For Immediate Release
April 2, 2002

Silicon Valley Urgency Fund Grants Help Close the Funding Gap for Local Agencies Serving Region's Neediest Residents

San Jose, CA - With local agencies serving Silicon Valley's most vulnerable residents facing record fiscal challenges, the Silicon Valley Urgency Fund at Community Foundation Silicon Valley announced its second round of grants - which will in most cases will cover 10 percent of each agency's projected unmet need.

"Now we're hoping the community will step forward to cover the remaining 90 percent," said Jeff Skoll, chairman and founder of the Skoll Foundation, Community Foundation Silicon Valley's largest supporting foundation. Skoll initiated the Silicon Valley Urgency Fund last October to respond to agencies' need to meet increased demands for their services at the same time that they face steep declines in charitable donations and government funding due to the recession and other forces.

Forty-seven agencies that provide food, clothing, shelter, and primary healthcare to Silicon Valley families will receive the second and final round of grants today from the Silicon Valley Urgency Fund.

"Our goal is to help the most critical safety net services meet rising community needs during this difficult time, Skoll said. "For those who can help, it's time to rally; together we can make the difference for Valley agencies and the families who rely on them for help."

"These grants will help strengthen our local safety net during a time when many agencies are seeing more families needing help and are facing major losses in government support due to the state deficit," said Mark Walker, president of United Way Silicon Valley, which is receiving a $81,075 grant from the Urgency Fund for its Emergency Assistance Network.

Skoll initiated the Urgency Fund with a Skoll Foundation grant of $2.5 million to Community Foundation Silicon Valley for the purpose of making "above and beyond" grants to organizations that would not ordinarily qualify for Skoll Fund support, and to encourage others to make similar commitments. Several local philanthropists joined the effort, and Community Foundation Silicon Valley added $150,000 that the foundation had received from the California Endowment to fund nonprofits meeting local emergency needs, raising the total to just under $3 million. Other partners include the Steven and Michele Kirsch Foundation; the Lucile Packard Foundation for Children's Health; the Morgan Family Foundation; Steve and Anita Westly; Silicon Valley Social Venture Fund (SV2); David and Holly Mendel; the Mellam Family Foundation; and Laura and Gary Lauder.

In the second grant round, 47 Silicon Valley public benefit organizations will receive a total of $970,575. Of those, 33 received Urgency Fund grants in the first round, which distributed $2 million.

Nominees who met the Fund's criteria for delivery of critical services in the areas of shelter, food, and primary health care were asked to verify their budgets, to estimate the increased need for their services, and to estimate the gap between community needs and their available resources. "Every agency, big or small, plays a vital role in strengthening the Silicon Valley community," said Sally Osberg, president of the Skoll Foundation. "We decided to award the remaining Urgency Fund to agencies, based on their projected unmet needs for the current fiscal year. Our goal is to provide 10 percent and help bridge the gap. It is vital that the community step forward to support the charities serving our most needy residents."

During this downturn, public benefit corporations are seeing greater need for their services, at the same time that many in the community have cut back on their charitable giving, Osberg said. "The slowdown in the economy has meant more and more families here in Silicon Valley need help meeting the basic needs of life. No one in our community should have to go hungry or homeless; working together, we can make sure that they don't."

"Silicon Valley is blessed with great generosity," said Peter Hero, president of Community Foundation Silicon Valley. "We pull together in difficult times. Today's grants will go part way towards meeting the tremendous need that exists, but the community needs to step forward and help as well."

Urgency Fund Grantees for Round 2:

African American Community Center, San Jose: $2,000
Alliance for Community Care, San Jose: $45,000
American Red Cross, Palo Alto Area Chapter, Palo Alto: $1,000
American Red Cross, Santa Clara Valley Chapter, San Jose: $10,000
Asian Americans for Community Involvement, San Jose: $30,000
Bill Wilson Center, Santa Clara: $8,000
Bread of Life (East Palo Alto), East Palo Alto: $5,000
Catholic Charities of Santa Clara County, San Jose: $62,000
Center for Domestic Violence Prevention, San Jose: $9,000
City Team, San Jose: $46,000
Clara Mateo Alliance, Menlo Park: $25,000
Community Association for Rehabilitation, Palo Alto: $40,000
Community Services Agency of Mountain View and Los Altos: $15,000
Community Solutions for Children, Families & Youth, Morgan Hill: $5,000
East Palo Alto Senior Center, East Palo Alto: $3,500
Ecumenical Hunger Program, East Palo Alto: $15,000
Emergency Housing Consortium, San Jose: $40,000
Fair Oaks Senior Center, Redwood City: $7,500
Family Support Center for the Mid-Peninsula, East Palo Alto: $15,000
Gardner Family Care Corp, San Jose: $5,000
Gardner Family Health Network Inc., San Jose: $77,000
HOPE Rehabilitation Services Foundation, Santa Clara: $50,000
Innovative Concept Transitional Housing, San Jose: $20,000
InnVision of Santa Clara Valley, San Jose: $35,000
Live Oak Adult Day Services, San Jose: $5,000
Loaves and Fishes, San Jose: $7,500
MayView Community Health Center, Inc., Mountain View: $5,000
Next Door Solutions to Domestic Violence, San Jose: $10,000
Planned Parenthood Mar Monte, San Jose: $35,000
Project Match, San Jose: $4,500
RotaCare, Gilroy: $5,000
Sacred Heart community Service, San Jose: $25,000
Salvation Army, San Jose: $50,000
San Jose Family Shelter, San Jose: $10,000
San Jose First Community Services, San Jose: $10,000
Second Harvest Food Bank, San Jose: $50,000
Self-Help for the Elderly of Santa Clara County, Santa Clara: $2,500
Shelter Network of San Mateo County, Burlingame: $8,500
South County Community Health Center, East Palo Alto: $5,000
St. Vincent de Paul Society of San Mateo County, San Mateo: $5,000
St. Vincent de Paul Society, Santa Clara County, San Jose, $5,000
Sunnyvale Community Services, Sunnyvale: $12,000
Support Network for Battered Women, Mountain View: $15,000
Toothmobile, Santa Clara: $25,000
United Way Silicon Valley, San Jose: $81,075
Youth and Family Assistance, Redwood City: $3,500

Contact:
Terry Nagel - Skoll Foundation
media@skollfoundation.org