On Tuesday, January 24, 2017, the San Francisco Foundation, in collaboration with the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC), hosted an information session on community benefit opportunities for local and national developers. The SFPUC is about to launch a citywide $8 billion sewer system improvement program (SSIP). The first step toward SSIP is the completion of a $2.9 billion renovation and retrofit of the Southeast Wastewater Treatment Plant in Bayview Hunters Point, a historically neglected San Francisco neighborhood.

Through the SFPUC's Community Benefits Program, all contractors applying for a project must demonstrate their commitment to partnering with the SFPUC and local community-based organizations. The goal is to create a significant, positive community impact in communities and neighborhoods throughout SFPUC's service area. The $2.9 billion renovation of the Southeast Wastewater Treatment Plant will result in approximately $9 million in community benefits over 10 years.

Most contractors submitting bids to the SFPUC for these projects have no local context to neighborhoods like Bayview Hunters Point. The SFPUC and the San Francisco Foundation have partnered to provide contractors with more information and resources to help them develop their strategies for impactful community empowerment opportunities.

During the information session, the San Francisco Foundation presented its regional equity strategy and direction the SFPUC's Community Benefits Program. The San Francisco Foundation led contractors through a brief history of Bayview Hunters Point and presented demographic information to give contractors more context about the affected area and the obstacles residents face. We have outlined our investment strategies in Bayview Hunters Point and provided examples of some of our key community partners in Bayview Hunters Point. We led the contractors through an in-depth discussion of community-based organizations in Bayview Hunters Point to help them shape their investment strategies.

All contractors appreciated the partnership between the SFPUC and the San Francisco Foundation and indicated that they had not seen this type of partnership when working with previous public agencies. Many participants were inspired to develop holistic strategies for their investments and asked to have the San Francisco Foundation as an ongoing resource.

The San Francisco Foundation and SFPUC will continue to work together to expand access to good jobs and career opportunities for San Franciscans in these impacted areas.

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We work every day to create a Bay Area where everyone has a chance to get a good job, live in a healthy and affordable home, and have a strong political voice.

Our elections are one of the most critical tools to move us closer to this vision. The measures on our state and local ballots this year give us some clear choices. We can choose a California which protects reproductive freedom and recognizes the critical role that arts education plays in our schools. We can choose communities that build affordable housing, strengthen our democracy, and ensure that all pay their fair share. Our votes will help set the course for our communities and state.

Our voter guide shares our recommendations on two statewide initiatives and eleven local ballot measures closely aligned with our work, which will help us move toward our shared vision. Download a PDF version of the voter guide.

Click on the sections below to see the descriptions for the state and local propositions we recommend.

State Propositions

	Short Description	Long Description
	Yes on CA Prop 1 Prop 1 would provide a state constitutional right to reproductive freedom, including the right to an abortion.	Yes on Proposition 1 to ensure reproductive freedom By stripping away reproductive freedom, the U.S. Supreme Court condemned many families into poverty, particularly Black and Brown families. Proposition 1 creates a state constitutional right to reproductive freedom. Ensuring access to comprehensive reproductive services is critical for individuals and our movement to end poverty in this country. Ultimately, there is no economic freedom without reproductive health choices and rights. More information at protectabortionca.com
	Yes on CA Prop 28 Prop 28 would provide additional funding for arts and music in K-12 schools.	Yes on California Proposition 28, to support arts and music education funding. Prop 28 funds arts education which is essential to young people’s educational experience. The arts have the power to transform perceptions of power and privilege, preserve endangered cultural practices, and shift how we think about ourselves and our society. Proposition 28 does not raise taxes. It provides additional funding for arts from the state’s general fund, equal to 1% of the required state and local funding for public schools. It provides a greater proportion of the funds to schools serving more students with low incomes. Schools with 500 or more students must spend at least 80% of the new arts funding on teachers. More information at voteyeson28.org

