History of The San Diego Foundation: "Yesterday, Today, for Tomorrow"

The year was 1975. Navy families throughout San Diego rejoiced as, far across the Pacific, peace had settled over Southeast Asia. Pete Wilson was restoring luster to the office of Mayor following a leadership scandal in the previous mayoral administration. "Air Coryell" was re-writing NFL record books, and the Padres went 71-91 in their seventh season (skippered by John McNamara). S&L giants San Diego Federal and Home Federal poured money into local real estate markets, helping San Diego's population swell to 755,000.

And, oh yes, The San Diego Community Foundation (later renamed The San Diego Foundation) was born. As a handful of public-spirited citizens met that year to consider ways to address community problems, little could they imagine that the small steps they were taking would have such a tremendous impact on improving the lives of thousands of people throughout the region.

The Foundation's genesis dates to a few years earlier (1972), when then-SDG&E executive Phil Klauber and Don Morgan, executive director of United Way of San Diego, met to discuss new IRS regulations that made it more difficult for private foundation to remain in business.

Could United Way, he mused, become San Diego County's primary vehicle for community philanthropy?

They sought counsel with an experienced team of other San Diego business executives - Jim Gillean, retired head of Bank of America's San Diego Trust Office, Anderson Borthwick, retired chairman of what is now Union Bank, attorneys Dwight Stanford and Jim Mulvaney, and accountant Carl Ensenoff.

The next critical steps were taken in October 1974. Ted Gildred, Jr., trustee of foundations named for his father and mother, sought advice from the United Way on the most time-efficient and cost-effective ways to identify worthwhile planned giving opportunities.

Extensive discussions led to the inevitable conclusion that the time was right for a new charitable foundation, one that could serve a broad spectrum of potential donors with diverse gift-giving interests. "The San Diego Community Foundation" was selected as the name for this new civic organization.

A few months later, on January 16, 1975, the Gildred Foundation pledged $135,000 to the new Foundation, including $90,000 in unrestricted funds for staffing and startup expenses. United Way contributed office space, furnishings, and equipment, and the Ed and Mary Fletcher and Willis and Jane Fletcher Foundations offered additional startup funding.

The Foundation's Bylaws and Articles of Incorporation were approved on May 12, 1975, the date still celebrated as The Foundation's birthday. The first annual meeting was held on September of that year, and the first Board of Governors was elected: James W. Archer, William F. Black, John F. Borchers, Anderson Borthwick, Malin Burnham, Pauline des Granges, Carl M. Ensenoff, Willis H. Fletcher, Theodore E. Gildred (vice president), James M. Gillean, Robert M. Golden, Edmund W. Hill, Philip M. Klauber (president), James Mulvaney (vice president), and George Palmer. In addition, Robertson Whittemore was selected as secretary, and Don Morgan treasurer.

The City of San Diego saw the far-reaching benefits such an organization could have on the region, and acted quickly to support it. The City Council had previously given thought to creating a similar municipal organization. In June 1976, at the urging of Mayor Wilson, who said "San Diego needs a community foundation, but it needs only one . . .," the Council unanimously approved a $50,000 grant to The Foundation.

It didn't take long for The Foundation to demonstrate that it could serve the interests of donors while also benefiting the community. Local residents in Bankers Hill were concerned about the land around the Spruce Street Bridge, a historic part of the area and one that was rich in plant diversity. Mrs. Virginia Mackenzie Smith hoped to see it remain that way, and gave the first major gift to The Foundation, which used the money to acquire the bridge and the land around it. The Foundation then gave the property to the city, to be preserved forever as open space.

By making the gift to protect the Spruce Street Bridge, The Foundation demonstrated for potential donors that it could indeed make a difference in the city's quality of life. The optimism, however, was short-lived. An unforeseen disaster tested the city's civic resolve as never before. And out of its ashes rose a community spirit that galvanized city residents with a renewed belief in the power of philanthropy.

The much-beloved Old Globe Theatre in Balboa Park burned to the ground in a 1978 arson fire. Undaunted, businesses and individuals throughout the region responded with an outpouring of contributions to rebuild the famous landmark.

