2006 Silicon Valley Community Grants

2005 Silicon Valley Community Grants

2004 Silicon Valley Community Grants

2003 Silicon Valley Community Grants

2002 Silicon Valley Community Grants

All Stars Helping Kids: $2,500
www.allstarshelpingkids.com
All Stars Helping Kids, founded by former NFL 49ers' star Ronnie Lott, has focused on aiding disadvantaged youth in the San Francisco Bay Area for the past ten years. The organization helps youth face adversity including health problems, disabilities, family struggles, crime and economic hardship.
Why we supported: This grant is in honor of Ronnie Lott's recent selection as one of two John Gardner Award recipients by the American Leadership Forum Silicon Valley.

ALS Association – Bay Area Chapter: $2,000
www.alsabayarea.org
The mission of the ALS Association Bay Area Chapter is to help find a cure for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and to improve the lives of persons living with ALS. This funding supports the annual All Star Award Gala.
Why we supported: This is a discretionary grant recommended by Steve and Michele Kirsch.

American Leadership Forum Silicon Valley: $1,850
www.alfsv.org
The American Leadership Forum-Silicon Valley is a nonprofit organization "dedicated to joining and strengthening leaders to serve the public good," building on the strengths of diversity and promoting collaborative problem solving among community members. Through its programs for Fellows and Senior Fellows, ALF brings senior level leaders together from across sectors to build philanthropy, service and community in Silicon Valley. This grant supports the annual Exemplary Leader Dinner.
Why we supported: The Foundation supports the Silicon Valley community and efforts that build bridges to address difficult community-wide problems.

Asian Americans for Community Involvement: $500
www.aaci.org
Asian Americans for Community Involvement (AACI) is the largest provider of advocacy, education, health and social services committed to the welfare of Asian Pacific Islanders in Santa Clara County. Annually, the organization serves over 45,000 clients with services ranging from mental health counseling to vocational training. This funding supports AACI's annual banquet.
Why we supported: This is a discretionary grant recommended by Steve Kirsch.

Association of Fundraising Professionals: $2,500
www.afpnet.org
The Association of Fundraising Professionals works to advance philanthropy through advocacy, research, education, and certification programs. AFP believes that to guarantee human freedom and social creativity, people must have the right to freely and voluntarily form organizations to meet perceived needs, advocate causes, and seek funds to support these activities. This grant is for the National Philanthropy Day annual luncheon.
Why we supported: This grant reflects the Foundation's commitment to philanthropic efforts in the community.

Bullis-Purissima PTA: $15,000
Bullis-Purissima is an elementary school in the Los Altos, California school district. This grant supports the PTA's fundraising event.
Why we supported: This is a discretionary grant.

Children's Discovery Museum: $4,300
www.cdm.org
Located in San Jose, the Children's Discovery Museum is a learning and discovery center for children, families and schools, offering interactive exhibits and programs that span the arts, science, technology and the humanities. The funding supports the annual Legacy for Children Awards event.
Why we supported: This is a discretionary grant recommended by Michele Kirsch.

Children's Health Council: $4,000
www.chconline.org
The Children's Health Council (CHC) has served the developmental needs of children and families in the Bay Area community for nearly 50 years, providing mental health services, special education and developmental services for children and adolescents. This grant enables the Kirsch Foundation to partially underwrite CHC's main annual fundraiser, the Summer Symphony.
Why we supported: This is a discretionary grant.

Community Breast Health Project: $5,000
www-med.stanford.edu/CBHP/
The mission of the Community Breast Health Project (CBHP) is to improve the lives of people touched by breast cancer. CBHP acts as a clearinghouse for support information for breast cancer patients, provides volunteer opportunities for breast cancer survivors and friends dedicated to helping others with the disease, and serves as an educational resource and a community center for all who are concerned about breast cancer and breast health. The Community Breast Health Project is client-centered and committed to providing services free of charge. These two grants provide general operating support.
Why we supported: These are discretionary grants recommended by Michele Kirsch.

Community Foundation Silicon Valley: $161,500
Community Foundation Silicon Valley (CFSV), one of the largest nonprofit community foundations in the U.S., makes grants to the Silicon Valley community, educates the public about public benefit corporations and Silicon Valley's needs, and enables citizens to solve local problems. This funding includes the following grants:

• $100,000 to assist CFSV's Partners in Philanthropy (PIP) program, which supports CFSV's grantmaking activities in its five strategic program grant areas.
  
• $2,500 for the John Gardner Endowment Fund to support student community interns from Stanford University's Haas Center for Public Service at CFSV.
  
• $3,000 for the 2002 annual meeting.
  
• $50,000 for the first payment of a $100,000 grant to help CFSV's PIP program for the 2002-2003 fiscal year.
  
• $1,000 for Take Home Books, the Early Childhood Literacy Program, in honor of CFSV's President, Peter Hero, who is also the Kirsch Foundation's Secretary.
  
• $5,000 for Silicon Valley Social Ventures (SV2)
  

Why we supported: The Steven and Michele Kirsch Foundation is a supporting organization of the Community Foundation Silicon Valley. We believe it is critical to provide direct financial support to CFSV's grant and organizational activities in addition to our grantmaking in the local community.

Community School of Music and Arts: $18,720
www.arts4all.org
The largest arts education organization in Santa Clara County, the Community School of Music and Arts serves students of all ages through its diverse artistic programs including private lessons and classes, arts-in-the-schools programs, vacation and summer camps, concerts and other community outreach events. This support helps fund the Arts in Action program in the Los Altos School District.
Why we supported: This is a discretionary grant recommended by Michele Kirsch.

Community Services Agency: $5,000
www.csacares.org
Community Services Agency (CSA) has been providing vital social services to at-risk residents of Mountain View, Los Altos and Los Altos Hills, California, for over 40 years. Its goal is to offer wraparound services for families and individuals of all ages.
Why we supported: This is a discretionary grant recommended by Steve and Michele Kirsch.

The Computer History Museum: $11,000
www.computerhistory.org
Established in 1996, The Computer History Museum is dedicated to the preservation and celebration of computing history. It is home to one of the largest collections of computing artifacts in the world, a collection comprising over 3,000 artifacts, 2,000 films and videotapes, 5,000 photographs, 2,000 linear feet of cataloged documentation and gigabytes of software. This funding includes the following grants:

• $10,000 to support the museum's operations for the 2001-2002 fiscal year
  
• $1,000 to support the museum's general operations for the 2002-2003 fiscal year
  

Why We Supported: Steve Kirsch is a Board member of The Computer History Museum and contributes to further demonstrate his commitment to the organization.

El Camino Hospital Foundation: $10,000
www.elcaminohospital.org
El Camino Hospital, located in Mountain View and serving the San Francisco Bay Area Mid-peninsula, is a community-based, nonprofit hospital. The El Camino Hospital Foundation is the fund for the hospital, providing financial support from donor gifts. This funding represents two $5,000 grants, one each for the 2001-2002 fiscal year and one for the 2002-2003 fiscal year.
Why we supported: Steve and Michele Kirsch recognize the importance of El Camino Hospital in providing quality health care services to their local community.

Family and Children Services: $2,500
www.fcservices.org
Family and Children Services is a private, non-profit human service agency serving individuals, couples and families throughout San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties.
Its mission is to provide programs and services that support the emotional well-being of our community.
Why we supported: This is a discretionary grant recommended by Michele Kirsch.

Foothill-DeAnza Colleges Foundation: $667,666
www.fhda.edu
The Foothill-De Anza Colleges Foundation encompasses Foothill College and DeAnza College. This funding includes the following grants:

• $666,666 This is the second of three capital grant pledge payments for the Kirsch Center for Environmental Studies.
  
• $1,000 This funding supports the Chancellor's Circle.
  

Why we supported: Steve and Michele are committed to both environmental issues and educational issues in the Silicon Valley community.

Girl Scouts of Santa Clara County: $1,500
www.girlscoutsofscc.org
Girl Scouts of Santa Clara County (GSSCC) serves over 18,000 girls with the support of 5,000 volunteers. The mission of the Girl Scouts of Santa Clara County is to provide girls and young women, ages 5-17, with the life skills that will enable them to reach their full potential. Programs empower young women to make life-enhancing decisions, develop self-esteem, and be active contributing members of our community. This funding includes the following grants:

• $500 to help send children to camp
  
• $1,000 for annual support
  

Why we supported: These are discretionary grants recommended by Michele Kirsch.

Happy Hollow Park and Zoo: $500
www.happyhollowparkandzoo.org
Happy Hollow Park and Zoo participates in the conservation and propagation of rare and endangered species while providing a peaceful, creative and safe place for children of all ages.
Why we supported: This is a discretionary grant recommended by Michele Kirsch.

Hidden Villa: $1,750
www.hiddenvilla.org
Hidden Villa, a farm and wilderness preserve in the Los Altos Hills, provides unique programs teaching environmental and multicultural awareness. From farm tours to mushroom hikes, this organization encourages visitors to discover their connection to the earth and to each other. This funding supports the Duveneck Humanitarian Awards Event.
Why we supported: This grant reflects the Foundation's commitment to environmental issues and its support of the local community.

Humane Society of Santa Clara Valley: $1,000
www.scvhumane.org
The Humane Society of Santa Clara Valley's mission is to promote respect for all animal life in our community through direct care and education. Its vision is to ensure that every animal has a safe and appropriate home.
Why we supported: This is a discretionary grant recommended by Michele Kirsch.

Junior Achievement of Santa Clara County, Inc.: $1,500
www.jascc.org
Junior Achievement's sole purpose is to enhance school curriculum through volunteers helping in the classrooms, on a continuous basis, with a defined curriculum. Junior Achievement's Business Hall of Fame honors five Santa Clara Valley's business leaders each year. The laureates are selected by an independent selection committee. The Hall of Fame is also the organization's key fund-raising event of the year. This funding includes the following grants:

• $1,000 to support the 2001-2002 Hall of Fame
  
• $500 to support the 2002-2003 Hall of Fame
  

Why we supported: These are discretionary grants recommended by Steve Kirsch in recognition of the current group of laureates.

Junior League of Palo Alto Mid Peninsula: $17,500
www.thejuniorleague.org
The Junior League is an organization of women committed to promoting volunteerism, developing the potential of women and improving communities through the effective action and leadership of trained volunteers. This funding includes the following grants:

• $5,000 for the annual Spring Gala
  
• $2,500 for the 2002 Holiday Boutique
  
• $5,000 for annual operating support
  
• $5,000 for the Junior League endowment
  

Why we supported: Michele Kirsch is an active member of the Palo Alto chapter of the Junior League.

