An Important Message from the Board of Directors of the Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund

Dear Friends,

Seventy-three years ago, my parents created the Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund to further their shared vision of a society in which every person has opportunities to thrive and live life with dignity and hope.  

Today, my fellow board members and I, representing the second and third generations of family leadership of the Fund, are announcing that the Haas, Jr. Fund will sunset its current grantmaking programs in 2028 after 75 years of partnership and over $780 million in grantmaking in the Bay Area and beyond.  

As we look ahead to this next chapter, we want to share what this decision means in practice:

• The Haas, Jr. Fund will continue to support our key programs in Democracy, Immigrant Rights, and College Success at current grantmaking levels for the 2027 and 2028 calendar years.
• In 2028, we also will provide significant, long-term grants to three Bay Area community partners that are longtime priorities for our family: the Season of Sharing Fund, Crissy Field, and the Haas Pavilion at UC Berkeley.
• The Fund’s remaining assets will then be divided among the three branches of the family so that each can pursue their philanthropic goals and interests.

We have not made these decisions lightly. In a series of searching conversations over the past several months, my fellow board members and I realized that we all shared a desire to help the next generation of our family shape their own philanthropic paths. As the children and grandchildren of Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr., we all remain deeply committed to using our philanthropy to make a positive and powerful difference for years to come.  

We also remain committed to the urgent work under way across our current programs right now. We know this is a difficult time for many of the communities we care about as fundamental rights and opportunities are under threat. By sustaining current grantmaking in our three core programs over the coming two years, we intend to support our nonprofit and movement partners to continue their bold work to defend and advance equality and justice for students, immigrants, and populations who too often are closed out of democracy and elections.  

We recognize that this is a difficult decision for our staff and our community. As we plan for the Fund's final years, we will approach this transition with care, transparency, and respect.

For 73 years, the Haas family has been privileged and honored to partner with bold leaders, organizations, and movements to deliver real and tangible change. Together we have partnered on winning marriage equality, helped California to become one of the most pro-immigrant states in the nation, and transformed Crissy Field into one of the premier urban parks in the country. To have played a part in these historic events, as well as countless less heralded wins for people and communities we care so deeply about, is something we will forever cherish. And we will be forever grateful for the Fund’s wonderful staff, our nonprofit and philanthropic partners, and the many others who have traveled this road with us for enabling us to pursue our family’s philanthropic vision and goals.  

For the next two years, we are as committed as ever to supporting our current grantees to advance bold solutions to the challenges of this difficult moment for our communities and the nation. After that, our families will each continue their philanthropy in the same spirit that my parents brought to theirs: with love and deep appreciation for our country and the opportunities it afforded them, and with a commitment to expanding opportunity and creating a better, fairer world.

Thank you for your continued partnership,

Wally Haas  
Board Chair, Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund