Launching the Gay and Lesbian Rights program
The Fund officially launches the Gay and Lesbian Rights program, issuing 29 grants in areas such as housing, anti-violence, school safety and HIV.
Stepping beyond our backyard
The Fund moves beyond local issues and supports state and national causes that reflect Bay Area concerns. The first step: establishing Freedom to Marry to catalyze the national marriage equality movement.
Crissy Field opens
With years of planning and community support, Crissy Field officially opens with a spectacular celebration in San Francisco. The stunning national park attracts more than a million visitors a year.
Leadership is a new priority
Fund directors approve a new grantmaking program for nonprofit leadership development.
Expanding diversity and inclusiveness
Fund directors approve a new priority: Promoting Diversity and Inclusiveness. This work leads to a focus on immigrant rights and gay and lesbian equality.
Losing our visionary co-founder
Walter A. Haas, Jr., passes away on Sept. 20th. Fund President Ira Hirschfield remarks in his eulogy, “This is a man who never forgot, not even for a day, how blessed he was, and how difficult life is for so many.”
A commitment to children, youth and families
The Fund adopts four priorities for grantmaking: Children, Youth, Families and the Elderly; Strengthening Neighborhoods; Reducing Hunger and Homelessness; and Encouraging Volunteer Service and Philanthropy.
Grantmaking grows with experience
The Fund expands its grantmaking to support the elderly, youth, immigrants, equal opportunity, corporate social responsibility, and community initiatives such as hospitals.
The Haas, Jr. Fund is born
Walter A. Haas, Jr. and Evelyn D. Haas create a family foundation that serves under-resourced communities, educational institutions, and cultural organizations in the San Francisco Bay Area.
“It’s in the genes.”
The great grand-nephew of Levi Strauss, Walter A. Haas, Jr., helms Levi’s and continues the family tradition of moral leadership, integrating Levi’s sewing factories in the segregated South. Asked about his family’s penchant for giving, he says, “It’s in the genes.”