San Francisco Propositions

	Short Description	Long Description
	Yes on SF Prop L Prop L would renew an existing sales tax to fund important transit infrastructure projects	Yes on Proposition L to support racial justice and equity in transportation services. Proposition L supports racial justice and equity in transportation services, a key part of building a just and inclusive Bay Area. Proposition L renews an existing sales tax to fund important transit infrastructure projects in San Francisco. Proposition L ensures investments in communities that have been actively harmed by displacement and past transit decision-making. Investments include a new Caltrain station in Bayview, significant investments in making Muni and BART more reliable in priority communities, a new 30-year investment plan, and $40M specifically for investments in equity priority communities. More information at keepsfmoving.com
	Yes on SF Prop M Prop M would encourage the use of vacant properties through a vacancy tax and use the proceeds for affordable housing.	Yes on Proposition M to tax keeping residential units vacant. San Francisco faces some of the worst housing shortages in California, driving up prices and pushing out residents with low incomes and communities of color. Proposition M could make about 4,500 vacant units available over two years and generate more than $38 million in annual revenue for essential services. It would do so by taxing buildings with three or more units when at least one of them has been unoccupied for more than six months in one year. Single-family homes, two-unit buildings, primary residences, leased properties, or affordable housing projects would not pay the tax. Half of the generated revenue will fund rental subsidies for seniors and low-income families. The rest will help the city convert empty buildings into affordable housing. More information at fillemptyhomes.com

Oakland Measures

	Short Description	Long Description
	Yes on Oakland Measure T Measure T would modernize Oakland’s business tax structure and raise $20m for services.	Yes on Measure T to create a more equitable and progressive business tax.   Measure T would bring millions of dollars into Oakland by ensuring big corporations pay their fair share and taking the burden off small and mid-size businesses (many of which are owned by women and people of color). Oakland’s smallest businesses generate less than 20% of the total revenue but pay over 33% of all local business taxes. Oakland’s largest companies account for 25% of revenue but pay only 13% of local business taxes. By modernizing Oakland’s business tax system, Measure T will cut taxes for over 20,000 small and mid-size businesses while raising over $20M annually in new general fund revenue to strengthen critical city services. Oaklanders will gain increased access to good jobs and bolster public services in education, public safety, transit, and affordable housing. More information at investinouroakland.com
	Yes on Oakland Measure U Measure U would authorize $850 million in bonds for affordable housing and infrastructure improvements.	Yes on the Measure U to authorize $850 million infrastructure bond measure to invest in affordable housing. Preserving affordable housing is critical to ensuring low-income communities of color can afford to live and remain in Oakland. Measure U authorizes an $850 million general obligation bond. $350 million is for preserving affordable housing. $290 million is for transportation improvements such as paving and traffic calming. $210 million will improve city facilities like parks, fire stations, and libraries. More information at sayyesoakland.org
	Yes on Oakland Measure W Measure W would create a “democracy dollars” program and make election spending more transparent.	Yes on Measure W will create new “democracy dollars” program and create additional transparency in elections expenditures.  Measure W will help level the playing field and ensure that Oakland’s local elected officials are accountable to Oaklanders of color by putting more campaign funds in the hands of Oakland voters. Currently, half of all contributions from Oakland residents for local elected officials come from Oakland’s whiter, more affluent neighborhoods. About half of the contributions come from outside the city. Measure W encourages candidates to campaign in all neighborhoods by giving each Oakland voter four $25 campaign vouchers they can assign to the certified city and school board candidates. In Seattle, a similar measure increased small donors, donor diversity, and first-time voters. Measure W mandates more transparency in contributions, requires participation in debates and limits additional money in politics. More information at fairelectionsoakland.org
	Yes on Oakland Measure Q Measure Q would authorize Oakland to build or acquire up to 13,000 affordable housing units.	Yes on Measure Q to authorize up to 13,000 affordable social housing units. Oakland – and the rest of California – doesn’t produce nearly enough housing, and low-income residents of color disproportionately bear the brunt of the crisis through increased housing costs and rates of homelessness. California’s State Constitution requires voter approval for low-income housing developments subsidized by public funds. (Segregationists added this requirement in the 1950s.) Though Measure Q does not include funding, pre-authorizing the construction or acquisition of low-rent housing will allow the city to pursue financing for many affordable homes rather than one-off approval processes. More information at protectoaklandrenters.org/measure-q
	Yes on Oakland Measure V Measure V would expand Oakland’s Just Cause eviction protections to most rental properties.	Yes on Measure V to expand just cause eviction protections. Protecting renters from unjust evictions is essential to providing the stability people need to thrive. Under current law, all rental units in buildings built before 1996 — including rented single-family homes and condominium units – require landlords to offer one of 11 eligible reasons for evicting a tenant. Measure V expands Just Cause eviction protections to most rental properties in the city, including those in newly constructed units and vehicular residential facilities. Additionally, it prohibits no-fault evictions of teachers and children during the school year, thus giving them the stability they need to focus on education. More information at protectoaklandrenters.org/measure-v

