Local nonprofits are the essential delivery system for our Foundation realizing its mission of helping create and sustain a vibrant and healthy community where all Silicon Valley residents have equal opportunity to live, work and be enriched. It is our Foundation's goal to achieve maximum impact by responding to nonprofit agencies' greatest needs.  For example:

Community Problem

Nonprofit agencies do not have enough unrestricted flexible capital to effectively sustain and support their community missions.

To invest in the nonprofit enterprise as a whole (rather than just a specific program or project) and to provide unrestricted funds toward a nonprofit's infrastructure and administrative expenses.

Our Foundation believes that the two most fundamental assets of any business or organization are its PEOPLE and PLACES.

Therefore, the Foundation has chosen to commit all of its resources to build and strengthen either the human resources capital or the building capital of effective community-based nonprofits so that they can more fully accomplish their agency's mission.

Community Impact

Between January 2008 – December 2009, our Foundation committed $9.6 million in general operating support cash grants to both strengthen and sustain the capacity of 110 nonprofit agencies. For a complete list of grants awarded, click here.

ELIGIBILITY & EVALUATION CRITERIA

The Sobrato Family Foundation's investments are targeted toward strong community-based organizations that promote self-reliance and economic independence, and positively contribute to the quality of life for economically, physically and emotionally challenged individuals served in and throughout Santa Clara, Southern San Mateo and Southern Alameda Counties.

As a responsive grantmaker, the Foundation staff and Board conduct a competitive grant review process. Final grant decisions are awarded based on an evaluation of three key areas:

• People (staff salaries and benefits costs, Board development, volunteer training, succession planning, etc.)
• Places (rent and utilities subsidy, facilities maintenance costs, building rehabilitation, etc.)

2)    Leverage: We award support in the form of 2:1 fundraising challenge grants to help sustain and/or build nonprofits' institutional capacity. A Challenge Grant from our Foundation is defined as a grant that is contingent upon new or increased funds raised and received from non-governmental sources during the first year of a specific grant period.

3)    Multi-Year Support: We provide two years of unrestricted conditional support to ensure funding stability to nonprofits' strategic planning and budgeting cycles.

4)    Inflation Growth: We include an automatic 5% increase in the second year grant award over the first year’s award to account for general operating inflation costs.

GRANT INVESTMENTS

Our Foundation is unique in not asking applicants to provide a specific grant request or amount as part of of our application process. Rather, our Foundation awards general operating support grants in a competitive manner based on a thorough review and assessment of each applicant's leadership, program effectiveness, fiscal sustainability and mission alignment with the family's priority interests. If a grant is approved, the Foundation generally awards funding in the range of 1-5% of an agency's three-year average renewable private cash contributed income figure (excluding unique one-time gifts, bequests, capital campaign and endowment contributions, etc.)

If you are seeking grant funding from the Foundation:

1)    Take the Eligibility Questionnaire that will specify if, and when, your agency will receive a funding application from our office sometime over the next two years given that grant cycles rotate approximately every 24 months.

2)    Complete the "Email List" instructions and wait for the Foundation to email you with the appropriate grant application at the appropriate time.

Take the Eligibility Questionnaire now.