Keep Los Altos Schools Strong (KLASS): $10,000
KLASS is a group of concerned citizens focused on insuring strong public schools in the Los Altos School District. The organization's goal is to support the passage of a parcel tax measure that will help maintain a reduced class size, support small neighborhood schools, hire and retain high quality teachers, and preserve the district's academic program.
Why we supported: This is a discretionary grant recommended by Michele Kirsch.

Los Altos Community Foundation: $30,000
www.losaltoscf.org
Los Altos Community Foundation (LACF) supports the community by making grants for local programs, building an endowment for the future, and managing philanthropic funding for other organizations and individuals. This funding includes the following grants:

• $5,000 for SPLASH – Swimmers Promoting Los Altos Aquatics, Safety, and Health – to help raise $3.5 million to design, construct, and endow a community pool in Los Altos. Its mission is to provide a state-of-the-art aquatics facility that meets or exceeds the health, fitness, safety, educational, and recreational needs of Los Altans.
  
• $25,000 for the Save Our Schools program that will help provide funding for teachers' salaries due to a $4.4 million financial shortfall in the Los Altos School District. This shortfall may result in larger class sizes for grades K-8.
  

Why we supported: These are discretionary grants recommended by Steve and Michele Kirsch.

Los Altos Educational Foundation: $5,000
www.springer.losaltos.k12.ca.us/thank_you/laef
The Los Altos Educational Foundation provides funding for educational programs and materials that enhance the academic curriculum of the Los Altos School District.
Why we supported: This is a discretionary grant recommended by Michele Kirsch.

Los Altos Town Crier Holiday Fund: $5,000
www.losaltosonline.com/latc.html
The Los Altos Town Crier is a weekly newspaper serving the Los Altos, California, community. This grant supports the publication's Holiday Fund, which raises funds to assist needy families in the region.
Why we supported: This is a discretionary grant recommended by Steve and Michele Kirsch.

Los Altos Village Association: $1,000
www.losaltos-downtown.org
The mission of the Los Altos Village Association (LAVA) is to provide a unified organization to promote and represent all downtown businesses while preserving the unique character of the Village.
Why we supported: This is a discretionary grant recommended by Steve and Michele Kirsch.

Menlo School: $5,000
www.menloschool.org
Menlo School, located in Atherton, California, is dedicated to providing a challenging academic curriculum complemented by outstanding fine arts and athletic programs. The School helps students to develop positive values and nurtures character development in a supportive environment. The School's program encourages students to reach their fullest potential, developing the skills necessary to respond intelligently and humanely to the complexities of an increasingly diverse world. This funding is for general operating support.
Why we supported: This grant is a Directors Discretionary Grant recommended by Board Vice-Chairman Perry Olson.

New Bridges to Jewish Community: $5,000
www.newbridges.org
New Bridges to Jewish Community is dedicated to creating and fostering meaningful connections for San Francisco Bay Area Peninsula Jews seeking a sense of belonging and involvement in the Jewish community in traditional and non-traditional ways. This funding provides support for To Life! A Jewish Cultural Street Festival.
Why we supported: This is a Director's Discretionary Grant recommended by Board member Harry Saal.

Northern California Innocence Project: $10,000
www.scu.edu/academic/programs/lawclinic/
Since 1989, more than 115 wrongfully convicted people have been freed from prisons around the United States by the work of the Innocence Network — a national partnership among law schools, journalists and private attorneys. This work has been made possible by ever-increasing advances in DNA technology, which have enabled lawyers and scientists to demonstrate innocence. The Northern California Innocence Project (NCIP) has been formed to:

• Identify and provide legal resources to exonerate wrongly convicted inmates, convicted in California, who are able to demonstrate factual innocence.
  
• Advocate legal reforms to prevent wrongful convictions in the future.
  

Why we supported: This is a discretionary grant to support efforts to insure that individuals are treated fairly and have the opportunity to take advantage of new technologies to reverse wrongful convictions.

Opportunities Industrialization Center West (OICW): $1,000
www.oicw.org
OICW is a non-profit community-based job-training center on the Menlo Park-East Palo Alto border. This grant assists OICW's efforts to provide accredited job training, counseling and placement services, teen programs, evening and weekend courses, and child development centers for nearly 3,500 people per year. This grant is for general operating support.
Why we supported: Steve Kirsch recommended this grant given his commitment to the Silicon Valley community and his recognition of the importance of OICW's programs, especially when economic times are difficult.

Palo Alto Medical Foundation: $2,500
www.pamf.org
The mission of Palo Alto Medical Foundation is to provide and integrate quality health care, health education and biomedical research to improve the health status of the San Francisco Mid-Peninsula region.
Why we supported: This is a discretionary grant recommended by the Foundation's Scientific Advisory Board Member Emeritus, Dr. Robert Glaser.

Quest Scholars Program: $10,000
www.questscholars.stanford.edu
Since 1994, the Quest Scholars Program has provided high-potential and underprivileged students of all backgrounds the mentorship and skills to construct and achieve their dreams. It is a non-political, non-denominational, non-affiliated, and privately funded organization staffed by graduates of, and interns from, Stanford, Harvard, and other universities. Quest provides a summer residence-based program, followed by five to eight years of additional hands-on support and mentorship, to selected high school sophomores and juniors across the country to help them realize the potential they often did not know that they had. Quest is not a handout, but a "ladder extended" -- one that Quest graduates climb up to reach the other hands that American society extends out to its best youth, but to date have been out of reach for most low-income youth. Quest is expanding its program to serve more students; this grant supports that effort.
Why we supported: This is a discretionary grant recommended by Steve and Michele Kirsch.

Resource Area for Teachers (RAFT): $26,500
www.raft.net
Resource Area for Teachers (RAFT), a nonprofit service organization, collects a wide variety of manufacturing by-products, over-runs and other scrap material and redistributes them to schools and community groups through teachers who visit the RAFT Center. At RAFT, teachers learn how to use these materials creatively to demonstrate math, science and other subjects. RAFT, through its Technology Center, also offers teachers workshops in use of computers as teaching aids. RAFT offers companies an on-site assessment that identifies reusable items and arranges for their pickup. This funding consists of the following grants:

• $1,500 for RAFT's annual fundraising dinner which provides an opportunity for RAFT staff and volunteers to attend the dinner without charge.
  
• $25,000 to complete the second payment of a $50,000 pledge for the capital campaign for the purchase and renovation of the new center that RAFT is already using in San Jose.
  

Why we supported: Steve and Michele are committed to supporting quality education in the community.

Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties: $10,000
www.secondharvestsjca.org
Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties is a private non-profit organization that collects and distributes more than 26 million pounds of food each year to low-income children, adults and seniors. The Food Bank currently serves an average of 143,300 individuals each month; nearly 40% are children.
Why we supported: Steve and Michele Kirsch are aware of the increased needs of local food banks and recognize the importance of these "safety net" organizations.

The Tech Museum of Innovation: $118,200
www.thetech.org
Located in San Jose, The Tech Museum of Innovation is an educational resource established to engage people of all ages and backgrounds in exploring and experiencing technologies affecting their lives, and to inspire young people to become innovators in the technologies of the future. The Foundation has made the following contributions to The Tech in 2002:

• $9,000 to support the Gizmo WYSIWYG 2002 event – a fundraising event featuring various educational activities for youth.
  
• $83,000 for the second payment of a three-year $250,000 pledge to The Tech's endowment campaign.
  
• $1,200 for the Gizmo WYSIWYG 2001 auction
  
• $25,000 for the Annual Fund for Education and Board Challenge
  

Why we supported: Steve Kirsch is a member of The Tech's Board of Directors and both Steve and Michele Kirsch have continuously supported the museum with multiple gifts each year.

TheatreWorks $1,000
www.theatreworks.org
TheatreWorks explores the human spirit through innovative plays and musicals that define the culturally diverse Northern California community. TheatreWorks celebrates individual heritages while advancing an emerging culture woven from many common experiences and beliefs.
Why we supported: This is a discretionary grant recommended by Steve Kirsch.

2001 Silicon Valley Community Grants

American Musical Theatre of San Jose: $100,090
www.amtsj.org
American Musical Theatre of San Jose (AMTSJ), one of the area's most popular musical theatres, has performed in downtown San Jose for over 65 years. In addition to the full-scale productions and Musicals in Concert it has offered the Bay Area, AMTSJ presents a wide variety of education, training, accessibility and recognition programs. These grants provide support for the following:

• $100,000 for 2001-2002 Major Season Sponsorship.
  
• $90 for the Copacabana Dinner
  

Why we supported: AMTSJ is one of the most highly regarded performing arts centers in Silicon Valley. This continued support helps AMTSJ to cover its general operating costs.

Arts Council Silicon Valley: $470
www.artscouncil.org
The Arts Council Silicon Valley champions the arts by supporting organizations and individuals to achieve and excel in artistic creation and by joining with others to support and advocate for the arts in Silicon Valley.
Why we supported: This is a discretionary grant recommended by Steve Kirsch.

Centre for Living with Dying: $5,000
www.thecentre.org
The Centre is the largest bereavement support agency of its kind in the United States and has served over 800,000 people. The Centre provides services to any person faced with a life threatening illness, grief, loss or trauma. Clients receive emotional support either through one-to-one support or a grief group.
Why we supported: This is a discretionary grant recommended by Steve Kirsch.

Children’s Health Council: $3,000
www.chconline.org
The Children's Health Council has served the developmental needs of children and families in the Bay Area community for nearly 50 years, providing mental health services, special education and developmental services for children and adolescents. This grant supports the Resource Center, which provides specialized information to families, caregivers and community professionals to help them find answers to their questions about children's behavior and development. The funding provides free membership to low-income families and supports the acquisition of non-English parenting resources, general additions to the resource collection, and new equipment and supplies.
Why we supported: This is a discretionary grant recommended by Michele Kirsch to further her interests in the welfare of our community's children.