Berkeley Measures

	Short Description	Long Description
	Yes on Berkeley Measure L Measure L would invest $650 million in affordable housing and infrastructure projects.	Yes on Measure L to authorize infrastructure bond Berkeley, along with other cities across our region, faces an extreme housing shortage and has been slow to produce enough affordable housing. Measure L is critical to making the investments needed to address affordability for Berkeley residents. This $650 million bond measure would raise money for infrastructure projects and affordable housing. $200 million would be devoted to building an estimated 1,500 units of affordable housing and continue rehousing the homeless. $450 million will be dedicated to projects such as rehabilitating streets, installing underground utility wires, and improving safety for pedestrians, bicyclists, and seniors. More information at renewberkeley.org
	Yes on Berkeley Measure M Measure M would encourage the use of vacant properties through a vacancy tax.	Yes on Measure M to tax keeping residential units vacant. Berkeley’s housing shortage is driving up prices and pushing out residents with low incomes and communities of color. Measure M would tax property owners who keep a residential unit vacant for more than half a calendar year. Owners of apartments with four or fewer units who live on their property and don’t own any other homes will be exempt. The Measure also includes exemptions for situations like repair and rehabilitation when the property is considered vacant. The city estimates nearly 700 homes would be subject to the tax in its first year and that it could raise $3.9 to $5.9 million per year. More information at vacancytaxberkeley.org

Richmond Measure

	Short Description	Long Description
	Yes on Richmond Measure P   Measure P would protect renters by capping allowable rent increases.	Yes on Measure P “Rent Control Amendment” to cap allowable rent increases.   Measure P provides important protections for Richmond residents struggling with housing affordability as rental prices continue to climb. Richmond passed rent control in 2016, but landlords can still raise the rent up to 100% of the Consumer Price Index. With inflation surging, landlords can increase rent by over 5% yearly. This is a significant percentage of a family’s annual income. Measure P would reduce the allowable increases to 60% of the Consumer Price Index, with a cap of 3%. More information at Argument in Favor of Measure P

Menlo Park Measure

	Short Description	Long Description
	No on Menlo Park Measure V Measure V would make it more difficult for the city to produce affordable housing by requiring that any changes to the General Plan land use designation be approved during a general election.	No on Measure V  “General Plan Restrictions” to prevent housing production in single-family zones. Measure V would cement and exacerbate racial and economic segregation by blocking the development of new homes in high-opportunity neighborhoods which are predominantly upper-income and white. The Measure prohibits the City Council from changing the General Plan land use designations or rezoning certain properties to support multi-family units unless first approved by a majority vote during a general election. An independent report concluded that Measure V would decrease the city’s ability to provide affordable housing. To ensure a community where all can thrive, we must ensure that low-income communities of color can access high-resource communities More information at protectteacherhousing.org

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On June 24, the San Francisco Foundation held a donor briefing lifting up solutions to reducing homelessness. A panel of SFF grantee partners discussed the initial results from the Bay Area’s “Point-In-Time (PIT) count” of people who are unhoused. In the first official count taken since the pandemic began, the initial numbers show that the Bay Area staved off the catastrophic increases in homelessness that were feared due to the pandemic. Although the numbers from the count are better than anticipated, homelessness continues to be our region’s biggest challenge, with root causes preceding the pandemic. The panel stressed an important takeaway message:

We know how to solve homelessness. It’s time to double down on investing in and implementing the solutions we already know work.

