GreenLight Fund San Francisco Bay Area Raises $10M Fund III

Enabling the scaling of the next five proven programs to the Bay Area addressing community-identified unmet needs and building on meaningful social impact gained during first 10 years

San Francisco Bay Area – April 12, 2022 – GreenLight Fund San Francisco Bay Area, with support from generous local individuals, foundations and corporations, today announced the close of GreenLight Bay Area Fund III. An endorsement of the organization’s prior success that brought seven results-oriented programs to the region, the $10M Fund exceeds goals and expectations and is more than double the size of Fund II. Fund III will fuel the next five investment selections GreenLight will bring to the Bay Area, selected based on community-identified need, and deepen and accelerate the impact of the existing portfolio.

“I’m incredibly grateful for the outpouring of support for our work from across the community,” said GreenLight Fund Bay Area’s Senior Executive Director, Kate Schwass. “The resounding and record-breaking success of this Fund raise speaks to the impact of the organizations we have brought to the Bay Area and provides the capacity needed for us to continue our work, deepening and scaling impact across the community.”

GreenLight launched in the Bay Area in 2012 and has been building momentum and impact. This third Fund, which enables GreenLight to continue their work for the next 6 years, is record-breaking locally as well as record-breaking for GreenLight Fund’s national network, now in 12 sites across the country. The $10M+ Fund III, more than double Fund II, saw nearly 90% of investors renewing with the majority increasing their gifts.

“At Okta, we believe we can only be successful if our communities are thriving as well,” said Victor Cordon, Senior Manager, Social Impact, Okta. “Okta for Good is proud to support GreenLight’s continued work across the Bay Area, where Okta is headquartered, to bring transformational nonprofit models that help address our most challenging local issues. Their approach to community engagement and commitment to innovation inspires us and drives meaningful change.”

“Addressing systemic barriers to economic opportunity is complex and requires a long-term orientation,” added Philip Meicler, Partner, Bain Capital. “GreenLight Fund’s method of searching the country for the most innovative, effective and results-oriented nonprofit models out there paired with a community-driven approach really resonates with us at Bain Capital. We’re proud to partner with GreenLight across the country to drive positive and lasting impact.”

GreenLight Fund San Francisco Bay Area Fund III philanthropic investors include:
Melissa and Robert Abbe, Bain Capital, Bank of America, The Louis L. Borick Foundation, Breyer Family Foundation, Deloitte, Margo Doyle and Sunil Dhaliwal, Driven Brands Holdings, Gemmer Family Fund, Goldman Sachs Gives, Jennifer Min and Steve Harrick, Lillian Zhao and Brad Hoover, iHeartMedia, Sara and Frederic Kerrest, Marvin Larbi-Yeboa, Susanne and William Losch, Phil and Thayer Meicler, Merrill Family Foundation, NFL, Okta for Good, Anne and Robert Pedrero, Perkins Family Foundation, John Pritzker Family Fund, Rogers Family Foundation, MacKenzie Scott, Lindsay and Anu Sharma, Silicon Valley Community Foundation, Susan and John Simon, The Sobrato Foundation, Tim Wan, The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, Alan Ghelberg and Elizabeth Whitman, Jeanne and Michael Williams, along with several anonymous donors and foundations.

“I was attracted to GreenLight because of their innovative and highly leveraged approach to non-profits. I look forward to seeing GreenLight’s continued impact in the Bay Area!” shared Tim Wan, GreenLight donor and CFO of Asana.

GreenLight’s impact in the Bay Area over the past ten years has been significant. Portfolio organizations include Food Connect, EveryoneOn, ParentChild+, Blueprint Math Fellows, Springboard Collaborative, uAspire and Genesys Works. Collectively they reached more than 42,000 individuals and families last year alone and outcomes for participants are reaching or surpassing defined goals. The $4.8M GreenLight has invested in these organizations has seen a 10-fold leverage of $48.1M of additional dollars raised from both public and private dollars.

Brad Hoover, CEO of Grammarly shared, “GreenLight’s uniquely effective approach identifies critical needs in our communities, and then finds and funds exceptional teams with sustainable models that drive real change.”

The first selection cycle of this Fund is now beginning, focused on identifying an unmet, community-identified need in Oakland and addressing that need by finding, vetting and bringing a proven program from elsewhere in the country to Oakland, opening opportunities for individuals and families to achieve inclusive prosperity. GreenLight’s approach brings an evidence-based program to a specific city in the Bay Area that is complementary to the great work already happening in those cities. Rotating cities for each annual selection cycle include San Jose, San Francisco and Oakland. With the ongoing support GreenLight provides, programs are able to quickly spread to other cities in the region.

“Sobrato is proud to support the GreenLight Fund and its intentional, community-based process that identifies critical needs, imports innovative, entrepreneurial programs that can have a significant, measurable impact; while honoring local community assets. They have fine-tuned their approach to support meaningful collaborations in the ecosystem,” said Camille LLlanes-Fontanilla, MPA, Vice President Silicon Valley Programs, The Sobrato Foundation.

Genesys Works Executive Director Sahaar Rezaie (and grantee of GreenLight Fund) shared “I’ve had the pleasure and opportunity to partner with the GreenLight Fund for the past four years. Starting off as a grantee, I am now also a GreenLight donor because I believe so much in their model, mission, and people. Their expertise and knowledge span every aspect of nonprofit management. Our organization celebrates a decade of impact in the Bay Area this year. GreenLight supported us in building a solid foundation to serve generations of young people to come.”