SHAREMore than 55 years ago, Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. established this foundation as a means to fulfill their vision of a just and caring society where all people are able to live, work and raise their families with dignity. The Fund has awarded nearly $390 million in grants to a range of deeply committed and diverse nonprofit organizations working to strengthen the bonds of community and advance the cause of social justice.
We continue to believe deeply in the ability of our grantees to make a positive difference for the people and the communities they serve.
Grantmaking Update
A couple of years ago, the Haas, Jr. Fund decided to further sharpen the focus of our grantmaking on initiatives and organizations that advance and protect fundamental rights and opportunities for all. Whether the issue is immigrant rights, gay and lesbian rights (which we’ve been in for many years), or improved educational opportunities for young people (a new area of work for us), the stakes could not be higher. This is about people’s lives, their freedoms, their life chances, and their ability to enjoy all that our country has to offer.
It is because of the high stakes that the Haas, Jr. Fund remains steadfastly committed to the work we do. At a time when the effects of the Great Recession continue to be felt throughout the nonprofit sector (and throughout our communities and all of American society as well), we are committed to maintaining–and in some cases increasing–our grantmaking budgets in the Fund’s priority areas.
The Fund’s trustees have made this commitment despite the fact that our assets, like those of other foundations in the country, took a major hit in the recession. The combination of reduced assets and our trustees’ sustained commitment to the Fund’s priority programs means we’re currently making grants at a higher level than required. While foundations are expected to spend 5 percent on grants and administrative costs together, the Haas, Jr. Fund’s trustees decided in 2003 to make 5 percent in grants only the baseline for our grantmaking.
In 2010, our grantmaking totaled more than $25 million, or 5.4 percent of the Fund’s assets. Over the past three years, the Fund has made grants equal to an average of 6 percent of assets. Giving at these levels every year might begin to erode our endowment. But the Fund’s trustees want to support our grantees now as they continue the struggle for equal rights and opportunities for all.
Does this mean that the Haas, Jr. Fund is spending itself out of business? In a word, no. The Fund has been doing this work for nearly 60 years, and we are determined to ensure that we can continue to make a difference in our local community and beyond for years and decades to come. We may be a somewhat smaller foundation than we once were, but we remain committed to providing long-term support to the causes we care about.
