Slide

Partnering
to Give for Good.

2022 Annual Report

SDF Annual Report

Partnering
to Give for Good.

2022 Annual Report

Transforming
to Give for Good.

On behalf of those who support and partner with San Diego Foundation, we are honored to share with you our 2022 annual report.

It has been a remarkable year with more than $150 million in grants to nonprofit organizations, most of them local, addressing community needs. Our donors, fund holders and partners once again gave to do much good in San Diego and beyond.

We dug deeply into the work of our Strategic Plan, bringing our vision of just, equitable and resilient communities closer to reality. We advanced racial and social justice with new programs that build generational wealth and grants that expand equitable workforce opportunities through the Black Community Investment Fund. We fostered equity of opportunity by addressing some of the most pressing issues for San Diegans, from access to affordable, quality childcare to access to education.

We continued building resilient communities by intensifying our focus on healthy children and families, including equitable outdoor access and supporting mental and behavioral health services. We also delivered world-class philanthropy with a new name, brand and website that better reflect the organization we are today.

This work and the positive impact and opportunities it has created for San Diegans was possible thanks to new and existing partnerships with donors, funders, municipal partners and local nonprofits.

Last fall, we launched the San Diego Regional Policy and Innovation Center and have witnessed a strong coalition of 90-plus partners coming together to focus on climate equity and sustainable growth issues throughout our region.

Our 2022 efforts and achievements were also supported by a growing team of philanthropic and community experts who dedicate themselves daily to inspiring enduring philanthropy and enabling community solutions to improve the quality of life in our region. We are proud that for a second year, we were awarded The San Diego Union-Tribune's Top Workplaces Award.

While we are thrilled to also share record charitable contributions of more than $220 million this year, we know there is so much more work to do to fully realize our vision.

Thank you again for your partnership and trust. With a year of record success, we look forward to continuing our work together to lead the change towards a future where every San Diegan has the opportunity to succeed.

Read More

Mark A. Stuart, CFRE

President & CEO

Steve Klosterman, AIF

Chair, Board of Governors

Increasing Our Impact.

$150.8M

With a new Strategic Plan and support from our donors and partners, we intensified our focus on the issues that affect those most in need in San Diego, while continuing to support issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic. A record $150.8 million was distributed in 7,848 grants to 2,316 nonprofits, with most serving San Diegans in need. This compares to 6,989 grants totaling $104.1M in 2021 and 6,353 nonprofit grants totaling $77.8 million in 2020.

Giving Where It's Needed.

With evolving regional needs, we moved quickly to assist our partners supporting a variety of San Diego causes. As your community foundation, we directed vital contributions from donors to nonprofits making an impact, in addition to our discretionary grantmaking aligned with our Strategic Plan. This is how we granted $150.8 million in funds this year.

Education

$47,111,313

Learn more

Civil Society

$36,750,274

Learn more

Health & Human Services

$35,910,879

Learn more
SDF Annual Report 2022 Pie Chart

Arts & Culture

$12,526,629

Learn more

Youth Development

$7,507,692

Learn more

Environment

$7,505,620

Learn more

* Note: Other grantmaking totaling $3,500,111 includes international, foreign affair & national security; mutual & membership benefit, and religion-related grants.

* Unaudited as of June 30, 2022

Focusing on Our Region.

San Diego Foundation granted funds to local, regional, national and international nonprofits last year, including a record $111,554,215 to San Diego nonprofits―a 20% increase over last year―to help San Diegans in need.

74%

San Diego
$111,554,215

13%

California
$19,787,933

13%

U.S. & International
$19,470,369

Wealth Through Homeownership

Increasing Generational Wealth Through Homeownership.

Growing Diverse Communities to Give for Good

"Life-changing, "unbelievable," "a silent dream," "a miracle"—these are the words used by Kevan and Ritha Rowe, Tyshawn Cook, Jordan Daniels, and Liz and Josh Riley, respectively, to describe their experience as the inaugural beneficiaries of the San Diego Black Homebuyers Program at San Diego Foundation.

Launched in August 2021 with Urban League of San Diego County and LISC San Diego, the program was seeded with $1 million from the SDF Black Community Investment Fund, along with grants from the BQuest Foundation and the office of County of San Diego Board of Supervisors Chair Nathan Fletcher.

The program goal is to improve the racial wealth gap in San Diego by investing in generational wealth-building opportunities through Black homeownership. In San Diego, fewer than 30% of Black families own homes compared to 61% of white families. This year, the program met its goal by providing financial and homebuying assistance to 37 families.

Learn More

"When you have your own home, you're planted there. We're an amazing family. When you have us in your community, it's going to grow; it's going to be better."

Ritha Rowe
SD Black Homebuyers Program Beneficiary

Nonprofit Capacity

Expanding Nonprofit Capacity.