Clara-Mateo Alliance, Inc.: $15,000
www.clara-mateo.org
Clara-Mateo Alliance, Inc. (CMA) is a non-profit organization that provides shelter, housing and supportive services for homeless individuals, couples, and families on the grounds of the VA Hospital in Menlo Park, CA. It assists people in obtaining stable housing and self-sufficiency. It currently operates a 59-bed Shelter for individuals and couples, a separate Family Shelter that can accommodate six families with children of any ages, and six transitional housing units. CMA has immediate plans to expand its current 6 transitional units into a 24-unit formal Transitional Housing Program with supportive services. The primary objective of the Transitional Housing Program is for participants to obtain and remain in permanent housing. This grant helps to underwrite incremental lease expenses to expand the Transitional Housing Program.
Why we supported: This Transitional Housing Program provides a safety net that can lead to individual self-reliance.

Coalition for Excellence in Science Education (CESE): $5,000
http://hpretirees.com
Founded by Hewlett-Packard and Agilent retirees, Coalition for Excellence in Science Education (CESE) volunteers refurbish used science kits for mostly small, financially-strapped, elementary schools in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties. The science kits allow students to get "hands-on" opportunities for experiments in life, earth, and physical sciences. CESE will process over 1,300 science kits during the current fiscal year.
Why we supported: This grant is for general operating funds to support science education and to effective volunteer activities.

Community Foundation Silicon Valley: $17,640
Community Community Foundation Silicon Valley (CFSV), one of the largest nonprofit community foundations in the U.S., makes grants to the Silicon Valley community, educates the public about nonprofits and Silicon Valley's needs, and enables citizens to solve local problems. This funding includes four grants:

• $12,500 to SV2, Silicon Valley Social Ventures
  
• $4,000 to support the 2001 Association of Fundraising Professionals Philanthropy Day Awards at which CFSV is being honored as the "Outstanding Foundation"
  
• $1,140 for the 2001 CFSV Annual Meeting
  

Why we supported: The Steven and Michele Kirsch Foundation is a supporting organization of the Community Foundation Silicon Valley. Steve and Michele Kirsch are founding members of SV2 and wanted to demonstrate their continuing commitment to encouraging young, emerging philanthropists.

Community School of Music and Arts: $20,850
www.arts4all.org
The largest arts education organization in Santa Clara County, the Community School of Music & Arts serves students of all ages through its diverse artistic programs including private lessons and classes, arts-in-the-schools programs, vacation and summer camps, concerts and other community outreach events. This support helps fund the Arts in Action program in the Los Altos School District.

• $15,850 for the Arts in Action program
  
• $5,000 for the Center for Arts education
  

Why we supported: These are discretionary grants.

Computer History Museum: $28,750
www.computerhistory.org
Established in 1996, The Computer Museum History Center is dedicated to the preservation and celebration of computing history. It is home to one of the largest collections of computing artifacts in the world, a collection comprising over 3,000 artifacts, 2,000 films and videotapes, 5,000 photographs, 2,000 linear feet of cataloged documentation and gigabytes of software. This funding includes three distinct gifts:

• $20,000 to support the capital campaign
  
• $5,000 to support the annual fund
  
• $3,750 for the 2001 Fellow Awards
  

Why We Supported: Steve Kirsch is a Board member of The Computer Museum History Center and contributes to further demonstrate his commitment to the organization. These were discretionary grants.

Cultural Initiatives Silicon Valley: $5,000
www.ci-sv.org
In 1997, leaders from the local arts, business and government communities gathered to develop a comprehensive plan to promote cultural awareness in Silicon Valley. Cultural Initiatives Silicon Valley (CISV) was created to implement their vision. Through projects in such areas as arts education, community and neighborhood arts, and strengthening the performance of cultural groups, CISV is helping to advance the role of arts and culture in the community. The organization's efforts have helped solidify the idea that arts inspire the imaginative spirit that has been the hallmark of the Valley's remarkable success. This grant supports CISV's Greenhouse Five-Year Program, an initiative to establish and promote successful arts education courses in Silicon Valley schools.
Why we supported: This is a Directors Discretionary Grant authorized by Board Member and Vice-Chairman Harry Saal.

Facing History and Ourselves: $25,000
www.facing.org
Facing History and Ourselves is a national, nonprofit educational organization whose mission is to promote democratic citizenship through curriculum and strategies for teachers, students and communities. This grant will help expand the program's reach into Silicon Valley.
Why we supported: The Kirsch Foundation is committed to responding to the need for educational reform.

Girl Scouts of Santa Clara County: $1,000
www.girlscoutsofscc.org
Girl Scouts of Santa Clara County (GSSCC) serves over 18,000 girls with the support of 5,000 volunteers. The mission of the Girl Scouts of Santa Clara County is to provide girls and young women, ages 5-17, with the life skills that will enable them to reach their full potential. Programs empower young women to make life-enhancing decisions, develop self-esteem, and be active, contributing members of our community.
Why we supported: This is a discretionary grant recommended by Michele Kirsch.

Ground Zero: $10,000
www.groundzero.org
GroundZero: The Art and Technology Network is a nonprofit incubator emerging from the synthesis of art, technology and culture. Its core mission is to facilitate the production of art that incorporates technology. GroundZero nurtures the implementation of creative art and technology projects by providing infrastructure support and project management, technical resources and funding. Tapping into Silicon Valley's technical talent, equipment and entrepreneurial spirit, GroundZero is a catalyst for artistic innovation with the potential for dramatic impact on the business world as well.
Why we supported: The Foundation supports Ground Zero's efforts to utilize technology in order to foster artistic creativity.

Hidden Villa: $6,750
www.hiddenvilla.org
Hidden Villa, a farm and wilderness preserve in the Los Altos Hills, provides unique programs teaching environmental and multicultural awareness. From farm tours to mushroom hikes, this organization encourages visitors to discover their connection to the earth and to each other. This funding includes the following grants:

• $1,750 for the Duveneck Humanitarian Awards Event
  
• $5,000 for annual support
  

Why we supported: These discretionary grants reflect the Foundation's commitment both to environmental issues and support of the local community. Hidden Villa is highly regarded for its environmental education focus.

Hospice of the Valley: $35,000
www.hospicevalley.org
Hospice of the Valley (HOV), a non-profit, in-home hospice care program, has been serving terminally ill patients, their families and loved ones in Santa Clara County since 1979. Its mission is to provide the highest quality professional services available to meet the educational, physical, emotional, environmental, and spiritual needs of terminally ill patients and their families, and to provide bereavement support to anyone who has lost a loved one. This grant is for a capital project and will be applied directly toward the updating and expansion of the current Clinical/Patient Care Area to make better use of existing space.
Why we supported: Renovation of its current facility will enable HOV to provide services to a larger number of patients and families. Furthermore, given the high cost of leased space in Silicon Valley coupled with a very low vacancy rate, HOV's below-market rate lease makes it more cost-effective for the organization to remain in its current location. HOV Board and staff worked to carefully analyze the organization's space and financial resources and other options before applying to the Foundation.

Housing Trust Fund: $1,000
www.housingtrustfund.org
The Housing Trust Fund was established to provide more affordable homes (both purchase and rental homes) for working families in Silicon Valley. The goal has been straightforward: raise $20 million and to then leverage $200 million in new home development, which will initially assist 5,000 families. Since the funds are allocated as loans rather than grants, after the initial loans are repaid, The Housing Trust Fund has a permanent on-going funding source available to assist more working families.
Why We Supported: This is a discretionary grant in support of the Fund's Individual Investor Campaign, which started after more than $17 million had been raised from corporate and government entities.

Humane Society of Santa Clara Valley: $4,300
www.scvhumane.org
The Humane Society of Santa Clara's mission is to promote respect for all animal life in our community through direct care and education. Its vision is to ensure that every animal has a safe and appropriate home. This funding includes the following grants:

• $3,300 initial funding for a brochure about the Society's Emergency Shelter for Animals
  
• $1,000 for general operating support
  

Why we supported: These are discretionary grants recommended by Michele Kirsch.

Industry Initiatives for Science and Math Education (IISME): $25,000
www.iisme.org
Industry Initiatives for Science and Math Education (IISME) helps teachers to better prepare students for the modern workplace through hands-on experiences in high performance industries and technology-focused training. It has provided professional development experiences for K-14 teachers in Silicon Valley and the Greater Bay Area since 1985. IISME is focused on teachers' effective use of technology, both in the classroom and in securing challenging, industry-based professional development opportunities. This grant covers the cost of updating IISME's interactive website project, including the Teacher Fellowship application process.
Why we supported: The Foundation supports capital projects that can leverage the resources of an organization. IISME expects this interactive website to reduce paperwork and administrative expenses and to demonstrate to teachers the type of technological world that their students will experience. IISME also secured substantial financial commitments from a variety of businesses and foundations, showing that it has a good track record and general support for the website.

Junior Achievement of Santa Clara County, Inc.: $1,500
www.jascc.org
Junior Achievement's sole purpose is to enhance school curriculum through volunteers helping in the classrooms, on a continuous basis, with a defined curriculum. Junior Achievement's Business Hall of Fame honors five Santa Clara Valley's business leaders each year. The laureates are selected by an independent judging selection committee. The Hall of Fame is also the organization's key fund-raining event of the year.
Why we supported: This is a discretionary grant.

Junior League of Palo Alto Mid Peninsula: $25,000
www.thejuniorleague.org
The Junior League is an organization of women committed to promoting volunteerism, developing the potential of women and improving communities through the effective action and leadership of trained volunteers. This funding represents Michele Kirsch’s annual contribution to the Junior League endowment.
Why we supported: Michele Kirsch is an active member of the Palo Alto chapter of the Junior League.

Law Foundation of Silicon Valley: $9,400
http://lawfoundation.org
The Law Foundation of Silicon Valley's mission is to secure justice and protect human rights by providing legal defense, counseling and access to the legal system for those who would otherwise be underrepresented. Programs provided by the Law Foundation include AIDS legal services, fair housing and advocacy for youth. This grant supports the "Celebration of Justice" fundraising event.
Why we supported: This is a discretionary grant recommended by Michele Kirsch.

Learning and Loving Education Center: $10,000
The Learning & Loving Education Center's mission is to educate and empower low-income minority women and their children to improve their quality of life. The Center is located in income Morgan Hill, CA. The Center provides tuition-free educational opportunities for approximately 300 adults and children in three levels of English education, computer/job training, nutrition, sewing, money management, small business training and other self-development classes.
Why we supported: The Foundation advocates educational and technological literacy. This grant is for general operating support.

Los Altos Educational Foundation: $10,000
www.springer.losaltos.k12.ca.us/thank_you/laef
The Los Altos Educational Foundation provides funding for educational programs and materials that enhance the academic curriculum of the Los Altos School District. This funding supports the parent initiative for class size reduction in grades four through six.
Why we supported: This is a discretionary grant.

