Robert Jones (far left), Executive Director of East Palo Alto Community Alliance Development Organization, receives the first Sobrato fund loan from family members John A., Sue, Sheri, John Michael, Lisa and Michael at a press conference held in April 2001, which was featured on Channel 4 evening news. Las Mariposas by Ketzal Community Development Corporation

 
 

PHILOSOPHY

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 nonprofits agencies greatest needs.  For example:

Community Problem

Offering affordable housing for working families in the Silicon Valley region where homes and rents are among the highest in the nation. Nonprofit housing developers do not have access to flexible capital to meet early stage affordable housing project goals.

Our Philanthropic Response

To create a revolving loan fund as a program-related investment that supports pre-qualified nonprofit housing developers in creating and/or preserving existing affordable multi-family rental property, homeless and transitional housing, and below-market rate single-family/homeownership developments in the Greater Silicon Valley area. Specifically, we offer access to three interest-free debt products:

1)    real-estate secured loans for land/property acquisition,

2)    real-estate secured loans for construction gap financing, and

3)    unsecured loans to fund pre-development expenses.

Community Impact

In 2001, the Sobrato family made the largest private gift to Affordable Housing in Silicon Valley to date of $10 million and established a program-related investment housing loan program. In total, through June 30, 2009, the Fund has approved and committed over $16 million in loans to help finance 46 projects creating 3,439 units of affordable housing for low-income families, thereby helping them to become economically self-sufficient in one of the most expensive housing markets in the country. An additional $8.6 million in support has been leveraged through other private and public sources magnifying the Fund’s community impact.

ELIGIBILITY

Program guidelines for pre-qualified housing developers are available at: www.OpportunityFund.org/Real-Estate/Sobrato. Program questions can be directed to Toby Lieberman at Toby@OpportunityFund.org or (408) 516-4696 as the Sobrato Affordable Housing Fund is administered through Opportunity Fund (formerly Lenders for Community Development), a leading economic development lending institution in San Jose.

COMMENTS TO THE FOUNDATION

You are invited to send a note directly to the Foundation staff and Board letting them know what you think of their People & Places program portfolio. Please email Grants@Sobrato.org and be sure to include your Name and Organization. Thank you for your comments!

  

 

 

  
 

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Sobrato Family Foundation
10600 North De Anza Boulevard, Suite 200
Cupertino, CA 95014
Phone: (408) 446-0700
Email: Grants@Sobrato.org

 

 

  
 

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