Silicon Valley Community Foundation mobilizes philanthropic resources to support nonprofit organizations and community priorities in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties. Its work addresses structural challenges such as housing, financial stability, and early childhood development, alongside emergency response efforts. The foundation also strengthens long-term charitable activity through donor-advised funds, endowments, scholarships, and planned giving.
Connecting people, ideas, and resources to support system-level change and promote equity and opportunity.
Silicon Valley Community Foundation was formed in 2007 through the merger of the Peninsula Community Foundation and Community Foundation Silicon Valley. The merger created a single regional foundation serving Silicon Valley and surrounding communities. In the years following its formation, the foundation expanded its role as a philanthropic intermediary, managing donor-advised funds and supporting nonprofit organizations locally and beyond. By the early 2010s, it had grown significantly in assets and grantmaking activity, reflecting the region’s concentration of wealth and the increasing use of donor-advised funds as a philanthropic vehicle.
The organization operates as a philanthropic intermediary that aligns donors, nonprofit organizations, public institutions, and other stakeholders to address complex community challenges. Its approach is equity-centered and oriented toward system-level change, with attention to how power, resources, and decision-making affect community outcomes. Work is carried out through structured grantmaking, partnerships, research, policy engagement, and advocacy, depending on the issue area. Collaboration with cross-sector partners is used to inform priorities, coordinate action, and support solutions shaped by community needs. The organization maintains a nonpartisan, nonpolitical stance, with an operating style focused on stewardship, coordination, and long-term community impact.
Silicon Valley Community Foundation has contributed to regional impact by directing philanthropic resources toward community-defined priorities in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties. Its work has addressed both long-standing structural challenges—such as housing affordability, financial security, and early childhood development—and urgent community needs through emergency response efforts, including during the COVID-19 pandemic. The foundation has supported nonprofit organizations through grantmaking, partnerships, and initiatives such as the Community Lifeline Fund, which assists providers of essential services during periods of heightened need. Its longer-term influence includes strengthening the regional philanthropic infrastructure through donor-advised funds, endowments, and planned giving mechanisms, enabling sustained charitable support aligned with evolving community needs.
The organization works through partnerships that bring together nonprofit organizations, community-based groups, public agencies, funders, businesses, and community leaders.
Silicon Valley Community Foundation offers multiple charitable fund types, including donor-advised, designated, field-of-interest, scholarship, and nonprofit endowment funds. It provides philanthropic advising to individuals, families, and corporations to support giving strategies, nonprofit selection, and grant administration. For corporate partners, the foundation manages corporate giving programs and offers services related to corporate responsibility, compliance, and program design. It also supports nonprofit sustainability through its Community Partner Endowment Program, which helps eligible organizations build long-term financial resources.
