Silicon Valley Community Foundation

SVCF brings together the resources and skills of donors, businesses, government and community members to address the most pressing challenges in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties in California.

We actively pursue systemic solutions to the region’s largest challenges, including housing, childhood education and economic disparities. Alongside community partners and donors, we use tools such as grantmaking, advocacy, research and policy work to drive lasting, positive change and create a future where every community member can thrive.

We work to ensure that low-income people, people of color, women, children, immigrants and others that have faced and continue to face the harshest circumstances and conditions in Silicon Valley have opportunities to shape and influence the decisions that impact their lives.

SVCF Grantmaking

Our grantmaking programs span three core impact areas—advancing financial stability, early childhood development and housing—as well as our broad-based Community Action Grants Program and additional select programs.

All were established in response to recommendations from our community partners. Using an equity lens, the Community Action Grants Program identifies and supports organizations that foster greater creativity and help build community and power to promote a just, equitable and inclusive Silicon Valley.

Multiple programs relate to NEON’s focus on the systems of Power & Leadership and Income & Wealth including SVCF’s focus on advancing financial stability and investing in movement- and power-building.

Equity Forward

Equity Forward is a multi-sector movement to close the wealth gap in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties. Silicon Valley is both a region of tremendous prosperity and tremendous need; there is a massive economic gap that has only widened after the COVID pandemic began.

Since one sector alone cannot solve these issues, Equity Forward brings together the region’s biggest sectors — nonprofit, higher education, government, and employers —
to focus on inequity and change policies and practices to address systemic barriers. We strive to build a stronger ecosystem of sectors working closely together to close the wealth gap and support economic mobility for all in our communities.

We imagine a Silicon Valley in which wealth creation is the norm for all communities and every employee is paid a wage that allows them to thrive, not simply survive. We are dedicated to seeing that each of our neighbors can afford to have a safe and stable place to call home. SVCF serves as the backbone organization supporting the Equity
Forward initiative.

• Learn more about SVCF’s core impact areas and public policy work.
• Support SVCF’s Equity Forward initiative and LatinXCEL Fund
• Stay up to date with SVCF’s newsletter.