It is a privilege and a joy to be responsive to community needs and to address issues about which we care deeply.
We established our foundation in 1997, responding to widening economic disparities and recognizing that too many families were being excluded from the economic prosperity of the region and the nation. The visible increase in wealth starkly contrasted with the poverty so clearly still persistent throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. Our first priority, therefore, was supporting nonprofits that help underserved youth and their families have better access to services and opportunities that improve lives. The difficult economic years that have followed – the great recession of 2007 to 2013, and the multi-faceted crises created by Covid-19 – made these needs even more pressing and apparent, reinforcing our belief that each of us shares responsibility to help our community in every way we can.
After our own family experienced the fear and anguish of autoimmune disease, and the adjustment to living with chronic health issues, we committed our foundation to seeking better health outcomes and day-to-day quality of life for those living with these types of diseases. Similarly, based on Marcia’s many years as an autism educator, seeing firsthand the challenges it places on children and their parents, we expanded our efforts to ease these families’ lives through improved scientific understanding, treatment, and support.
As lifelong residents of the San Francisco Peninsula, we want to have an impact close to home. After many years of making grants in East Palo Alto, we asked the youth what they wanted for their city. Their response – a safe space and quality programming to explore art and creativity as a vehicle to support their dreams and uplift their community – propelled us to listen and act to fulfill their vision. We are truly grateful to the youth for taking the lead and for teaching us the importance of community-driven solutions.
From providing early intervention education to parents whose children have been diagnosed with autism, to helping foster children have access to job training, to supporting cutting-edge research to improve the lives of kidney patients, to helping youth transform their community through art and creativity – we are awed by the resilience, tenacity, and wisdom of the leaders and doers who power these movements to help others.
It is a privilege and a joy to be responsive to community needs and to address issues about which we care deeply.
Marcia & John Goldman
