Spring 2008: Rights and Opportunities

Dear Friends:

When Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. created this foundation in 1953, they were motivated by a set of values that still guide us today. They shared a commitment to social justice and equality—and a belief that all people should have opportunities to build a better life for themselves and their families, and a better future for their communities.

Our founders’ vision of a just and caring society has been the guiding light for the Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund over 55 years of work. Under the leadership of our founders and our current trustees, the Fund has sought out and invested in organizations and initiatives that work to help people achieve their full potential regardless of economics, race and ethnicity, sexual orientation, and other factors.

At the same time, the Fund’s history also reflects an understanding of the need to adapt our approach as the world around us evolves and as new challenges arise. The vision and the core values have always been the same. But how we get to that vision and how we make those values come alive in our work are questions we must continually revisit, especially during times of significant challenge and change.

Now is one of those times. Looking across our communities and our society today, we see too many people who feel the sting of our collective failure to provide equal access to the rights that so many others enjoy. We see too much division, and too much uncertainty among individuals and families who are living at the margins. How can they ensure a brighter future for their children? How can they bridge the gaps that keep them from participating fully and equally in the economy and civic life? How can they support their families?

Rights and Opportunities

The Fund recently completed a strategic planning process aimed at bringing more focus to our long-term commitment of supporting disadvantaged groups such as immigrants, gays and lesbians, people of color, and low-income children and families. Given the increasing challenges we were seeing in our communities and beyond, we wanted to figure out how we could do a better job advancing the vision of our founders and trustees.

Over a period of many months, we reviewed our areas of concentration, our overall approach and our grantmaking strategies. In the end, we decided to concentrate on fewer areas in order to work more deeply in each. The result of this planning process is a new strategic focus for the Fund. We are calling it “Rights and Opportunities.” This work is based on our recognition that a just and caring society can be measured by how well it provides fundamental rights and opportunities to all people.

The Haas, Jr. Fund believes that immigrants should have equal opportunities to become fully engaged citizens. We believe that gays and lesbians should have equal marriage rights, as well as other protections. We believe that all people should have equal access to a quality education, to civic and cultural assets, and to programs offering vital services to communities in need. These are among the beliefs we will be working to advance in the months and years ahead.

Five Areas of Focus

With our new strategic plan as our guide, the Fund’s focus will be in five areas: immigrant rights and integration, gay and lesbian rights, education opportunity, leadership and community initiatives.

Immigrant Rights and Integration
California is home to 9.6 million immigrants. The Haas, Jr. Fund has a long history of working to lift the voice, leadership, and civic and political participation of immigrant communities. Building on this work, we want to support the development of a diverse and powerful immigration movement. Our top priority is to improve policies that expand economic mobility and social inclusion in California so immigrants can succeed and contribute. We also are intent on supporting advocacy for the need for immigration reform and for equal rights and legal protections.

Gay and Lesbian Rights
The Haas, Jr. Fund is committed to defending the civil rights of gays and lesbians and their families, while also advancing their right to live in a safe and supportive environment and to participate as equals in their communities. We will continue our efforts to promote marriage equality and other protections for gay and lesbian individuals and families. We also will continue our work on behalf of changes that advance rights and opportunities for gays and lesbians in key institutions, particularly the faith communities.

Education Opportunities
Over the years, the Haas, Jr. Fund’s work has shown again and again that a key path out of poverty for children can be a quality education. Today, we seek to close the achievement gaps in education that keep too many children from achieving their full potential based on their race, ethnicity or economic circumstances. We want to make sure children are reading at grade level by the end of third grade, that more middle school and high school students are prepared to succeed in college or careers, and that community colleges are improving opportunities for all students to gain the skills and the education they need to find and keep rewarding, family-supporting jobs.

Leadership
At the Haas, Jr. Fund, we have learned that the changes we seek can only happen when nonprofit organizations that are working for those changes are strong and stable, and when they have the leadership they need to achieve their goals. Under our new strategic plan, we will expand our Flexible Leadership Awards program, which provides grantees with the opportunity and the resources to strengthen their organizations by developing their boards, executive leadership and senior teams. We are also pursuing a longer-term goal of creating more and better resources for building nonprofit leadership. Additionally, we are aiming to refine and share what we are learning in the course of this work. We want to encourage the field of philanthropy to strengthen its investment in developing the leaders of the nonprofit organizations it supports.

Community Partnerships and Initiatives
We feel privileged to live and work in an area with extraordinary cultural and civic institutions, magnificent parks and public spaces, and exemplary community-wide initiatives that provide vital services to residents in need. Over the decades, the Haas, Jr. Fund has been a leading supporter of many of the organizations and institutions that make the Bay Area the special place that it is, and we intend to build on this work through special partnerships and initiatives in the years ahead. (Grants in this area are by invitation only and are generally made to organizations with which the Fund has enjoyed a long and established relationship.)

A Moment of Transition

As the Haas, Jr. Fund embraces these priorities and sets out to make our Rights and Opportunities work a reality, we are at a moment of transition. In many cases, our future direction means we will be engaging new partners in this work. It also means we will be shifting away from grantees whose work may not line up with the priorities we have established in our strategic plan. These are organizations with whom we’ve enjoyed long relationships and for whom we feel great respect and appreciation. To give these grantees time and support through this change, we are committed to providing substantial multiyear transition grants along with capacity building funds.

Looking Ahead

We are excited about where we are headed, and we look forward to working with community, philanthropic, corporate and public-sector leaders to tackle the challenges we face as we strive to live up to the values of equality and opportunity. This is what our Rights & Opportunities work is about: working with many partners to make the just and caring society envisioned by our founders and trustees a reality for all of us.

We will be providing more information on our website as we develop our new work and guidelines.

Over the years, we have had the privilege of working with many extraordinary people who share our mission—talented and passionate leaders from the community and the nonprofit, corporate and public sectors. Building on the achievements, lessons and courage of those before us, and working collaboratively with many colleagues, we are committed to helping shape and attain democracy’s promise of rights and opportunities for all.

Sincerely,