The mission of the John & Marcia Goldman Foundation is to have an impact on the quality of life of individuals and communities in the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond.
In fulfilling its mission, the foundation focuses much of its grantmaking in two areas:
· Supporting positive outcomes for youth, by addressing critical service gaps and improving the life trajectories of young people, their families and their communities in the mid-Peninsula region
· Improving health outcomes for autoimmune diseases and autism spectrum disorder, by supporting translational- and treatment- related research and health services
In addition to these two areas, the foundation supports a variety of other causes at the discretion of its trustees, including in the arts, civic projects, emergency response, social services, and Jewish affairs.
Unsolicited proposals are only accepted from organizations that align with the foundation’s youth-development priorities.
Marcia and John Goldman are Bay Area natives who both grew up in families with a strong commitment to giving back to their community through volunteerism and charitable giving. The Jewish values of tzedakah (charity based on righteousness, fairness, and justice) and tikkun olam (humanity’s shared responsibility to “repair the world”) were deeply ingrained in them at an early age. Throughout their adult lives, they have donated their time, skills, and resources to a variety of causes and organizations. By example and through participation, they have passed these values on to their children and now to their grandchildren.
Established in 1997, the John & Marcia Goldman Foundation (JMGF) is part of a successive line of family foundations that have operated through the generations. The assets of JMGF grew substantially in 2011 with the dissolution of the Richard & Rhoda Goldman Fund. Founded by John’s parents in 1951, the earlier Goldman foundation granted nearly $700 million to more than 2,500 nonprofit organizations, and both John and Marcia served on the board. John also continues his parents’ legacy through his ongoing leadership on the board of the Goldman Environmental Foundation.
The Walter & Elise Haas, Sr. Fund was founded by John’s grandparents, and now the third and fourth generations, including John’s family, continue to sit on the board. The philanthropic impact of the descendants of Levi Strauss is woven throughout the fabric of the Bay Area – from the campuses of the region’s major universities, to the halls of well-loved civic, cultural, and healthcare institutions, and into the breadth and diversity of community-based organizations that focus on improving the lives of all.
In the name of good stewardship and responsible action in fighting climate change, JMGF joined the Divest-Invest movement in 2014. With this decision, the foundation is committed to divesting the foundation’s assets entirely from fossil fuel enterprises and reinvesting in clean energy resources.
By involving their family’s next generation, by continuing the tradition of investing in nonprofits close to home, and by focusing on issues to which they feel passionate, Marcia and John carry on this philanthropic legacy through the foundation that carries their names.