Partnering with Cities to Give for Good

As one of the country's most generous communities, San Diego County is home to more than 11,000 nonprofits. Unfortunately, many nonprofits continue to feel the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic due to increased demand and operational costs.

This year, several regional municipalities partnered with San Diego Foundation to extend COVID relief funding to the nonprofits operating in or serving their cities. In March, the city of San Diego and SDF announced $4.1M in grants to nonprofits as part of the City of San Diego Small Business and Nonprofit COVID-19 Relief Fund.

In May, the city of Escondido, SDF and the Escondido Community Foundation, a regional affiliate of SDF, launched the City of Escondido Nonprofit Relief Fund, offering $1.5 million in funding to nonprofits. In August 2022, the City of Chula Vista and SDF launched a similar program with $1.5M available to nonprofits.

By partnering with SDF, these cities relied on our network of nonprofit partners and grantmaking expertise to provide more than a collective $7M in relief funding to regional nonprofits, expanding their capacity and ability to give for good.

Learn More

"Thanks to the collaboration of our community partners and San Diego Foundation, these grants are making a huge difference for our city's nonprofit and small business owners who need it most."

Todd Gloria
City of San Diego Mayor

Equitable Opportunity for Students

Creating Equitable Opportunity
for Students.

Supporting Scholars to Give for Good

Meliya Russom, a recent graduate of The Preuss School, credits San Diego Foundation and the support of her family, teachers, community and mentors for her successful enrollment at University of California Los Angeles this fall.

Thanks to donors and volunteers, Russom—along with 982 other local college students—benefited from a record-breaking $3.5M in awards from the Community Scholarship Program this year. Investing in local students like Meliya is one of the most advantageous ways to advance equity in the region and increase access and resources for San Diegans facing barriers to realizing full and healthy lives.

Among the 2022–2023 scholarship recipients, 69% are first-generation college students, or the first in their immediate families to pursue higher education, and 93% of students are considered low-middle income, according to their Earned Family Contribution data. As the largest scholarship program in the region outside of the university system, San Diego Foundation has awarded $46.5 million to more than 12,000 college students since 1997.

Learn More

"Early on in high school, I promised myself that I wouldn't have my parents carry the financial burden of paying for my education, and San Diego Foundation has helped me keep this promise."

Meliya Russom
Scholarship Recipient & Labor Studies Freshman, UCLA

Sustainable Careers

Building Sustainable Careers.

Expanding the Green Workforce to Give for Good

For San Diego opportunity youth—young people ages 16–24 who are not working or in school—the future got a little greener this year, thanks to a new grant program in partnership with the County of San Diego.

Earlier this year, the County and San Diego Foundation launched a pilot green jobs program targeting the estimated 31,000 opportunity youth in our region. Seven nonprofit partners stepped up to expand their services to help provide access and training for green jobs in urban forestry, environmental justice advocacy, science and conservation, and sustainable farming.

For the young people in the program, they've had access to internships, training and mentoring that will prepare them for jobs in the growing green economy and positions with County of San Diego Parks and Recreation, Environmental Health & Quality, and Public Works departments, among others. They've also helped their neighbors advocate for cleaner air and water through regional climate action plans that help prepare for a better, more resilient future for San Diego communities.

Learn More

"These investments in a youth green jobs program are an acknowledgment that our economy can't fully recover until young people recover — and have equitable access to the green economy of tomorrow."

Terra Lawson-Remer
San Diego County Supervisor

Providing a Path for Every Donor.

Meghan Haggblade

Leaving a Legacy

When Ted Haggblade remembers his daughter Meghan, he instantly recalls her volunteerism. Heavily involved in environmental causes and as a mentor for young people interested in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), Meghan invested her time in the San Diego community after moving here to pursue a career in environmental planning.

When she passed at age 29 after battling cancer, her family wanted to continue her support of the region she called home. Together, they worked with San Diego Foundation to start the Meghan Haggblade Legacy Foundation. While the family continues to build an endowment, it looks forward to soon supporting the causes Meghan cared about in perpetuity.

"Meghan just loved San Diego. It gives us some focus and comfort carrying on her wishes."

Ted Haggblade
Donor & Fund Advisor

Leon Williams

Growing Opportunity

Known for his service on the San Diego City Council, County Board of Supervisors and San Diego Foundation Board of Governors, Leon Williams has another important title—scholarship donor. Celebrating his 100th birthday this year, Williams is well known for opening doors for San Diegans of color.

He continues to open doors for young people through the Leon and Margaret Williams Scholarship fund that honors him and his wife, Margaret, a lifelong educator. Since 2000, the scholarship has supported 35 local Black college students attending a four-year university to pursue careers in health or healthcare, with a demonstrated commitment to improving San Diego communities.