SFF’s Senior Program Officer for Policy and Advocacy, Christa Brown moderated the conversation with All Home, Bay Area Community Services (BACS), and the Eviction Defense Collaborative (EDC).

Joanne Karchmer, Chief Impact Officer at All Home, kicked off the event with a summer reminder of how interconnected many social and environmental issues are. The day of our event was the day Roe v. Wade was officially overturned, with that decision being certain to have the greatest impact on the same folks who are already struggling and finding themselves in the precarious position of facing eviction and potential homelessness. The decision impacts our ability to deal with issues beyond just reproductive health and justice—for instance, it will have profound implications for housing insecurity and poverty.

Joanne provided an overview of the initial numbers from the PIT count across the region. Pandemic response investments into programs like Roomkey and Homekey, as well as eviction moratoria and emergency rental assistance programs, helped keep people housed and move families back into housing. These responses proved we can move quickly, cutting red tape to invest at a new scale in order to protect thousands of our neighbors—bringing them off the streets and helping them keep their homes. A regional press release from All Home is available and includes links to individual county press releases.

Martina Cucullu Lim, Executive Director of the Eviction Defense Collaborativeshared the policies and programs that contributed to a decrease in homelessness in San Francisco, for example, the Right to Counsel Program, legal services, and emergency rental assistance, many of which took years to build up, and resulted in keeping families housed in the crisis.

Jamie Almanza, CEO of Bay Area Community Servicesshared the successes of programs like Keep Oakland Housed and highlighted their work to get enough permanent supportive housing built in the region to ensure everyone has a healthy, affordable place to call home.

The panel discussed solutions, challenges, and bright spots across the Bay Area, and recognized that, while it can feel like our homelessness challenges are getting worse, it’s important to recognize the solutions that have already proven they work. We know how to solve homelessness, so now it is a matter of doubling down on investing in implementing and expanding those solutions.

Watch a recording of the June 24 donor briefing.

SFF has taken an all-in approach to the Bay Area’s housing crisis through our policy work, grantmaking, partnerships, and program-related investments. With people of color comprising nearly three fourths of the region’s tenants who are behind in rent, it is clear that our housing crisis is also a racial justice crisis. We encourage our donors to support on-the-ground organizations working at the intersections of these challenges.

Here are ways to help:

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By Randolph Belle

A traveling exhibit that invokes the history of repression of Blacks in the United States arrived in Oakland for this week’s installation at Frank Ogawa Plaza.

Support Oakland Artists, an Oakland based 501(C)3, partnered with Society’s Cage to bring the acclaimed social justice art installation as a feature in front of Oakland City Hall from May 9-30, 2022.

Society’s Cage is an open air, accessible pavilion featuring 500 hanging steel bars that form a cavernous cube with a habitable void allowing visitors to experience the symbolic weight of institutional racism.

This immersive experience offers the opportunity to consider the severity of racial biases within our institutional structures of justice and allows for moments of reflection and healing.

The designers, Dayton Schroeter, Julian Arrington, Monteil Crawley and Ivan O’Garro, created the installation to contextualize the contemporary phenomenon of police killings of Black Americans within the 400+ year continuum of racialized state violence in the United States.

It is a data-driven installation shaped in response to the question “What is the value of Black life in America?”

The Oakland installation will be the first on the West Coast as it travels nationally to sites of symbolic power related to justice, freedom & democracy. Originating in Washington, DC on the National Mall in response to the 2020 murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, Society’s Cage has continued its journey as an interpretive lens highlighting the historic forces of racialized state violence in the United States.