Los Altos Town Crier Holiday Fund: $5,000
www.losaltosonline.com/latc.html
The Los Altos Town Crier is a weekly newspaper serving the Los Altos, California, community. This grant supports the publication's Holiday Fund, which raises funds to assist needy families in the region.
Why we supported: This is a discretionary grant recommended by Steve and Michele Kirsch.

Los Altos Village Association: $1,000
The mission of The Los Altos Village Association (LAVA) is to provide a unified organization to promote and represent all downtown businesses while preserving the unique character of the Village.
Why we supported: This is a discretionary grant recommended by Michele Kirsch.

Lytton Gardens: $1,000
www.lyttongardens.org/
Lytton Gardens is a community for low income seniors that offers quality affordable housing, personal support services and healthcare through a continuum of services that includes: Independent Living, Assisted Living, and a Skilled Nursing Facility. Lytton Gardens is a nonprofit, independently owned and operated organization that is governed by a Board of Directors with deep roots in the Midpeninsula.
Why we supported: This is a discretionary grant recommended by Steve and Michele Kirsch.

Menlo School: $25,000
www.menloschool.org
Menlo School, located in Atherton, California, is dedicated to providing a challenging academic curriculum complemented by outstanding fine arts and athletic programs. The school helps students to develop positive values and nurtures character development in a supportive environment that upholds the highest moral and ethical standards. Menlo School's program encourages students to reach their fullest potential, developing the skills necessary to respond intelligently and humanely to the complexities of an increasingly diverse world. This funding is for general operating support.
Why we supported: This grant is a Directors Discretionary Grant authorized by Board member Perry Olson.

Movimiento de Arte y Cultura Latino Americana: $5,000
www.maclaweb.org
MACLA is an energizing, contemporary arts space located in San Jose, California. The organization was founded in 1989 by a group of community activists engaged in a broad mobilization to change the representation of multicultural artists within the city's art allocations.
Its mission is to support Latino artists to create and showcase new work in the visual, literary, and performance arts to help define, interpret, and transform society.
Why we supported: This is a Directors Discretionary Grant authorized by Board Member and Vice-Chairman Harry Saal.

Next Door Solutions to Domestic Violence: $3,800
www.nextdoor.org
Next Door is a non-profit, multi-cultural agency dedicated to providing proactive and progressive solutions to domestic violence. Serving Santa Clara County, this organization offers services including counseling and emergency shelter to individuals and their children in abusive relationships. Next Door is committed to reducing the incidence and recurrence of domestic violence through education and advocacy. This funding supports the annual Domestic Violence Conference.
Why we supported: This grant is recommended by Michele Kirsch.

Northern California Innocence Project: $25,000
www.scu.edu/academic/programs/lawclinic/
Since 1989, more than 80 wrongfully convicted people have been freed from prisons around the United States by the work of the Innocence Network — a national partnership between law schools, journalists and private attorneys. This work was made possible by the ever-increasing advances in DNA technology, which have enabled lawyers and scientists to demonstrate innocence. The Northern California Innocence Project (NCIP) has been formed to:

• Identify and provide legal resources to exonerate wrongly convicted inmates, convicted in California, who are able to demonstrate factual innocence.
  
• Advocate legal reforms to prevent wrongful convictions in the future.
  

Why we supported: This is a discretionary grant to support efforts to insure that individuals are treated fairly and have the opportunity to take advantage of new technologies to reverse wrongful convictions.

Opportunities Industrialization Center West (OICW): $2,000
www.oicw.org
OICW is a non-profit community-based job-training center on the Menlo Park-East Palo Alto border. These grants assist OICW's efforts to provide accredited job training, counseling and placement services, teen programs, evening and weekend courses, and child development centers for nearly 3,500 people per year.

• $1,000 for the Breakfast of Champions event
  
• $1,000 for a challenge match grant
  

Why we supported: These are discretionary grants recommended by Steve and Michele Kirsch and by Board Member and Vice-Chairman Harry Saal.

Palo Alto Area, American Red Cross: $20,000
www.paarc.org
The American Red Cross is a volunteer-led humanitarian organization that provides relief to victims of disasters and helps people prevent, prepare for and respond to emergencies. The Palo Alto Area Chapter is one of the 1,300 local chapters and it provides disaster relief efforts for the local Mid-Peninsula area. The Chapter's building needs to have a secure, reliable and mobile energy source in times of disaster such as a major earthquake that affects the Bay Area. Given the recent problems – and anticipated energy shortages in California – the need was acute to purchase an electrical generator.
Why we supported: This grant provides funding for a time-sensitive capital project request. There was substantial research and analysis that resulted in a clear recommendation as to type and functioning of a generator. Finally, the Chapter was willing to allocate another annual grant that was restricted to building improvement use to support the purchase.

Palo Alto Medical Foundation: $2,500
www.pamf.org
The mission of Palo Alto Medical Foundation is to provide and integrate quality health care, health education and biomedical research to improve the health status of our region.
Why we supported: This is a discretionary grant recommended by Steve Kirsch in memory of Regina Glaser, the mother of the Foundation's Scientific Advisory Board Co-Chair, Dr. Robert Glaser.

Peninsula Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired: $3,070
www.pcbvi.org
Founded in 1936 on the conviction that sight loss need never be a barrier to self-reliance, self-esteem, or quality of life, Peninsula Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired is the primary resource in Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties for those with severe loss of vision. The Peninsula Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired enables clients to achieve their highest potential through programs that promote independence and improve quality of life. This funding includes two grants:

• $2,500 for annual support
  
• $570 for the annual Vintage Affair event
  

Why we supported: These grants are recommended by Steve and Michele Kirsch.

People Acting in Community Together: $5,000
www.pactsj.org
People Acting in Community Together (PACT) awakens people to their greatest resource – each other – and teaches them how to improve the education, health, employment and safety of their families and their neighborhoods.
Why we supported: This is a Directors Discretionary Grant authorized by Board Member Vice-Chairman Harry Saal.

Resource Area For Teachers (RAFT): $26,000
www.raft.net
Resource Area for Teachers (RAFT), a nonprofit service organization, collects a wide variety of manufacturing by-products, over-runs and other scrap material and redistributes them to schools and community groups through teachers who visit the RAFT Center. At RAFT, teachers learn how to use these materials creatively to demonstrate math, science and other subjects. RAFT, through its Technology Center, also offers teachers workshops in use of computers as teaching aids. RAFT offers companies an on-site assessment that identifies reusable items and arranges for their pickup. This funding includes the following grants:

• $1,000 This grant supports the 2nd annual fund-raising dinner by enabling teachers and RAFT volunteers to attend the event without cost.
  
• $25,000 This contribution reflects the first payment of a $50,000 pledge to complete the capital campaign for the purchase and renovation of the new center that RAFT is already using in San Jose.
  

Why we supported: Steve and Michele are committed to supporting quality education in the community.

Rebuilding Together (formerly Christmas in April Mid-Peninsula): $10,000
www.christmasinapril-mp.com
Christmas in April – Mid-Peninsula, newly-renamed "Rebuilding Together", is a non-denominational organization that builds volunteer partnerships to rehabilitate community facilities and homes so that low-income individuals may live in warmth, safety and independence. The recipients are low-income homeowners and non-profits that serve low-income communities; the volunteers cross all ethnic, gender, age, and economic and geographic boundaries. The 51 homes, 3 schools and 6 non-profit community facilities repaired in 2000 serve over 5,000 people. In addition to standard repairs, the organization runs a roofing repair and replacement program at no cost to the homeowners. This grant will help underwrite a new fundraising and public relations staff position.
Why we supported: Rebuilding Together makes very effective use of volunteers and collaborative relationships among individuals, businesses and nonprofit organizations. Its effort to renovate current community facilities and to repair homes in a very crowded and expensive Silicon Valley helps keep community organizations and low-income individuals part of the community's fabric.

Santa Clara University, School of Law: $2,500
www.scu.edu/SCU/Departments/Law
The Santa Clara University School of Law is dedicated to the preparation of students to assume leadership roles in society through an education that stresses moral and spiritual as well as intellectual and aesthetic values, seeks to answer not only "what is" but "what should be" and encourages faith and the promotion of justice. This grant is part of the class gift from the Class of 2001.
Why we supported: This is a discretionary grant recommended by Michele Kirsch.

Shelter Network: $25,000
www.shelternetwork.org
Shelter Network addresses the growing community problem of homelessness on the San Francisco Peninsula. Recently, a partnership formed with Women's Recovery Association in order to make a more effective collaboration, to share its resources and to enhance its programmatic efforts. This grant supports the Joint Technology Plan that assists both agencies with hardware, software, Internet access, and staff training.
Why we supported: The collaboration of Shelter Network and Women's Recovery Association will improve the sustainability of both agencies. By providing this grant, the Kirsch Foundation feels the technology will, in turn, greatly benefit the health and safety of the community's residents.

St. Vincent de Paul Society of Santa Clara: $100,000
www.svdp.org
St. Vincent de Paul Society, as fiscal agent for four collaborating agencies, has acquired a building to be used as a multi-service center in East San Jose. The new center will house: East San Jose Community Law Center (affiliated with the Santa Clara University School of Law), Loaves & Fishes Family Kitchen, O'Connor Hospital, and St. Vincent de Paul. In one centralized location, the non-profits will provide food, clothing, primary health care, and emergency housing assistance services to low-income families and individuals. Other services will include case management, legal services, ESL classes, job readiness training, and small business development to help direct people toward long-term self-sufficiency.
Why We Supported: Given the need for integrated social services in East San Jose, the difficulty that nonprofit organizations have in finding affordable space for their services and the planned collaboration among the agencies, the Foundation determined that a capital gift to support the purchase and renovation of the current facility would provide a lasting benefit to the community and the agencies' abilities to offer services at a cost within their financial means.

The Tech Museum of Innovation: $119,650
www.thetech.org
Located in San Jose, The Tech Museum of Innovation is an educational resource established to engage people of all ages and backgrounds in exploring and experiencing technologies affecting their lives, and to inspire young people to become innovators in the technologies of the future. The Foundation has made the following contributions to The Tech in 2001:

• $6,500 and $3,750 These two contributions support the Gizmo WYSIWYG 2001 event – a program featuring various educational activities for youth.
  
• $84,000 This contribution reflects the first payment of a three-year $250,000 pledge for The Tech's capital campaign to establish a $25 million endowment.
  
