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

Finding and retaining affordable and stable quality office and workspace for nonprofits in Silicon Valley where office rents are among the highest in the nation.

Our Philanthropic Response

The Sobrato family leveraged its greatest asset – not money, but real-estate -- by donating one of its office business parks and converting it into one of the region’s only Multi-Tenant Nonprofit Centers now referred to as the Sobrato Center for Nonprofits. Read More

Community Impact

As of early 2007, a community of 30 nonprofit organizations are co-located on campus occupying approximately 75,000 square feet of office space. Each tenant receives free in-kind rent enabling dollars traditionally spent by these nonprofits on overhead expenses to be re-directed to important community programs and services. In total, the value of rent-free space being donated by the Sobrato Foundation is approximately $1.1 million annually.

This generous donation not only supports the various missions and client beneficiaries of these tenant organizations, it also offers them a stable work environment that is of tremendous value (and non-quantifiable) given the real estate market climate in Silicon Valley. Read more

PLACE FEATURES

The Sobrato Center for Nonprofits Milpitas campus offers the following outstanding features:

• A community of 30 youth development, housing, health and human service providers that benefit from program collaboration opportunities and sharing of resources
• Complimentary use of the Sobrato Community Conference Center plus a special meeting room available exclusively for tenants on campus
• Easy access on campus to CompassPoint Nonprofit Services’ free Nonprofit Resource Center that is a Cooperating Collection of the Foundation Center and includes an online fundraising research database of 50,000 grantmakers as well as 200 book titles and nonprofit publications on fundraising, boards of directors and general nonprofit management
• Free on-site parking
• An on-site café and catering service through Gourmet Express Deli (open from 8 am – 3 pm)
• Is within walking distance to many other ethnic restaurants and stores including McCarthy Ranch and the Great Mall
• Is conveniently located one-block off the Hwy. 880 and 237 interchange in Milpitas
• Is close to downtown San Jose and provides quick access to the Peninsula and the East Bay corridors as well as being near public transportation sites.

CURRENT MILPITAS OFFICE SPACE OPENINGS

Note: While office space is rent-free, tenants are responsible for providing a security deposit and for paying a minimal monthly common area maintenance charge based on each unit’s square footage to help maintain basic building and campus costs.

ELIGIBILITY & EVALUATION CRITERIA

The Sobrato Foundation's in-kind space grants 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 throughout Silicon Valley.

If you are seeking an in-kind space grant from our Foundation:

1)       Email Grants@Sobrato.org to request a brief Office Space Application that requests basic organizational information and identifies your agency’s space needs.

2)       Wait for our Foundation to email you with confirmation regarding your eligibility and office space options, if any.

3)       Eligible applicants will be invited to tour suitable office space(s) in Milpitas. If the space meets the applicant's needs, a Lease Agreement will be issued that is to be executed by each applicant's CEO or authorized Board Officer.

The Foundation staff and Board conduct a competitive grant review process. Final grant decisions are awarded based on an evaluation of four key areas:

• the Foundation Board's interest in the mission and types of clients served,
• the applicant's organizational capacity to support their mission including program quality and effectiveness, staff and board volunteer leadership, the agency's reputation and experience, and
• the applicant's capital structure to support its mission,
• the applicant’s effective use of space relative to the available unit(s) open

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!

The Sobrato Foundation and its Sobrato Center for Nonprofits is a member of The Nonprofit Centers Network.

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Sobrato Family Foundation
Sobrato Center for Nonprofits, 600 Valley Way, Suite B
Milpitas, CA 95035
Phone: (408) 946-0100  Fax: (408) 516-8007
Email: Grants@Sobrato.org

Copyright©2002 Sobrato Family Foundation.
All Rights Reserved.