Other sites have included War Memorial Plaza in Baltimore, Maryland, and the site of the Vernon AME Chapel in Tulsa, Oklahoma, for the 100th anniversary of the Tulsa Race massacre and destruction of the Greenwood District, known as Black Wall Street.

Oakland is an ideal host site for the installation as the home of the Black Panther Party, which was founded to combat the legacy of police oppression, inequitable incarceration practices, and remnants of slavery in the form of state-sponsored terrorism against Black people.

In 2009, the killing of Oscar Grant, a 22-year-old, unarmed Black transit rider by the BART police in Oakland set off local and regionally organized protests that catalyzed a national movement.

Support Oakland Artists Executive Director Randolph Belle atop the installation called ‘Society’s Cage’ as it was being assembled. Photo courtesy of Facebook.

“We were inspired to create the installation as a response to the murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor,” explains Dayton Schroeter, lead designer of Society’s Cage and design director at SmithGroup, which has offices in San Francisco. “The pavilion is a real and raw reflection of the conversations about racism happening now. It’s a physical manifestation of the institutional structures that have undermined the progress of Black Americans over the history of this country.

“The name Society’s Cage refers to the societal constraints that limit the prosperity of the Black community,” says Julian Arrington, who led the design with Schroeter, and is an associate at SmithGroup. “The pavilion creates an experience to help visitors understand and acknowledge these impacts of racism and be moved to create change.”

“It only took an instant for me to commit to this project,” said Randolph Belle, executive director of Support Oakland Artists. “In my over 30 years in Oakland as an artist and community developer, I’ve strived to utilize the arts to engage the public in thoughtful ways around important and timely topics. This project, this site, and these times are an unprecedented example of that.”

Visitors are encouraged to participate in a shared experience upon entering the pavilion. After holding their breath for as long as they can, evoking the common plea among victims of police killings, “I can’t breathe,” visitors then post a video reflection of their experience on social media using the hashtag #SocietysCage. This exercise is meant not only to build empathy but expand the installation’s impact online to allow anyone to participate in this shared exercise.

The pavilion was fabricated by Gronning Design + Manufacturing LLC in Washington, DC, and Mejia Ironworks in Hyattsville, Maryland. A soundscape was commissioned from a pair of composers, Raney Antoine Jr. and Lovell “UP” Cooper.

Composed of four pieces, each eight minutes and 46 seconds in length in recognition of the time George Floyd suffered under the knee of police, they are themed to reflect each of the four institutional forces that sculpted the pavilion’s interior — mass incarceration, police terrorism, capital punishment and racist lynchings.

Early sponsors who have made the hosting of the Society’s Cage Oakland installation possible include the Akonadi Foundation, Tarbell Family Foundation, individual sponsors including principals from SmithGroup’s San Francisco office, corporate sponsorship including SmithGroup and many community partners including BIG Oakland.

Jeremy Crandall and Emax Exhibits were the Oakland Installation team.

A public unveiling is scheduled for Saturday, May 14, 2022, at 11 am, and a programmed event featuring local cultural artists is scheduled for Sunday, May 29, 2022, at 7 pm Participating individuals and organizations include original members of the Black Panther Party , the Black Cultural Zone, HipHopTV, and a host of local artists.

For more information, visit www.societyscage.com to find a link to the donation site. Additional donations will assist with programming and documentation related to the Oakland activation.

Randolph Belle is the executive director of Support Oakland Artists and RBA Creative studio in Oakland.

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SAN FRANCISCO – On Friday November 12th, the San Francisco Bay Area Artsakh Task Force Humanitarian Aid Committee (SFBAATF-HAC) donated $ 100,000 to the Insurance Foundation for Soldiers in Armenia (IFS) at the Krouzian-Zekarian-Vasbouragan Armenian School in San Francisco, CA.