More importantly, their generosity proved beyond any doubt that the once sleepy, seaside Navy town of San Diego was ready to move into the big leagues of philanthropy.

Community leaders turned to The Foundation in increasing numbers to address social, economic, environmental, educational, and cultural issues. BY 1980, after its five years, The Foundation's assets stood at $1.1 million and grants totaling $111,000 had been awarded.

Real growth, however, took hold over the 10 years. Assets managed by The Foundation zoomed to $48 million, and grantmaking increased nearly twentyfold, to $2.1 million.

As more and more people saw the advantages of philanthropy through a community-based foundation, larger and larger endowments were established. The family of Reuben H. Fleet, founder of General Dynamics, merged its $8 million Fleet Foundation into the Community Foundation in 1985. Former San Diego Community Foundation president Joseph Hibben and his wife, Ingrid, then established a fund valued in excess of $2 million in 1988.

"There's a tendency for people to give when the economy is booming," the Hibbens noted when making their gift. "But the needs are greatest when the community is experiencing economic decline . . . the Community Foundation offers a kind of social and economic balance wheel for a community."

That observation proved prophetic in the early 1990's, as California's economic engine slowed to a crawl. San Diego, unfortunately, was not immune. A thaw in the Cold War meant deep cuts in the defense industry, the very bedrock of San Diego's economy. Other locally based stalwarts like Pacific Southwest Airlines, Allied-Signal, Home Federal; and Great American Federal fell victim to either merger mania or the economic paralysis that gripped the rest of the nation long before spreading into the Golden state.

Again, the can-do spirit of San Diego businesses, foundations, and individuals roared to life, filling the void left by the city's changing economic landscape. Contributions to Foundation coffers in the early 1990's came in unprecedented numbers as a new generation of San Diego philanthropists embraced the mantle of leadership.

The Foundation's assets skyrocketed from $48 to $122 million in the five years between 1990 and 1995. Grantmaking tripled, from $2.1 to 6.4 million.

Sol and Helen Price opened the first of several funds in 1992 with The San Diego Foundation, and subsequently gave more than $20 million through them to various local charities. Samuel M. and Maria Blasker set up an $8 million endowment that same year to support new approaches to solving environmental problems. And Audrey Geisel established the Dr. Seuss Fund in memory of her late husband, Theodore, known worldwide as Dr. Seuss, to support a variety of causes they cared about.

The Foundation's assets continued to soar in the latter half of the 1990s, more than doubling to $303 million. Total annual grants also increased twofold, to $28 million.

The generosity of caring San Diegans wasn't limited to just the city or county. After several local donors expressed interest in making charitable contributions to organizations outside the United States, especially to neighboring Mexico, The Foundation established a separate foundation in 1990 for that express purpose. Dallas Clark, Ron Hahn and Deborah Szekely were founding members of the Pacific American Foundation, later renamed the International Community Foundation (ICF). By late 2000, the ICF had 20 funds directing support to projects in Mexico and a small number in China, all under the guidance of former State Senator Lucy Killea, director of the ICF.

The San Diego Foundation stands as the premier community-based philanthropic organization in the San Diego region. With generous support from a community of donors, The Foundation has granted more than $400 million to local nonprofit organizations since its inception in 1975. The funds The Foundation manage number more than 1,050 and cover as wide a spectrum as the charitable interests of the diverse contributor base. All of them, however, are rooted in a sincere desire by public-spirited citizens to make San Diego a better place to live, work and play.

In addition its leadership role in grantmaking, The Foundation serves as an incubator for developing creative solutions to critical community problem, and has become San Diego's principle resource for how-to information on charitable giving. We also encourage and support meaningful dialogue on issues affecting each of our communities. Such widespread grassroots participation, we believe, will lead to positive impacts on philanthropy and community involvement.

We salute the founders of The San Diego Foundation for their foresight in creating an innovative approach to community philanthropy. We also say thank you to each of our contributors for entrusting us with their valuable assets and inviting us in as a partner to help achieve their charitable goals. You have made The San Diego Foundation a success Yesterday, Today, for Tomorrow.