Research shows that time outside of the classroom is nearly as important to youth development and learning as traditional school time.

Out-of-school time learning, or expanded learning, helps to address gaps and inequities in our traditional school systems and has proven to help address the pandemic's impacts on learning and social-emotional well-being.

In 2021, San Diego Foundation partnered with San Diego Unified School District and local nonprofits to launch Level Up SD, which brought a summer of learning and joy to San Diego school children and youth. This past year, SDF launched three additional expanded learning programs: County Expanded Learning Grants with other school districts and partners throughout the county, the Black InGenius Initiative with the University of San Diego, and the Growth Education Mentors and Scholars, or GEMS, program with various nonprofit partners.

Together, SDF has granted $31 million to 176 nonprofit partners and served more than 51,000 students through expanded learning.

In February 2023, San Diego Foundation received a $106 million unrestricted gift from the estate of Jay Kahn, a local entrepreneur and music lover.

The unrestricted gift is the largest of its kind to a San Diego nonprofit.

Kahn's gift was the third largest unrestricted gift to a U.S. community foundation. To honor Kahn's memory, SDF used a portion of the gift to create the Jay Kahn Endowment Fund and awarded $150,000 unrestricted grants to 10 San Diego-based music education nonprofits. The intent of the grants is to grow music appreciation in San Diego in memory of Kahn, a classical musician who played clarinet in symphonies at the University of California San Diego and the University of San Diego.

Kahn's gift also provided seed funding for the SD Housing Fund, which will invest in affordable housing developments throughout the county; supported SDF Strategic Plan initiatives; and created an internal innovations fund to help pilot new SDF programs and explore the expansion of existing programs.

Launched in fall 2022 as a partnership of San Diego Foundation and the International Community Foundation, the Binational Resilience Initiative places geographic focus on the Cali-Baja coastline region that spans from Oceanside in North San Diego County in the U.S. to Ensenada in Baja California, Mexico.

This is the largest economic zone along the U.S.-Mexico border and generates a regional GDP of $250 billion, an estimated $70 billion in cross-border trade flows and more than 90 million people crossing the border each year.

The initiative addresses our cross-border region's climate vulnerabilities by empowering binational collaborations between civil organizations, scientists, community leaders and other stakeholders. Funded projects include those that enhance coastal resilience due to global climate change, reduce the impact of pollution in the Tijuana River watershed, champion local leadership from communities on both sides of the border, and build a knowledge base of research to inform future efforts.