November 2022

Progress Newsletter

PVF has given out over 4,000 grants so far in 2022, from small sums supporting teachers and social workers, to larger amounts to non-profits primarily in San Mateo and Alameda County.

A primary focus of PVF is on poverty and programs that address this issue through education, food security, clothing and housing support, healthcare, and youth services. These are safety net programs that make life livable and help people stabilize their lives and get ahead.

Some of our giving is donor advised, where our donors give us their recommendations. Some giving is discretionary, meaning we decide where to give. Much of our giving is for general operating support use by the agency staff, and many grants are first time seed funding to outstanding grassroots organizations.

It is our feeling that these programs are run by outstanding individuals and that is the hallmark of PVF: "find outstanding people and fund them" and do it quickly when they need the money. Some of the outstanding programs that were brought to our attention this year include:

• Assistance League of San Mateo County which is an all-volunteer, nonprofit organization that enhances the quality of life for those in their community. PVF provided support towards Operation School Bell, a program which provides new clothes to children in San Mateo County.

• Bay Area Border Relief, a humanitarian program founded by San Mateo County volunteers that serves and advocates for children and families seeking their human right to asylum in the U.S. This funding supported food, rent assistance and school supplies for those resettled on the Coastside, Redwood City and Daly City.

• Las Casas, an English as a Second Language program for adults based in Oakland empowering immigrant workers to reach their educational & vocational goals. 

• Homework Central provides after-school tutoring, homework assistance, and family support in partnership with local San Mateo County schools. This pilot supported 3rd grade students whose first language is not English who were performing below school level due to learning from home during their 1st and 2nd years of school because of Covid.

Alleviating poverty is something that takes the best thinking we can come up with, something that tests our mettle in willingness to trust applicants, something that challenges everyone to be their brother's keeper.

We thank you, our donors, for making our work possible.

Empathy Day at Madison Park Elementary

PVF’s Program and Communications Associate, Cayman Bentley, recently attended an Empathy Day symposium at Madison Park Academy in the Sobrante Park neighborhood of East Oakland, hosted by the Niroga Institute. The event was funded by a grant from the Oakland Thrives’ Youth Joy and Wellness Fund, which is administered by PVF.

The symposium taught lessons of empathy, equity, and empowerment, which are all skills and ideas that are crucial for a student’s development. Throughout the course of the symposium, students were asked to be vulnerable with themselves and with one another, in order to foster a safe space environment that would encourage emotional and mental growth.