• $400 This grant supports The Tech's annual awards event.
  
• $25,000 This grant reflects the commitment to the annual Tech Board Challenge.
  

Why we supported: Steve and Michele Kirsch are chairs of The Tech's Leadership Circle of donors and have continuously supported its activities, including its special events.

United Way Silicon Valley: $25,000
www.uwsv.org
United Way Silicon Valley (UWSV) supports the community's most vital health and human care needs by distributing raised funds to over 100 nonprofit agencies in Silicon Valley. This grant supports UWSV's Community Care Fund. This campaign funds programs in critical human care areas including family support services, childcare, community building and homeless assistance.
Why we supported: This is a discretionary grant recommended by Steve and Michele Kirsch.

Urgency Fund: $200,000
As a result of the economic downturn and the events of September 11, Silicon Valley nonprofits are facing rough times. The Skoll Community Fund committed $2.5M and encouraged others to step forward and do their part.
Why we supported: Steve and Michele recognize the crucial need to fill in the gaps and assist the community during this difficult time.

World Affairs Council: $5,000
www.wacsf.org
Since 1947, the World Affairs Council has helped people understand the world around them. It provides a forum for the open discussion of global affairs with leading policymakers, scholars and artists from around the world.
Why we supported: This grant provides support for the Global Philanthropy Conference.

2000 Silicon Valley Community Grants

Albert L. Schultz Jewish Community Center: $4,000
www.paloaltojcc.org
A major center for the Jewish community in the Bay Area Peninsula region, the Albert L. Schultz Jewish Community Center (ALSJCC) enhances and enriches lives by offering positive and rewarding social, recreational, cultural and educational experiences. Open to the entire community, the full-service facility provides services and programs for all ages and backgrounds.
Why we supported: Steve and Michele Kirsch are supporting ALSJCC’s annual Children’s Benefit/Gala. This is a discretionary grant.

American Chemical Society: $5,000
www.scvacs.org
Santa Clara Valley
The Santa Clara Valley (SCV) section of the American Chemical Society (ACS), which has been in existence for approximately 45 years, is part of a 160,000-member organization of mostly industrial and academic chemists. ACS’s mission is to promote the importance of the chemical sciences in society through projects, publications and education. This grant supported ACS-SCV’s CARVER Kidvention program. Named for the renowned agricultural (peanut) chemist, Dr. George Washington Carver, CARVER Kidvention is an invention-based workshop for school age children.
Why we supported: Approximately 300 Santa Clara County and San Mateo County third and fourth graders participated in the workshop, which encourages creativity and could spark a long-term interest in the sciences for some of the children. ACS-SCV had a last-minute funding shortfall for the program and the Foundation’s support made CARVER Kidvention possible just prior to the national ACS meeting in San Francisco.

American Musical Theatre of San Jose: $300,000
www.amtsj.org
American Musical Theatre of San Jose (AMTSJ), one of the area's most popular musical theatres, has performed in downtown San Jose for over 65 years. In addition to the full-scale productions and Musicals in Concert it has offered the Bay Area, AMTSJ presents a wide variety of education, training, accessibility and recognition programs. This support is composed of two grants:

• $200,000 for the development and American premiere of The 3hree Musketeers
  The Three Musketeers is a literary classic read by all generations. British composer George Stiles, considered by many critics to be the next Andrew Lloyd Weber, will be scoring this production. He recently won England's prestigious Olivier Award (the equivalent of Broadway's Tony Award) for Best New Musical for his play Honk!.
  

Why we supported: This will be the first time that AMTSJ has produced a new work in whose creation and development the company has been actively engaged. It has also been over 20 years since the theatre produced an American premiere as part of its regularly scheduled season. Financial support for The 3hree Musketeers will allow the company to complete refinement of the play and travel the production to other venues in 2001, thus providing the theater with a new funding source.

• $100,000 for 2000-2001 as a Major Season Sponsor
  

Why we supported: AMTSJ is one of the most highly regarded performing arts centers in Silicon Valley. This continued support helps AMTSJ to cover its general operating costs while it works to expand its major donor base and adding new revenue streams such as The 3hree Musketeers.

Bay Area Action: $520
www.baaction.org
Bay Area Action is an environmental education nonprofit based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Its mission is to help people discover and strengthen their connection to and concern for the natural environment through education and hands-on, action-oriented activities. The Foundation sponsored batteries for an electric vehicle (EV) owned by Bay Area Action.
Why we supported: This grant exemplifies the Foundation’s commitment to promoting EVs.

Big Brothers Big Sisters of San Francisco and the Peninsula: $5,000
www.sf-bbbs.org
Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) of San Francisco and the Peninsula seeks to make a positive difference in the lives of children by promoting their self-esteem, expanding their awareness of life's opportunities, and providing them with guidance and support through long-term, one-to-one mentorships with caring adult volunteers. This grant is for operating support.
Why we supported: BBBS works effectively with at-risk youth and with the Foundation’s support can continue to successfully attract and retain volunteer adults who give extensively of their time and talents.

Bullis School PTA: $10,000
Bullis is an elementary school in the Los Altos, California school district. This grant supports the school's fundraising event.
Why we supported: This is a discretionary grant.

Camp Fire Boys and Girls $20,000
Camp Fire Boys and Girls is a national co-ed youth development agency serving boys and girls from kindergarten through high school. The organization's variety of programs help young people boost their self-esteem and learn decision-making skills. Camp Fire members acquire the tools necessary to grow into leaders in their communities and to respect diversity. This support is for Camp Fire's WorldWise Program – a curriculum that introduces and reinforces ecology and environmental lessons to its members, from preschool through high school.
Why we supported: The WorldWise program addresses two areas important to the Foundation: the environment and the community. This funding will allow children to become more environmentally conscious and take that knowledge to their schools and homes.

Center for Excellence in Nonprofits: $15,000
www.cen.org
The Center for Excellence in Nonprofits is a learning community of nonprofits offering programs in leadership development, systemic change, continuous improvement and best practices for nonprofit groups. This funding helps establish the Nonprofit Executive Award. This recognition, given to an outstanding executive director of a Silicon Valley nonprofit agency, will be awarded this fall.
Why we supported: This is a discretionary grant. Steve and Michele Kirsch strongly support the recognition of outstanding leaders in the local nonprofit world.

Children's Discovery Museum: $15,000
www.cdm.org
Located in San Jose, the Children's Discovery Museum is a learning and discovery center for children, families and schools, offering interactive exhibits and programs that span the arts, science, technology and the humanities. The Foundation has awarded two grants this year to the Children's Discovery Museum:

• $10,000 for sponsorship of the museum's "Legacy for Children" event
  
• $5,000 for membership support
  

Why we supported: These are discretionary grants.

Children's Health Council: $14,100
www.chconline.org
The Children's Health Council has served the developmental needs of children and families in the Bay Area community for nearly 50 years, providing mental health services, special education and developmental services for children and adolescents. This funding is composed of two grants to Children's Health Council:

• $9,100 Supports the Children's Health Council's Summer Symphony 2000
  
• $5,000 Directors Discretionary Grant authorized by Board member Perry Olson
  

Why we supported: These are discretionary grants, furthering the Kirsch's interests in the welfare of children and the advancement of the arts.

City Year San Jose/Silicon Valley: $25,000
www.cityyear.org
As part of the AmeriCorps program, and with established groups in 11 U.S. cities, City Year is an innovative community service organization that seeks to address pressing community needs by engaging young people to contribute their time, talent, and energy through service. The organization brings together a diverse collection of young people from different ethnic, economic, and educational backgrounds for the purpose of providing community service. The San Jose/Silicon Valley organization devotes a substantial part of its corps members’ 175,000 hours of annual service to tutoring young students in reading.
Why we supported: City Year encourages young adults to give back to their communities, which is consistent with the Foundation’s commitment to encouraging philanthropy. The substantial reading-level improvements by children who are tutored by corps members also demonstrated the effectiveness and efficiency of City Year.

Community Foundation Silicon Valley: $176,700
Community Foundation Silicon Valley (CFSV), one of the largest nonprofit community foundations in the U.S., makes grants to the Silicon Valley community, educates the public about nonprofits and Silicon Valley's needs, and enables citizens to solve local problems. This funding includes four grants:

• $20,000 to support CFSV's media activities.
  
• $5,000 to support the Elizabeth Anabo Memorial Fund established at CFSV. Elizabeth was a highly-regarded Senior Program Officer at CFSV. The Foundation made this grant to honor her memory and her devotion to nonprofit organizations in Silicon Valley.
  
• $51,700 to support CFSV's grantmaking activities in its four strategic areas (cultural participation, education and lifelong learning, neighborhoods and civic engagement, and self-reliant individuals and families) during the 1999 – 2000 fiscal year.
  
• $100,000 for CFSV's Partners in Philanthropy (PIP) program, which supports CFSV's grantmaking activities in its four strategic areas during the 2000 – 2001 fiscal year.
  

Why we supported: The Steven and Michele Kirsch Foundation is a supporting organization of the Community Foundation Silicon Valley.

Community School of Music and Arts $15,000
www.arts4all.org
The largest arts education organization in Santa Clara County, the Community School of Music & Arts serves students of all ages through its diverse artistic programs including private lessons and classes, arts-in-the-schools programs, vacation and summer camps, concerts and other community outreach events. This support helps fund the Arts in Action program in the Los Altos School District.
Why we supported: This is a discretionary grant.

CompassPoint Nonprofit Services Silicon Valley: $15,000
www.compasspoint.org
With offices in San Francisco and Silicon Valley, CompassPoint Nonprofit Services is a nonprofit consulting and training organization. The organization provides nonprofits with the management tools and concepts necessary to best serve their communities. This grant supports the 2nd Annual Silicon Valley Conference on Nonprofits and Technology.
Why we supported: The Foundation believes CompassPoint is the most efficient educational/training option for Silicon Valley nonprofit organizations, especially small-to-mid-size entities that have minimal training budgets. Nonprofit organizations need to make it across the "digital divide" and this conference will help make that possible.

