2021-2022 Community Grants Fund Awards Announced

For the 2021-2022 cycle, the San Bruno Community Foundation is awarding Community Grants totaling $300,000 to local organizations for 23 programs that benefit the San Bruno community. The Foundation is pleased to partner on the Community Grants Fund with YouTube and Google.org, which have provided $100,000 of the grant funds being distributed this year.

The Foundation Board approved the grants at its December 1, 2021, Board meeting. “We are pleased once again to be able to invest in our local community through the Community Grants Fund,” said Foundation President Emily Roberts. “In our second year of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has strained our social safety net, this set of Community Grants will fund programs supporting San Bruno youth in foster care, providing home delivery of nutritious meals to seniors, offering shelter and supportive services to homeless families, providing dental care to low-income children, and exposing students to art, jazz music, robotics, and other educational support programs. We are grateful to Google.org and YouTube for their generous and continued support, which enables us to increase our grant funding to many worthy programs.” 

Representatives of the organizations receiving grants - including Joe Meyer of San Bruno AYSO and Maura LeBaron-Hsieh of Sonrisas Dental Health, pictured above, and Ginny Marans of Society of St. Vincent de Paul, Particular Council of San Mateo County, and Carrie Schartenberg of CASA of San Mateo County, pictured below - attended the Board meeting and thanked the Board for offering the grant program and for its consideration in the selection process. 

See the complete list of grant awards HERE.  

Read the press release HERE.

Foundation Celebrates Retiring Board Members

On December 1, in a heartfelt ceremony, the Foundation recognized John McGlothlin, Emily Roberts, Nancy Kraus, and Tim Ross, pictured above, for their outstanding leadership and service on the SBCF Board of Directors.

John, Emily, and Nancy have served as founding members of the Board of Directors for the past eight years. A resident of the Crestmoor neighborhood with years of experience in government and nonprofit operations, John brought a discerning eye to the Foundation’s finances, programs, and administration. Currently the Board’s Secretary, John has also served as Vice President, Audit Committee chair, and a member
of the Investment Committee.

With expertise in public health and early childhood education, Emily has skillfully led the Foundation as President the last two years, including through the recent strategic planning process. She also served as Secretary and Vice President and played a critical role in developing the Crestmoor Scholarship, the Community Grants Fund, and the Music Education Strategic Initiative.

As the Foundation’s first President from 2013 to 2018, Nancy provided extraordinary vision, leadership, and determination in building SBCF into the focused and well-run organization that it is today. Her background in public relations and deep roots in the San Bruno community have been instrumental in driving many of the Foundation’s key initiatives, most notably the Recreation and Aquatic Center project.

Tim joined the Board in late 2016 and, as Treasurer, immediately made a significant impact on the financial side of the Foundation’s operations. An investment professional, Tim has deftly chaired the Investment Committee, overseeing overall investment returns in excess of $20 million. 

The terms of the four outgoing Board members conclude at the end of 2021, and four new Board members - Pak Lin, Melissa Moreno, Supriya Perry, and Irving Torres, who were recently appointed by the San Bruno City Council - will begin four-year terms in January 2022.

December Board Meeting Summary

The Board of Directors of the San Bruno Community Foundation held its regular monthly meeting on December 1, 2021, via Zoom. In addition to approving the Community Grants Fund awards and honoring the four outgoing Board members as highlighted above, the Board handled various agenda items, including:

Report on the San Bruno Recreation and Aquatic Center (RAC) Project: San Bruno City Community Services Director Ann Mottola, Project Manager Rodrigo Macaraeg, and Construction Manager Tim Shaw of Griffin Structures updated the Board on the City's progress on the RAC project. They reviewed the construction schedule, tasks completed to date, including demolition of the pool and former recreation center, and tasks to be undertaken in the next month, including tree removal, installation of a temporary by-pass water line, and grading, shoring, and ground improvements. They also provided an overview of the change order process and possible change orders under review. 

Report on Other Programs: Executive Director Leslie Hatamiya announced the launch of the 2022 Crestmoor Scholarship in early December, with a March 1, 2022 deadline. As a result of a donation of $70,000 from the Joseph W Welch Jr Foundation, the Board approved increasing the program budget allocation for the 2022 Crestmoor Scholarship to $190,000.

Report from Ad Hoc Committee on Program Development: On behalf of the Committee, Vice President Jim Ruane reported on the Committee's activities since it was created in September as part of the Strategic Plan 2.0 to  recommend priority areas for the Foundation's strategic grantmaking and to assess opportunities for strategic initiatives in the near- and mid-term. The Committee proposed - and the Board approved - criteria for identifying strategic grantmaking opportunities to pursue (slightly updated from criteria established in 2015) and strategic grantmaking priorities (based on community needs identified in Community Listening Campaign 2.0 and reflecting the Board's commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion). Vice President Ruane then presented a set of strategic grantmaking concepts that the Committee would like the Foundation to investigate and consider in 2022, including teacher grants, programs to ensure that recreational opportunities are inclusive and accessible to all in San Bruno, library enhancements and programming, diversity and cultural arts programming and services, and community safety and wellness programming and services. He said the Committee also recommends reactivating two prior efforts that had been stalled by the pandemic: support for Community Day in the Park, assuming the City of San Bruno is able to host the event in 2022, and the Ad Hoc Committee on Vocational Education, which is charged with investigating ways in which SBCF could support and enhance opportunities for San Bruno residents to participate in vocational training opportunities. 

Report from the Investment Committee: Investment Committee Chair Tim Ross reported that the Committee held its quarterly meeting on November 17, 2021. He summarized the report the Committee received from Sand Hill Global Advisors LLC, the Foundation's investment adviser, and noted that as of September 30, 2021, the Foundation's investment portfolio balances exceeded $78.6 million. 

Election of Treasurer and Ratification of 2022 SBCF Officers: The Board elected Pak Lin, one of the incoming Board members and the Administrative Services Director of the Town of Colma, as Treasurer for 2022. The Board then approved a resolution ratifying the election of Ms. Lin as Treasurer and the three other 2022 officers - President Malissa Netane-Jones, Vice President Jim Ruane, and Secretary Raul Gomez - who were elected at the November Board meeting.  

Next Foundation Board Meeting

Wednesday, January 5, 2022, 7:00 p.m.

via Zoom

Zoom links are posted on the SBCF website at least three days before each meeting.