"Just pay close attention to who you are, who other people are, and how much you can help other people."

Leon Williams
Donor, Retired Civic Leader & Former SDF Board of Governors Member

Dr. Seuss

Expanding Equity

Dr. Seuss is a well-known name in children's literacy. When the namesake nonprofit—the Dr. Seuss Foundation—wanted to expand its work on early literacy in San Diego, a mutual partnership was formed with San Diego Foundation. Together, SDF and the Dr. Seuss Foundation awarded $1.25 million to 21 local nonprofits supporting young children, ages 0–5, and their families as part of the SDF Early Childhood Initiative.

The partnership between the foundations expanded the annual grant program to also include a focus on supporting early grade-level readiness and access to opportunity by ensuring a strong foundation for literacy in the earliest years.

"Through this partnership, we are focused on ensuring young children have access to learning opportunities that build the foundation for lifelong success."

Jay Hill
Executive Director, Dr. Seuss Foundation

Cox Communications Charity

Supporting Community

For more than 20 years, Cox Communications has partnered with San Diego Foundation to support its employees' desire to give back to their communities. Employees make donations to Cox Charities, its SDF corporate-advised fund, via their paycheck and Cox matches their donations to increase the dollar amount contributed back to the community—whether through scholarships or grants to nonprofits.

For Cox, philanthropy is more than a buzzword—it's a mission and an opportunity to strengthen cities, businesses and future generations. To date, Cox Charities has given $6.5 million in grants to San Diego and other Southern California communities.

"Giving back and making an impact in our community is very important to our company and our employees."

Colleen Dillaway
Market Vice President,
Cox Communications and former SDF Board of Governors member

70%

Donor-Advised Giving

30%

Community & Field of Interest

36%

Donor-Advised Payout Rate*

* The payout rate is a calculation of grantmaking dollars from donor-advised funds to nonprofit organizations relative to the total charitable non-endowed assets in DAFs.

How Donors Give for Good.

Donors are a vital partner in the work of San Diego Foundation, with thousands giving millions towards charitable causes each year.

From the San Diego Black Homebuyers Program to the Early Childhood Initiative to annual scholarships, our region is a better place due to donor contributions and generosity. Thank you to every donor who gave and entrusted us with their charitable journey to give for good.

This year, donors, foundations, municipal partners and businesses helped us grow ever closer to a vision for just, equitable and resilient communities in San Diego, along with donor-advised giving to charitable causes at home and abroad. Together, we granted a record-breaking $150.8 million to nonprofit organizations—the most in our 47-year history. During the past year, donor-advised giving accounted for 70% of grants, while the remaining grants reflected the priorities of our Strategic Plan that was introduced last year and outlines our region's greatest needs.

We thank our donors for continuing to ask how they can help in ways big and small in our region, and doing so with grants from their donor-advised funds that make a difference to San Diego's nonprofit organizations and the people they serve. To maximize the charitable resources and impact in our region, SDF advises and encourages donors to give as much as they can, as often as they can to those in need.

View New Funds

Long-Term Investing to Give for Good.

During the past year, short-term investment results have been difficult due to market volatility. On a positive note, long-term results for our endowment and non-endowment portfolios continue to be strong. The endowment portfolio has consistently outperformed its benchmark over all time periods, so donors can leave a lasting legacy that gives for good today and for future generations.

View Our Investing Strategy

Total Returns*

As of June 30, 2022

SDF Annual Report 2022 Chart

* The SDF Policy Index is a composite of indexes reflecting our diversified portfolio, specifically: 40% MSCI ACWI IMI , 10% Bloomberg US Universal Bond Index, 15% HFRI Fund of Fund Composite Index, 15% Pro-rata % Cambridge Private Equity Index Lagged and unallocated % to MSCI ACWI IMI, 6% Real Assets Benchmark, 9% NCREIF ODCE Net, 5% S&P LSTA Leveraged Loan Index + 150bps.

"A majority of our investment portfolios continue to perform well relative to the market. The one-year and three-year endowment portfolios' performance is still outpacing benchmarks and those portfolios ranked in the top 10% of similarly sized endowments and foundations."

Matt Fettig

Matt Fettig, CFA
Chief Investment Officer, San Diego Foundation

Building Assets to Give for Good.

As one of the most philanthropic regions in the country, San Diegans are known for our big hearts and consistent giving. This generosity is evident in our 2,362 donor-advised funds, including 1,344 endowment funds.

While the short-term performance of our portfolio reduced our assets this year as compared to last, our long-term investment performance ensures our assets will continue to grow and give for good in San Diego, forever.

2022

$1,304,655,000

2021

$1,308,874,000

2020

$1,070,175,000

View Financial Statements View Contributions