Cultural Initiatives Silicon Valley: $25,000
www.arts4sv.org
In 1997, leaders from the local arts, business and government communities gathered to develop a comprehensive plan to promote cultural awareness in Silicon Valley. Cultural Initiatives Silicon Valley (CISV) was created to implement their vision. Through projects in such areas as arts education, community and neighborhood arts, and strengthening the performance of cultural groups, CISV is helping to advance the role of arts and culture in the community. The organization's efforts have helped solidify the idea that arts inspire the imaginative spirit that has been the hallmark of the Valley's remarkable success. This grant supports CISV's Greenhouse Five-Year Program, an initiative to establish and promote successful arts education courses in Silicon Valley schools.
Why we supported: This is a Directors Discretionary Grant authorized by Board Vice-Chairman Harry Saal.

De Anza College $2,000,000
www.deanza.fhda.edu
De Anza College, one of two community colleges in the Foothill-De Anza Community College District, opened its doors in 1967 to serve Santa Clara Valley, now known as Silicon Valley. The college is one of the largest, single-campus community colleges in the country and offers courses year-round during the day, evening and on weekends. This commitment, to be paid out over three years, is a lead gift for the construction of the new Environmental Studies building, which will be named the Kirsch Center for Environmental Studies (Kirsch Center).

This landmark center will be the first of its kind on a college campus west of the Mississippi. The Kirsch Center will be a "green building" and serve as a national model of resource and energy conservation techniques. It will also serve as a teaching tool for students and the community to experience firsthand the principles of energy efficiency. Some of the environmentally-friendly design specifics the Kirsch Center will incorporate are passive solar orientation and photovoltaic (PV) panels for energy production, natural day-lighting and ventilation, recycled steel, certified sustainable wood products, electric vehicle recharging stations and a pollution prevention and waste management plan. The building will expand the public's definition of conservation from protecting rain forests, recycling, reducing energy waste to including the study and reduction of the energy we consume, the cars we drive and the way we heat and cool our homes, offices and public buildings. The Kirsch Center will stand as an educational center combining interdisciplinary studies, distance learning, energy management and community outreach. Read more about the Kirsch Center.
Why we supported: The Foundation decided to make this capital campaign gift for three reasons:

1. De Anza College will be constructing the first "green building" on a community college campus, thus demonstrating to other colleges and public institutions the viability of using many energy and resource conservation techniques.

2. The Foundation is committed both to environmental issues and to the Silicon Valley community. This proposal addressed both of these commitments.

3. The Kirsch Center will allow De Anza to educate other institutional decision-makers on the use of renewable and energy-efficient technologies in buildings, thus leveraging the Foundation's $2 million gift in terms of its potential impact on other institutions.

East Palo Alto Kids Foundation: $20,000
www.epak.org
East Palo Alto Kids Foundation (EPAK) was founded to enrich the education of children from East Palo Alto (Ravenswood School District). A non-profit, low-overhead organization with no paid staff, its Board of Directors draws from East Palo Alto and neighboring communities. EPAK provides direct cash grants to teachers for a variety of projects, such as books, field trips and supplemental materials. This grant is for the Enrichment and Family Participation Grants programs. Enrichment grants purchase such items as books, student field trips and science lab equipment. Family Participation projects encourage family members to become involved in their students' education.
Why we supported: A volunteer-run organization, EPAK works on behalf of a community lacking educational resources for teachers. This grant will assist EPAK in providing equal learning opportunities to children in the East Palo Alto area.

El Camino Hospital Foundation: $5,000
www.elcaminohospital.org
El Camino Hospital, located in Mountain View and serving the San Francisco Bay Area Mid-peninsula, is a community-based, nonprofit hospital. The El Camino Hospital Foundation is the fund for the hospital, providing financial support from donor gifts.
Why we supported: Steve and Michele Kirsch recognize the importance of El Camino Hospital providing quality health care services to their local community.

Environmental Volunteers (EV): $25,000
www.evols.org
Environmental Volunteers believes all children deserve to learn about the natural world through personal exploration so they can become responsible stewards of the earth. The philosophy of EV is that what children come to know and understand, they are more likely to protect. EV accomplishes its goals by providing hands-on science education, encouraging awareness of the interrelationships between people and nature and by giving children the skills to make informed decisions about the environment. This funding supports the continuing development of an innovative Environmental Education Certificate Program (EECP), which will be recognized by the State of California. This curriculum, offered to educators, equips teachers with the knowledge and tools to implement and integrate environmental curriculum in their classrooms.
Why we supported: Already underway, the EECP has received enthusiastic response from teachers who have taken the courses. The Foundation is committed to environmental causes and is confident that teachers who complete the program will have new tools to educate children about environmental issues.

Family Service Mid-Peninsula $10,000
www.fcservices.org
The mission of Family Service Mid-Peninsula (FSMP) is to provide programs and promote partnerships that strengthen families. Founded in 1950, FSMP serves children, teens, adults, families and community groups in Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties with such services as family counseling, violence prevention, employee assistance programs and teen hotlines. This funding supports the San Jose Childcare Consortium Project – a program that provides childcare services to low income families. Skills offered through the program include parenting lessons and child abuse prevention.
Why we supported: FSMP is a well-respected family service agency in Silicon Valley. This grant will assist more than 140 childcare sites helping low-income families in the community.

Foothill-DeAnza Colleges Foundation: $10,000
www.fhda.edu
The Foothill-De Anza Colleges Foundation encompasses Foothill College and DeAnza College. This grant helped to sponsor Dr. Stephen Hawking’s presentations at DeAnza College in January 2000.
Why we supported: This was a unique opportunity for high school students as well as community members in the San Francisco Bay Area to hear from world-renowned physicist Stephen Hawking in person.

The Health Trust: $35,000
www.healthtrust.org
The Health Trust's vision is to be the leading venture capitalist for funding innovative nonprofit health prevention services and programs within the Santa Clara County (Silicon Valley). Its objective is to maximize the health of the people of the area by expanding access to health and wellness programs. The Health Trust's strategy for achieving this objective involves operating community health programs that fill gaps in current health prevention services as well as grantmaking to nonprofit organizations that provide direct preventive health and wellness services. This support is to partially fund construction of the new medical building at the Washington School Health Center. This school health clinic, co-located with a pilot program called "Smart Start", will serve children in an area of San Jose lacking in medical care.
Why we supported: This grant will help insure that children will receive a positive educational start so they don't end up living in poverty and having long-term, chronic health problems due to lack of adequate health care. We believe this is part of a critical "safety net" that we can provide within the community.

Homeless Care Force, Inc: $25,000
A grassroots organization founded in 1989, Homeless Care Force (HCF) works in cooperation with other organizations to eliminate the problem of homelessness in the San Jose area. Through its mostly volunteer-staffed mobile service program, HCF provides food, clothing and health care to the homeless population. In addition to these basic services, the volunteers, and limited paid staff, link homeless individuals to other local agencies for shelter, transportation, counseling and substance abuse assistance. This grant is for general operating support.
Why we supported: There are estimated to be over 20,000 homeless people in the San Jose area. Many of these are families with children who are simply unable to afford the astronomical cost of housing in Silicon Valley. HCF provides a warm, safe haven to these individuals, serving 50,000 hot meals and distributing 4,500 clothing packages each year.

Law Foundation of Silicon Valley: $34,700
http://lawfoundation.org
The Law Foundation of Silicon Valley's mission is to secure justice and protect human rights by providing legal defense, counseling and access to the legal system for those who would otherwise be underrepresented. Programs provided by the Law Foundation include AIDS legal services, fair housing and advocacy for youth. This funding is composed of two grants:

• $30,000 provides salary support for the Law Foundation's Pregnant and Parenting Teen project, within its Legal Advocates for Children and Youth (LACY) program.
  
• $4,700 for the 7th Annual LACY Honors event.
  

Why we supported: These are discretionary grants.

Los Altos Cultural Association: $5,000
The Los Altos Cultural Association (LACA) is committed to preserving the history and culture of the Los Altos community. This grant supports LACA's publication of the Los Altos "PAINT THE TOWN" book. This coffee-table book will feature the artwork of over 50 painters. Artists highlighted in the publication have painted scenes and buildings throughout Los Altos and Los Altos Hills to capture the look of the area in the 20th Century.
Why we supported: This is a discretionary grant.

Los Altos Educational Foundation: $10,000
www.springer.losaltos.k12.ca.us/thank_you/laef
The Los Altos Educational Foundation provides funding for educational programs and materials that enhance the academic curriculum of the Los Altos School District. This funding is for general operating support.
Why we supported: This is a discretionary grant.

Los Altos Town Crier Holiday Fund: $5,000
www.losaltosonline.com/latc.html
The Los Altos Town Crier is a weekly newspaper serving the Los Altos, California, community. This grant supports the publication's Holiday Fund, which raises funds to assist needy families in the region.
Why we supported: This is a discretionary grant.

Menlo School: $5,000
www.menloschool.org
Menlo School, located in Atherton, California, is dedicated to providing a challenging academic curriculum complemented by outstanding fine arts and athletic programs. The school helps students to develop positive values and nurtures character development in a supportive environment that upholds the highest moral and ethical standards. Menlo School's program encourages students to reach their fullest potential, developing the skills necessary to respond intelligently and humanely to the complexities of an increasingly diverse world. This funding is for general operating support.
Why we supported: This grant is a Directors Discretionary Grant authorized by Board member Perry Olson.

National Multiple Sclerosis Society: $4,000
www.nmss.org
Silicon Valley Chapter
The National Multiple Sclerosis Society is dedicated to ending the devastating effects of multiple sclerosis.
Why we supported: This contribution was for the Annual Fund Drive of the Society’s Silicon Valley Chapter. This is a discretionary grant.

Olympic Wannabes: $10,000
Sculpted by world-renowned artist Glenna Goodacre, Olympic Wannabes is a bronze sculpture depicting five spirited youths leaping and somersaulting. The artwork will be displayed in a community park in Los Altos.
Why we supported: Steve and Michele Kirsch support their hometown and its commitment to children with this discretionary grant.

Opportunities Industrialization Center West: $10,000
www.oicw.org
Opportunities Industrialization Center West's (OICW) accredited job training classes, counseling and placement services, teen programs, evening and weekend courses, and child development centers prepare low-income Bay Area people for success in careers and in life. Located on the Menlo Park – East Palo Alto border, OICW is committed to helping those who are most in need succeed. This funding to OICW is composed of two grants:

• $5,000 General operating support to help 3,500 adults, teens and children achieve success with the aid of OICW's programs.
  
• $5,000 Directors Discretionary Grant authorized by Board member Perry Olson
  

Why we supported: These are discretionary grants.