Earlier this year, the SFBAATF-HAC hosted a virtual fundraiser that raised $ 100,000 for wounded Artsakh soldiers and families of fallen soldiers.

The very first virtual gala and auction “For our soldiers” attracted over a few hundred visitors. Participants enjoyed touching musical performances, heard encouraging messages from Archbishop Hovnan Derderian and Bishop Torkom Donoyan, and saw moving personal messages from soldiers of Artsakh.

The donations went through the charitable foundation Friends of the Armenian Soldier and Family (FASF) and then to the Insurance Foundation for Soldiers in Armenia (IFS). IFS is a non-governmental organization that provides financial compensation to the families of deceased and wounded soldiers in Armenia and Artsakh.

The San Francisco Bay Area Artsakh Task Force (SFBAATF) was established in October 2020 in response to the 2020 war in Artsakh with a particular focus on assisting Artsakh by coordinating regional efforts. More information is available at www.facebook.com/BayAreaArtsakhTaskForce.

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SAN FRANCISCO, March 23, 2021 / PRNewswire / – The Delta Dental Community Care Foundation and Meals on Wheels San Francisco today announced a partnership to improve the oral health of the Bay Area’s most vulnerable seniors. Meals on Wheels received a grant from $ 500,000 in support of his operations and to start planning for future work.

March, 20th World Oral Health Day is a global campaign encouraging people to “band together to reduce the burden of oral disease”. Seniors face unique oral health challenges, but are a group that is sadly overlooked. Getting older shouldn’t mean living with oral health problems or tooth loss.

“Improving the oral health of older adults is a priority for the Delta Dental Community Care Foundation,” he said Kenzie Ferguson, Vice President for Foundation and Corporate Social Responsibility at Delta Dental von California. “Meals on Wheels by San Francisco is an incredible organization that can help us understand the challenges facing this group and work directly with vulnerable seniors to provide education, resources and services. “

Meals on Wheels already offers special diets for customers who have problems chewing or swallowing. This makes them a natural partner in solving problems related to vulnerable older adults and oral health. The Delta Dental Community Care Foundation aims to find ways to understand oral care challenges in older adults and is working with partners on solutions to remove these barriers.

“We are grateful to have received this scholarship and we applaud Delta Dental for strengthening it during a time of crisis for our vulnerable population of senior citizens living in the city,” he said Ashley McCumber, CEO and Executive Director of Meals on Wheels in San Francisco. “Our partnership will allow us to provide education and other resources to our customers so they can be more proactive about their oral health.”

Proper nutrition is essential to oral and general health, and there are specific links between oral health and food insecurity that make this partnership particularly relevant. Food insecurity is associated with an increased risk of dental caries, which causes tooth decay. On the other end of the spectrum, missing teeth or other conditions that cause mouth and jaw pain make eating difficult and affect the ability to eat properly.

March is March for Meals Month – a time when local Meals on Wheels programs across the country are recognizing the re-approval of the Older Americans Act of 1972, which paved the way for funding for nutrition programs for seniors. The programs, including San Francisco, invite local, state and federal officials to deliver meals to seniors’ homes while raising awareness of food insecurity issues that older adults face on a daily basis.

More activities have been added due to concerns about COVID-19, including sending maps, making phone calls, and holding Zoom meetings with local and state officials. Delta Dental has provided Meals on Wheels customers with 4000 dental kits and sent around 1000 cards with them in mind.

Via the Delta Dental Community Care Foundation

The Delta Dental Community Care Foundation works with local communities to improve access to care, support dental education, and fund research that advances the field of oral health. Since 2011, the foundation has more than awarded $ 60 million in 15 states and DC The foundation is the philanthropic arm of Delta Dental of California and its affiliates, including Delta Dental Insurance Company, Delta Dental of Pennsylvania and Delta Dental from new York, Inc.

Media contact:

Tami Holzman
[email protected]
415-216-4367

SOURCE Delta Dental Community Care Foundation

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