Making the Years Ahead Count

Dear Friends,

I want to thank you for the warm welcome many of you have extended since I joined the Haas, Jr. Fund as President and CEO. I’m honored to be part of this organization in its final chapter, and grateful for the chance to shape the years ahead with you.

I’ve followed the Fund’s work for many years, going back to my close partnership with Bob Haas during my time at the Levi Strauss Foundation. I have long admired the courage and tenacity of its board and staff, and their willingness to aim high. What has stood out to me just as much is the community around the Haas, Jr. Fund. This is an organization that has partnered with an inspiring circle of grantees, funders, advocates, and leaders to imagine new possibilities and turn them into lasting gains.

That partnership is behind much of what Haas Jr. has accomplished, and it is just as visible today: in partners standing with immigrant families and workers as hard-won protections come under pressure, often alongside allies in unexpected places; in efforts to help more first-generation and low-income students in California earn a degree; and in work to shore up voter protections and civic participation across the state. None of this work happens through philanthropy alone. It comes from people and organizations working together, over many years, toward a shared vision of what is possible.

Many of you have asked what our close will look like, and I appreciate your patience. We are in the thick of that work now, and we will circle back with our grantee partners at year’s end, following our December board meeting, with more clarity on the road ahead. In the meantime, here’s what has become clear to me in my first six weeks.  

I want us to close the way Haas Jr. has always worked: taking the long view, staying close to the people doing the work, and standing behind leaders and ideas before they are proven.

We remain deeply committed to our work in Immigrant Rights, Democracy, and College Success.  That commitment is about more than the grants we will make over the next two years. Our goal is to use the time and resources we have for the next two years to strengthen the people, organizations, and movements at the center of this work so they can thrive long after the Fund closes its doors. Where we can, we want to be a partner in helping attract new resources, bolster leadership, and position this work for what comes next.

We will be direct with our partners. We recognize that our decisions have real implications for organizations and communities, and we will talk with grantee partners about our plans and timelines, so they have as much clarity and lead time as we can give.

We are also taking stock. This fall, we are looking back across each body of work, not only at what was won and built but at what made it possible: the partnerships, the leaders, the risks that paid off, and the lessons from those that didn’t. That reflection will shape how we honor this legacy and the relationships behind it. We know, too, that other foundations are weighing decisions like ours, and we hope to be open about what we learn along the way.

Our work is not done. There is energy and ambition across all three of our programs, and the stories in this newsletter offer just a glimpse of what our partners are advancing right now.  

I’m grateful for the conversations I’ve already had with many of you, and I look forward to many more. My hope is that we treat these next two years not simply as an ending, but as an opportunity to build on what we have created together.

With deep gratitude for your partnership,

Daniel