Silicon Valley One - Fall 2008 - (Page 5)

Such circumstances have spurred McCown to urge private philanthropies and government agencies to “understand what the new face of hunger in Silicon Valley actually looks like.” However, hunger is just one aspect of poverty; others include joblessness, homelessness and lack of child care. Today, Silicon Valley charities and service providers grapple with sheer survival, in what McCown and others say is a perfect storm of growing need, shrinking resources, funding cuts at various levels of government in recent years, a state budget crisis, and slowing donations of money, services, food and clothing. As a result, McCown and many of her peers fear a possible breakdown of Silicon Valley’s social services safety net. The high cost of living in Silicon Valley conflicts with the federal food-stamp requirement that a family of three earn less than $22,880 yearly. That figure, a tight fit even in Appalachia, becomes ludicrous in a region with a cost of living 47 percent higher than the national average. And the region’s average annual income of $73,300 is 10 percent lower than the cost of living, according to the annual Silicon Valley Index (www.siliconvalleycf.org/ONE/22e). Shelters, like food providers, are feeling the crunch. Shelter Network of San Mateo, the county’s largest shelter provider, has seen the number of clients rising precipitously as the ongoing economic downturn has worsened. Last year, Shelter Network provided more than 180,000 nights of shelter, and Executive Director Michele Jackson sees the tide of homelessness only rising higher. Jackson compares the situation to the dot-com bust of the early 2000s, but with even more people using the network’s services and with funding harder to find. “In every corner where you can have a cost rise, we are seeing that rise,” says David Cox, executive director of St. Joseph’s Family Center, which runs food-distribution, shelter and job-training programs in Gilroy. The group’s pantry provides groceries to the city’s most needy. With a 10 percent increase in clients each month over the past year and a half, the pantry was serving more than 3,300 people monthly by August 2008. Other private and public Silicon Valley social services providers face similar difficulties. With the price of food, gasoline and other necessities increasing at unprecedented rates, these organizations are being forced to reduce services, lay off staff or—in the case of Child Development Inc., a San José-based child care and youth development program—break into the “seed corn.” The organization took out a line of credit using its property as collateral. In August 2008, to learn more about the worst social services crisis in decades, Silicon Valley Community Foundation called an extraordinary Vulnerable Communities Convening of more than 25 of the region’s key social services providers. The goal was to discuss their needs and concerns and come up with real-world responses. Discussions that day included helping legislate a streamlined food-stamp process and forging networks of food suppliers and providers to increase cooperative purchasing power. On-the-ground providers also asked that funders streamline and consolidate their own paperwork requirements. There was general agreement that funders need to skew their gifts toward longerterm grants for existing programs. “Programs need to drive funding, not the other way around,” Cox noted. Such gatherings are a good place to start. “It’s a major tool to shine a light on what’s happening,” says the community foundation’s vice president of community initiatives, convening and research, Erica Wood. Additionally, as part of the new grantmaking strategies (see page 19 for details), the community foundation pledged $1 million in funding for food, shelter and other basic needs for regional safety net providers by the end of 2008. Second Harvest’s McCown says continued dialogue between funders and front-line providers will be crucial. “I hope it’s just a start to a process where we all listen to what impacted people have to say about how we can add value to their lives,” she says. one Freelance writer Richard Rapaport is a visiting scholar at the University of California, Berkeley’s Institute for Governmental Studies. c Want to help? Email donate@siliconvalleycf.org to learn about the safety net fund. c innovation through philanthropy www.siliconvalleycf.org one 5 http://www.siliconvalleycf.org/ONE/22e http://www.siliconvalleycf.org

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Silicon Valley One - Fall 2008 Contents From Emmett D. Carson The New Face of Need Five-star Philanthropy Ready to Learn Board School Civic Citizens Built to Last siliconvalleycf.org What If?

Silicon Valley One - Fall 2008

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