OVERVIEW: The Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund aims to promote equal rights among all people. Its national grantmaking programs are LGBT Equality, Immigrants’ Rights and Nonprofit Leadership. The fund also supports education, civic engagement and housing initiatives in California.
IP TAKE: The Haas Jr. Fund focuses its grantmaking on advancing equal rights in the U.S. It runs national grantmaking initiatives for LGBTQ equality, immigrants’ rights and the development of nonprofit leadership. In the state of California, grantmaking promotes college success and civic engagement of underrepresented groups. Another initiative supports safe and affordable housing for vulnerable residents of the Bay Area.
This funder supports a broad range of organizations, including many small, community-led groups that support the involvement of underrepresented people in the democratic process. Unfortunately, it’s not accessible at this time, but you can contact its staff with questions.
PROFILE: Established in 1953, the Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund is a San Francisco-based foundation started by an heir of the Levi Strauss & Co. fortune. Levi Strauss’s great-grandnephew, Walter A. Haas, Jr., led Levi Strauss & Co. from 1958 to 1976. Today, Walter and Evelyn’s children — Walter J. Haas, Robert D. Haas and Betsy Haas Eisenhardt — run the foundation with this same open-mindedness and commitment to fairness and equal opportunity with which their parents approached philanthropy. The fund works nationally to support Immigrant Rights, LGBT Equality and Nonprofit Leadership Development. In California, the fund runs grantmaking programs for Democracy, College Success and the Chronicle Season of Sharing fund, which provides emergency assistance to Bay Area residents in need. The fund has also supported the development of Chrissy Field, a former army airfield, as part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area
Grants for LGBTQ Causes
Haas’s LGBT Equality program is one of its largest giving areas. The foundation claims it was “the first foundation to support marriage equality,” providing $2.5 million in funding to the marriage equality organization Freedom to Marry in 2001. The fund is also a member of the Civil Marriage Collaborative, a network of leading funders in the marriage equality movement and continues to urge its peers who are not already on board with the CMC to do so. Haas’s current LGBTQ work has stated three main areas of focus: the development of policy that would prevent federally-funded programs from discriminating against LGBT people, the prevention of discrimination against LGBT people in public accommodations and the prevention of discrimination against LGBT people in issues surrounding the attainment of safe and affordable housing. Past grantees include the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation, GLBTQ Legal Advocates and Defenders, National LGBTQ Task Force, Horizons Foundation, and the Equality California Institute.
In 2022, the fund announced that it would wind down its grantmaking in this area the next two years.
Grants for Immigrants and Refugees
Haas’s Immigrant Rights grantmaking program centers on “eliminating barriers to immigration” for undocumented immigrants and achieving a “fair and efficient immigration system” in the U.S. The foundation works to build a more robust immigrant rights movement in California and nationally. The fund’s specific areas of grantmaking interest include advancing the cause of Dreamers, increasing the rate of citizenship by funding grassroots immigrants’ rights groups, supporting fair pay and safety measures for undocumented workers and developing leadership for immigrant groups. Its work also includes educational support for undocumented students and limiting the collaboration of law enforcement and other public agencies with immigration enforcement agencies. Grantees include America’s Voice Educational Fund, Define American, California Immigrant Policy Center, California Calls Education Fund, Immigrant Legal Resource Center and Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity.
Grants for Higher Education and College Readiness
Haas’s Democracy program aims to “level the playing field in higher education” in California by supporting college access and affordability for low- and middle-income families and students of color. Specific areas of interest include policy reform, the reduction of barriers to the attainment of undergraduate degrees and the amplification of “the voice of students and other affected groups.”
The fund has also supported organizations and programs that help K-12 students to develop academic and life skills that are associated with college success. One recent grantee, Coaching Corps, aims to keep students engaged in school through participation in athletic programs. The fund has also provided ongoing support to the University of California at Berkeley for programs associated with the success of students from underrepresented groups. Other recent grantees include the Campaign for College Opportunity, the Student Senate for California Community Colleges and the Poverty and Race Research Action Council.
Grants for Civic Engagement and Democracy
The Haas Fund’s Democracy grantmaking program works exclusively in California to “increase civic participation and representation for communities in California that have long been underrepresented in our domestic process.” Recent grants have focused on supporting and developing grassroots leaders and increasing voter participation amongst underrepresented groups. One recent grant supported Faith in the Valley, an organization that works with “faith-based communities of color” in California’s Central Valley with the goal of increasing voter registration and participation. Other recent grantees include the Chinese Progressive Association, the Bay Area’s Movement Strategy Center and the League of Women Voters of California Education Fund.
Grants for Housing, Homelessness and Community Development
Haas’s Season of Sharing Fund aims to prevent homelessness and hunger for vulnerable residents of the San Francisco Bay Area. Recent grantmaking has focused on COVID-19 relief for families who are unable to pay rent, as well as helping to meet the increased demand for basic needs and social services among vulnerable individuals and families. Grantee partners include San Jose’s Midtown Family Services, the Alameda County Food Bank, San Francisco’s Asian Women’s Shelter and the Berkeley Food and Housing Project.
Other:
Hass’s Leadership initiative aims to develop leadership in the nonprofit sector through awards that provide funding, peer learning and “strategic advice” to emerging and visionary talent in the fund’s areas of grantmaking interest. Grantmaking for this program is national in scope. The program’s grantee partners include the Black Alliance for Just Immigration, the Equality Foundation of Georgia, Borealis Philanthropy and Services and Advocacy for GLBT Elders.
Important Grant Details
The Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund has made between $20 and $25 million in grants a year over the past several years. Grants generally range from $5,000 to $500,000, but organizations have received larger amounts on occasion. The state of California and the San Francisco Bay Area are clear areas of geographic priority, but this funder’s initiatives for immigrants, LGBT causes and nonprofit leadership development are national in scope. Grantseekers can search the fund’s grants database for more information on its past grantees.
The Haas Fund is not accepting unsolicited applications for funding at this time, but prospective grantees consult the fund’s FAQ or reach out to executive assistant Gil Aurellano with general inquiries about the grantmaking process. It is worth noting that the email addresses of the fund’s various program directors are located at the bottom of each program page.
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