Understanding the San Diego Region:
We must understand. Then we can act.

Guided by this principle, The San Diego Foundation provides civic leadership to address community needs and effect positive change. The Understanding the San Diego Region program is one way The Foundation engages donors eager to understand the array of issues and problems affecting the region so that their giving can have the greatest impact.

Community Knowledge
By closely monitoring local issues, opportunities and resources, The San Diego Foundation has an in-depth understanding of the region’s challenges and the organizations addressing them. Together with our volunteer Working Groups, The Foundation establishes initiatives for change across subject areas essential to the well-being of every San Diegan:

Arts & Culture
Civil Society
Environment
Health & Human Services
Organizational Success (Strengthening Nonprofits)
Scholarships
Science & Technology

Community Impact Grants
The San Diego Foundation identifies areas in which our grantmaking can help solve complex problems affecting communities across the region. Through the Community Impact Grants Program, The San Diego Foundation supports organizations and programs whose work helps advance the Foundation’s initiatives in each subject area.

The Community Impact Grants are funded by contributions from our donors and Friends of The Foundation, from grants that The San Diego Foundation has received from other funders to achieve our Community Impact Initiatives, and by the Fund for the Common Good – a pool of endowment funds set up by donors with the broad intent of improving the quality of life in the San Diego region.

Introducing donors to important grantmaking opportunities
A high priority in the coming year will be to expand the voices and experience represented in our Working Groups to provide even stronger advice and direction for donors seeking good information and new opportunities in their philanthropy. To learn more, contact your donor manager in the Fund Services Department.

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