Palo Alto Art Center Foundation: $5,000
www.city.palo-alto.ca.us/artcenter
The Palo Alto Art Center Foundation (PAACF) is a private, non-profit organization founded in 1973 to advise the Palo Alto Art Center. Activities supported by the PAACF include family programs, sponsorship and promotion of area art festivals, art performances and the purchase of equipment to be used in Art Center workshops and classes. This grant provides support to Cultural Kaleidoscope – an artist residency program serving primary schools in East Palo Alto and Palo Alto.
Why we supported: Cultural Kaleidoscope has earned a positive reputation among local teachers. The program exposes children, who may not otherwise have the opportunity to experience the arts, to the arts and brings students from different communities together to benefit one another.

Parent Observation: $5,000
Parent Observation is a Mountain View-Los Altos Union High School District community resource for parents and preschool age children.
Why We Supported: This is a discretionary grant to assist with the replacement of the outdoor playground equipment.

Parents Helping Parents: $10,000
www.php.com
Parents Helping Parents (PHP) is a parent-directed family resource center that serves children with special needs, their families and the professionals who serve them. Children with special needs require unique services due to illness, accident, conditions of birth, learning differences or family stress. PHP provides peer support and resources specific to families with such children and direction on how to obtain assistance. This grant is for general operating support.
Why we supported: PHP is a highly-regarded organization supporting, primarily, families with low incomes. It allows parents with special needs children to share knowledge and insight with other parents in similar situations and connects them with professionals who can also counsel them.

Peninsula Conservation Center Foundation: $5,000
www.pccf.org
Headquartered in Palo Alto, California, the Peninsula Conservation Center Foundation (PCCF) is a clearinghouse for information on environmental issues, providing essential administrative support for small environmental groups, enabling local environmental organizations to share space and resources and being a catalyst for coordinating and funding local grassroots efforts. This funding enables PCCF to create an educational display on photovoltaic (solar electricity) technology and its benefits.
Why we supported: PCCF is a local community organization that focuses on environmental issues and clean energy, which is one of the Foundation’s major areas of interest.

Planned Parenthood Mar Monte: $55,000
www.plannedparenthood.org
Founded in 1916, Planned Parenthood is the world's largest and oldest voluntary family planning organization. Planned Parenthood is dedicated to the principles that every individual has a fundamental right to decide when or whether to have a child and that every child should be wanted and loved. This funding is composed of two contributions:

• $50,000 for the "Teen Success" program in response to an anonymous $1 million matching challenge to create an endowment for this program.
  
• $5,000 for general operating support.
  

Why we supported: These are discretionary community grants.

Resource Area for Teachers (RAFT): $100,000
www.raft.net
Resource Area for Teachers (RAFT), a nonprofit service organization, collects a wide variety of manufacturing by-products, over-runs and other scrap material and redistributes them to schools and community groups through teachers who visit the RAFT Center. At RAFT, teachers learn how to use these materials creatively to demonstrate math, science and other subjects. RAFT, through its Technology Center, also offers teachers workshops in use of computers as teaching aids. RAFT offers companies an on-site assessment that identifies reusable items and arranges for their pickup. This capital campaign gift provided some support toward the purchase and renovation of the organization's new Center and warehouse, a $5-million project.
Why we supported: RAFT accomplishes a number of important goals with its educational programs and resources. It is a source of educational supplies, computers and training to more than 3,500 teachers and nonprofit organizations that engage in teaching science/technology/art to more than 500,000 children. RAFT is an environmentally-friendly organization in that it re-cycles and re-uses items that corporations and businesses would have otherwise sent to landfills.

Ronald McDonald House: $10,000
www.ronaldhouse-stanford.org
Ronald McDonald House provides a "home-away-from-home"® and support for the families of children with life-threatening illnesses. It is a haven families can call home, permitting them to give their ill child their complete attention and support. As medical treatments evolve, more children stay at the House as outpatients while receiving treatment at Stanford. This support to Ronald McDonald House is composed of two grants:

• $5,000 Support for the annual fundraising event "Denim to Diamonds"
  
• $5,000 Directors Discretionary Grant authorized by Board member Perry Olson
  

Why we supported: These are discretionary grants.

Sacred Heart Community Service: $25,000
www.shcstheheart.org
Sacred Heart Community Service (SHCS), a non-denominational, nonprofit organization, provides comprehensive support services on one site, free of charge, to all in need. SHCS believes that by nourishing bodies and nurturing minds, its services can grant short-term relief to those in economic need and, one step at a time, allow people to break the cycle of poverty. This support helps Louise's Pantry, a program that serves meals to over 24,000 residents every year. Sixty percent of those it assists are children.
Why we supported: Despite the wealth to be found in Silicon Valley, there are many families whose need for food has increased since more and more of their income is devoted to housing costs. This grant is especially important as it largely serves children. Meeting the nutritional needs of children, particularly those from low-income families, allows them to have a reasonable start in life.

The San Jose Mercury News Wish Book: $10,000
http://www0.mercurycenter.com/special/wishbook/
The Holiday Wish Book, published by The San Jose Mercury News, is in its 17th year of providing the community the opportunity to grant special wishes to those in need. This is an unrestricted grant to the Holiday Wish Book.
Why we supported: This is a discretionary grant.

San Jose Symphony: $100
www.sanjosesymphony.org
The San Jose Symphony, billed as the "Orchestra for Silicon Valley", offers entertainment for all ages including time-honored classics and popular hits. This grant is for the Symphony's 2000 Gala Celebration.
Why we supported: This is a discretionary grant.

Santa Clara County Biotechnology Education Partnership: $32,325
www.babec.org
Two Santa Clara County teachers who wanted to improve high school science by providing kit-based biotechnology education formed the Santa Clara County Biotechnology Education Partnership (SCCBEP) in 1992. SCCBEP is dedicated to increasing student understanding of key concepts in science through lab activities in molecular biology and to raising student awareness of related biotechnology applications. This contribution provides the salary for the part-time Program Coordinator for one year.
Why we supported: SCCBEP’s educational program, which is available to all secondary schools in Santa Clara County for a very modest fee, is valuable to high school science students and teachers because it provides on-site lab activities as a significant supplement to lectures and textbook learning. Given the Foundation’s commitment to medical science research, this grant supports the intellectual curiosity and development of the next generation of potential researchers.

Shelter Against Violent Environments: $10,000
www.save-dv.org
Shelter Against Violent Environments (SAVE) is a nonprofit organization established in 1976 to address the needs of people experiencing violence in their families. Its mission is to provide alternatives to domestic violence through support services, advocacy and education, and to assist domestic violence victims and their families to end the cycle of abuse. This grant is for general operating support.
Why we supported: SAVE has the largest shelter for domestic violence victims in Alameda County and maintains a transitional housing complex. The organization's programs are well-regarded for helping abuse sufferers and their children escape the cycle of violence and rebuild their lives.

Sor Juana Ines Services for Abused Women: $5,000
www.safenetwork.net/rd/sn000099.htm
Sor Juana Ines, named for the celebrated Mexican poet and feminist, offers emergency housing, counseling, court accompaniment and child care to abused women in the San Francisco Bay Area Peninsula region. This funding is for general operating support.
Why we supported: This grant is a Directors Discretionary Grant authorized by Board member Perry Olson.

The Tech Museum of Innovation: $66,500
www.thetech.org
Located in San Jose, The Tech Museum of Innovation is an educational resource established to engage people of all ages and backgrounds in exploring and experiencing technologies affecting their lives, and to inspire young people to become innovators in the technologies of the future. The Foundation has made the following contributions to The Tech in 2000:

• $9,000 This grant supports The Tech's "Reaching for Stars 2000" annual awards dinner.
  
• $15,000 and $17,500 These two contributions supported the Gizmo WYSIWYG 2000 event – a program featuring various educational activities for youth.
  
• $25,000 This grant was in support of The Tech's Board Match program.
  

Why we supported: Steve and Michele Kirsch are chairs of The Tech's Leadership Circle of donors and have continuously supported its activities, including its special events. These are discretionary community grants.

United Way Silicon Valley: $50,000
www.uwsv.org
United Way Silicon Valley (UWSV) supports the community's most vital health and human care needs by distributing raised funds to over 100 nonprofit agencies in Silicon Valley. This grant supports UWSV's Community Care Fund. This campaign funds programs in critical human care areas including family support services, childcare, community building and homeless assistance.
Why we supported: Steve Kirsch is a member of the key leadership team for UWSV's current fundraising campaign. This is a discretionary grant.

Unity Care Group, Inc.: $12,500
www.unitycare.com
Unity Care Group, Inc. is a community-based, nonprofit, youth development agency. Founded in 1992 by minority engineering professionals, the organization develops educational and social programs designed to enrich the lives of disadvantaged, at-risk youths. This grant supports the organization's Pre-College Minority Engineering Program (PC-MEP). This hands-on, educational project designed for at-risk minority middle school and high school age youth increases students' interest in science, math and engineering.
Why we supported: Only 12 percent of minority students in Santa Clara County school districts participate in engineering and science education. PC-MEP is the first program of its kind in Silicon Valley and its recently completed pilot program successfully graduated 95% of those who participated. This program will expose these young people to an academic area that needs their talents and through which they may become successful professionals in the community.

1999 Silicon Valley Community Grants

All Stars Helping Kids: $5,000
www.allstarshelpingkids.com
All Stars Helping Kids, founded by former NFL 49ers’ star Ronnie Lott, has focused on aiding disadvantaged youth in the San Francisco Bay Area for the past ten years. The organization helps youth face adversity including health problems, disabilities, family struggles, crime and economic hardship.
Why we supported: Champions of children’s causes, Steve and Michele Kirsch were inspired by the efforts of All Stars Helping Kids. This is a discretionary grant.

American Musical Theater of San Jose: $100,000
www.amtsj.org
The American Musical Theater of San Jose is a premiere performing arts center. It presents several musicals a year, generally affordably priced, as well as children’s art programs.
Why we supported: Avid supporters of Silicon Valley’s arts community, Steve and Michele Kirsch designated this grant for sponsorship of the 1999-2000 season. This is a discretionary grant.

Children’s Discovery Museum: $5,000
www.cdm.org
Located in San Jose, the Children's Discovery Museum is a learning and discovery center for children, families and schools, offering interactive exhibits and programs that span the arts, science, technology and the humanities.
Why we supported: Steve and Michele Kirsch are committed to the education and development of children. This is a discretionary grant.

