shares to the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, to be executed by the end of the month—based on Facebook's valuation as of then, the shares totaled $990 million in value. On December 31, 2013, the donation was recognized as the largest charitable gift on public record for 2013.
2014
On October 2, 2014, Nicholas and Jill Woodman, founders of GoPro, a high tech wearable camera company, announced that they would donate $500 million to Silicon Valley Community Foundation.
In 2014, Jan Koum, founder of WhatsApp donated close to $556 million to the Silicon Valley Community Foundation to set up a donor-advised fund.
Silicon Valley Community Foundation created and hosted Silicon Valley Gives, the Bay Area's first 24-hour giving day, on May 6, 2014. The giving event was sponsored by John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Microsoft, NBC Bay Area as well as over 100 other individuals, foundations and companies. The event was hosted on online donation platform Razoo. The event raised $8,000,833 with 14,889 unique donors and more than 21,869 donations. SVCF also hosted more than 20 trainings for more than 650 local nonprofits to help them capacity build leading up to the event. Trainings ranged from how to better utilize Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, how to pitch your story to media outlets to how to thank donors post event.
Paul Allen opens a fund for Tackle Ebola with Silicon Valley Community Foundation.