Children’s Health Council: $5,000
www.chconline.org
The Children's Health Council has served the developmental needs of children and families in the Bay Area community for nearly 50 years, providing mental health services, special education and developmental services for children and adolescents.
Why we supported: This grant helped sponsor the Children’s Health Council’s Summer Symphony 1999, combining the Kirsch’s interests in the well-being of children and the arts. This is a discretionary grant.

Community School of Music and Arts: $5,040
www.arts4all.org
The largest arts education organization in Santa Clara County, the Community School of Music & Arts serves students of all ages through its diverse artistic programs including private lessons and classes, arts-in-the-schools programs, vacation and summer camps, concerts and other community outreach events.
Why we supported: Steve and Michele Kirsch wanted to introduce the arts-in-the-schools program in the Los Altos School District. This is a discretionary grant.

Community Foundation Silicon Valley: $276,700
Community Foundation Silicon Valley (CFSV), one of the largest nonprofit community foundations in the U.S., makes grants to the Silicon Valley community, educates the public about nonprofits and Silicon Valley's needs, and enables citizens to solve local problems. The Kirsch Foundation made four grants to CFSV in 1999:

• $200,000
  This grant underwrites the construction of the Kirsch Conference Center, a state-of-the-art conference and seminar room co-located with CFSV’s San Jose office.
  
• $48,300
  Each year the Kirsch Foundation provides funds to support CFSV’s grantmaking activities in its four strategic areas (cultural participation, education and lifelong learning, neighborhoods and civic engagement, and self-reliant individuals and families.)
  
• $25,000
  Steve Kirsch was a Founding Partner of SV2, a fund sponsored by CFSV that is composed of young, business professionals who are interested in impacting the community through donating time and financial resources. This is a discretionary grant.
  
• $3,400
  This grant underwrites the cost of a quarterly event for SV2, which encourages networking by its members and growth of the overall membership. This is a discretionary grant.
  

Why we supported: The Steven and Michele Kirsch Foundation is a supporting organization of the Community Foundation Silicon Valley. These contributions support various programs and capital projects proposed by CFSV.

Computer Museum: $8,000
www.mos.org
The Computer Museum, now a part of the Museum of Science in Boston, dedicates itself to furthering an interest in and understanding of science and technology and their importance for individuals and for society. The Museum of Science partners with the Computer Museum History Center (see next listing) in the safeguarding of computing artifacts.
Why we supported: The Foundation helped sponsor the 1999 Computer Bowl, hosted by the Computer Museum. This is a discretionary grant.

Computer Museum History Center: $89,000
www.computerhistory.org
The Computer Museum History Center dedicates itself to the preservation of computing history. It is home to one of the largest collections of computing artifacts in the world.
Why we supported: As a Board member, Steve Kirsch made two grants totaling $89,000, one for the July 1998 – June 1999 fiscal year and one for the July 1999 – June 2000 fiscal year. Both are discretionary grants.

Foothill-DeAnza Community Colleges Foundation: $25,000
www.fhda.edu
The Foothill-De Anza Community Colleges Foundation encompasses Foothill College and DeAnza College. Foothill College is developing the Center for Innovation in Education (CIE) so educators and students have access to an interactive, multimedia computer laboratory to explore developments in educational technology. CIE will also provide training for teachers in kindergarten through grade 14 in the application of technology to curriculum. Foothill College has undertaken a capital campaign to renovate and redesign a current building to house the CIE. The Foundation’s grant is designated for the capital campaign.
Why we supported: The Foundation supports efforts by the community to integrate technology into the classroom and CIE will be working with local Silicon Valley teachers as well as its own faculty and students.

KQED: $1,000
www.kqed.org
KQED, the public television station for Northern California, produces and acquires programs that entertain and inform and broadcasts PBS shows and other programs from distributors around the world. To show their support for public television, Steve and Michele Kirsch became members of the KQED Signal Society through a Foundation grant.
Why we supported: This is a discretionary grant.

Los Altos Cultural Association (Millennium Celebration): $10,000
The Los Altos Cultural Association sponsored a Millennium Celebration as a benefit for the construction of an Education Center at the Los Altos History House. The event was held in the Kirsch’s home community.
Why we supported: This grant supports an opportunity to help an educational project located in the Kirsch’s home community that would insure an understanding of the community’s roots and development.

Los Altos Educational Foundation: $20,000
www.springer.losaltos.k12.ca.us/thank_you/laef
The Los Altos Educational Foundation provides funding for educational programs and materials that enhance the academic curriculum of the Los Altos School District.
Why we supported: Members of the Los Altos community, Steve and Michele Kirsch support furthering education in their neighborhood. This is a discretionary grant.

Meals of Marin/A Bunch of Good Guys: $5,000
www.marin.org/comres/organization_disp.cfm?TOrgID=320
A Bunch of Good Guys, founded as a purely volunteer effort by current San Mateo County Superior Court Judge Joseph E. Bergeron, is committed to feeding the poor of California’s San Mateo County.
Why we supported: Michele Kirsch applauds A Bunch of Good Guys and wanted to insure that there would be sufficient food available during the 1999 holiday season. This is a discretionary grant.

Mountain View-Los Altos Union High School District: $2,500
www.mvla.k12.ca.us
The Mountain View-Los Altos Union High School District supports the high schools in the cities of Mountain View and Los Altos, California.
Why we supported: This grant helps sponsor the "Parent Observation Program" in the school district. As members of the Los Altos community, Steve and Michele Kirsch support the school district’s effort to get parents involved in the education of their children.

Odd Fellow-Rebekah Children’s Services: $20,000
www.rcs-ioof.org
Rebekah Children's Services, located in Gilroy, California, is a safe haven for children who are unable to remain with their families because of serious abuse. This funding helped to underwrite the capital campaign for the reconstruction of an outdated and very small recreation center for the children who are being sheltered by the organization. For these children, planned recreation activities are an integral component of helping them to recover from abusive situations.
Why we supported: Rebekah Children’s Services is a sanctuary for children who are the most difficult to place in foster care due to severe neglect. The proposed capital project had carefully estimated costs and was clearly needed. Most important, no other organization in Silicon Valley is doing the work of Rebekah Children’s Services in helping the most-neglected children of the community.

San Jose Children’s Musical Theater: $50,000
www.sjcmt.com
San Jose Children's Musical Theater provides accessible musical theater training for youth, with performances for families and the entire community. This funding, which is composed of two grants of $25,000 each, supports the San Jose Children's Musical Theater's on-line program TADA! "Theater as Digital Activity".
Why we supported: These grants encourage the use of the Internet as a vehicle to engage children in the arts. These are discretionary grants.

Santa Clara University/Markkula Center for Applied Ethics: $5,000
www.scu.edu/ethics
The Markkula Center for Applied Ethics, located on the Santa Clara University campus, is a community of faculty, students, staff and community members with the common goal of providing people, both from the on- and off-campus communities, with strategies to heighten ethical awareness and improve ethical decision making.
Why we supported: Believing people should be equipped to make decisions that better themselves and those around them, Steve and Michele Kirsch made this grant to the Markkula Center. This is a discretionary grant.

Santa Clara Valley Repeater Society: $5,000
www.scvrs.org
The Santa Clara Valley Repeater Society maintains and operates three amateur radio repeater systems in the San Francisco Bay Area. This grant supports the Society’s activities in aiding the community’s Emergency Response System.
Why we supported: This is a discretionary grant.

Stanford University/Cantor Center for Visual Arts: $4,975
www.stanford.edu/dept/ccva
Located on the Stanford University campus, the Cantor Center for Visual Arts is home to 27 art galleries, special exhibitions and educational events. It is an extensive resource for the teaching staff at Stanford as well as a cultural center for the San Francisco Bay Area.
Why we supported: Steve and Michele Kirsch joined the Cantor’s Center "New Founder’s Circle" in continuing their support of the arts community. This is a discretionary grant.

The Tech Museum of Innovation: $58,759
www.thetech.org
Located in San Jose, The Tech Museum of Innovation is an educational resource established to engage people of all ages and backgrounds in exploring and experiencing technologies affecting their lives, and to inspire young people to become innovators in the technologies of the future. Steve and Michele Kirsch made five separate grants to The Tech Museum in 1999:

• $10,000 to Gizmo WYSIWYG programs– Funds various educational programs at The Tech, including student internship programs and technology camps
  
• $23,100 for the "Panamas and Parasols" event – Underwrites and hosts this Leadership Circle event
  
• $20,000 – Sponsorship of the FANTASIA/2000 occasion for Leadership Circle donors
  
• $5,000 – General support
  
• $659 – Sponsors the Leadership Circle Cultivation luncheon
  

Why we supported: Steve and Michele Kirsch are chairs of the museum’s Leadership Circle of donors and have supported special events on behalf of The Tech. These are discretionary grants.

United Way Silicon Valley: $1,000,000
www.uwsv.org
United Way Silicon Valley, formerly named United Way of Santa Clara County, is a locally governed, independent nonprofit organization committed to raising funds for its 100-plus member agencies. These health and human care agencies meet high administrative and financial standards for accountability and service delivery to Silicon Valley’s needy community members. In May of 1999, local agencies found themselves without funding (for May/June, 1999, and all of the July 1999 – June 2000 fiscal year) due to poor financial management by the United Way. The funding shortfall was in excess of $15 million and would have resulted in serious service cutbacks by the member agencies that had been counting on United Way funds.
Why we supported: Steve and Michele Kirsch were the first to step forward to provide emergency funding so that local organizations – and the individuals they assisted – did not suffer due to United Way’s poor management and financial planning. As leaders in the Silicon Valley community, they wanted to set an example for other high-tech leaders and to demonstrate that the local high-tech business world was committed to the community. As a result of the Kirsch’s leadership and efforts to secure other high-tech contributions, funding was restored to the agencies. This is a discretionary grant.

YMCA of the Mid-Peninsula: $50,000
www.ymcamidpen.org
The YMCA of the Mid-Peninsula is an association of people unified by the common purpose of strengthening and enriching the spiritual, mental and physical well-being of all people and to improving the human conditions within the changing patterns of family and community life. This YMCA operates branches and facilities in Redwood City, East Palo Alto, Palo Alto and Mountain View. Steve and Michele Kirsch’s grant underwrote an on-site counseling room, part of a $3.5 million capital campaign for the expansion and remodeling of the Mountain View branch.
Why we supported: The Kirsch family had participated in YMCA activities and wanted to support the local YMCA’s efforts to upgrade its facilities. This is a discretionary grant.

Photo courtesy of YMCA of the Mid-Peninsula.