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| Richard and Rhoda Goldman Fund | |
|---|---|
| Name | Richard and Rhoda Goldman Fund |
| Founded | 1951 |
| Founders | Richard Goldman; Rhoda Haas Goldman |
| Location | San Francisco, California |
| Dissolved | 2019 |
Richard and Rhoda Goldman Fund
The Richard and Rhoda Goldman Fund was a private philanthropic foundation based in San Francisco that supported environmental, civic, cultural, and social initiatives. Over nearly seven decades the Fund awarded grants to organizations across the United States and internationally, working with partners in conservation, arts, public health, and civic engagement. Major collaborations linked the Fund to municipal, regional, and national institutions and to leading nonprofits in environmental protection, arts philanthropy, and public policy.
The Fund was established in 1951 during the postwar philanthropic expansion associated with families such as the Rockefeller family, Ford Foundation, and Gates Foundation. Its activities intersected with campaigns and movements involving Sierra Club, The Nature Conservancy, World Wildlife Fund, National Audubon Society, and Conservation International. In the 1960s and 1970s the Fund engaged with urban issues alongside United Way, YMCA, AARP, and local entities such as San Francisco Opera and San Francisco Symphony. During the 1980s and 1990s the Fund shifted emphasis to environmental protection and civic engagement, partnering with foundations like Carnegie Corporation of New York, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, and David and Lucile Packard Foundation. In the 2000s the Fund’s grantmaking intersected with initiatives involving Environmental Defense Fund, Natural Resources Defense Council, Trust for Public Land, The Nature Conservancy, and international actors including UNESCO and World Bank. Leading up to its closure the Fund coordinated with regional institutions such as San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, California Academy of Sciences, Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, and San Francisco Public Library.
Richard Goldman, a businessman and philanthropist linked by marriage and family ties to the Haas family and Levi Strauss & Co., and Rhoda Haas Goldman, an heir to the Haas family retail legacy, founded the Fund. Leadership included family trustees and professional executives who engaged with nonprofit leaders such as Paul Newman, Ansel Adams, Jane Goodall, E.O. Wilson, and policy figures like Gavin Newsom and Jerry Brown through civic and environmental boards. Advisory relationships connected the Fund to arts administrators at Metropolitan Museum of Art, conservationists at David Brower’s networks, and academic partners at Stanford University, University of California, Berkeley, Harvard University, Yale University, and Columbia University.
The Fund supported programs in environmental conservation, civic engagement, Jewish community services, arts and culture, and reproductive health. Environmental grants targeted habitat protection, urban parks, and marine conservation with grantees including Monterey Bay Aquarium, Point Reyes National Seashore, Golden Gate National Recreation Area, Audubon Society, and World Resources Institute. Civic grants bolstered voter registration and redistricting reform groups such as League of Women Voters, Brennan Center for Justice, and Common Cause. Cultural grants benefited museums and performing arts organizations like San Francisco Ballet, Julliard School, American Conservatory Theater, and Getty Museum. Jewish philanthropy and social service support connected the Fund to Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco, Hadassah, and American Jewish Committee. Global health and family planning collaborations included Planned Parenthood, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation-aligned efforts, and international NGOs such as PATH.
Significant grants funded land acquisition, park creation, and public access projects with impact on regions including the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, Point Reyes National Seashore, Sonoma County, and Marin County. The Fund’s contributions aided capital campaigns at California Academy of Sciences and San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and supported policy research at Urban Institute, RAND Corporation, and Brookings Institution. Environmental policy grants influenced work at Environmental Defense Fund, Natural Resources Defense Council, and Resources Legacy Fund Foundation. Civic initiatives supported by the Fund helped increase voter participation in California and funded redistricting and campaign finance reform work at Brennan Center for Justice and Common Cause. The Fund’s philanthropic investments also strengthened arts education at Lincoln Center, community health programs tied to Kaiser Permanente, and park stewardship via National Park Service partnerships.
As a private foundation, the Fund managed an endowment, distributed grants through program officers and trustees, and complied with United States tax rules governing private foundations administered by the Internal Revenue Service and subject to nonprofit reporting structures used by organizations such as Council on Foundations and Charity Navigator. Financial stewardship involved due diligence with accounting firms and auditors linked to PricewaterhouseCoopers, Deloitte, and grantmaking best practices advocated by Philanthropy New York and National Center for Family Philanthropy. The Fund executed multi-year grant commitments and capital grants, engaged in planned giving vehicles used by families such as the Rockefellers and Pew family, and coordinated legacy transitions consistent with governance norms at organizations like Atlantic Philanthropies.
The Fund partnered with local governments including the City and County of San Francisco and regional agencies such as California State Parks, federal agencies like the National Park Service, and nonprofit networks including Land Trust Alliance, Conservation Lands Foundation, National Trust for Historic Preservation, and The Trust for Public Land. It collaborated with academic research centers at UC Berkeley Energy Institute, Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment, and policy groups like Public Policy Institute of California. Philanthropic collaborations included pooled-fund initiatives with The Ford Foundation, William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, David and Lucile Packard Foundation, and regional collective action with San Francisco Foundation.
In 2019 the trustees announced the Fund would sunset, transferring many programs, endowments, and commitments to successor organizations and grantees such as Goldman Environmental Prize-affiliated projects, regional cultural institutions, and national nonprofits. The Fund’s closure followed a trend of donor-directed sunsetting seen in foundations like Atlantic Philanthropies and influenced ongoing philanthropic conversations involving effective altruism-adjacent debates at institutions including Giving What We Can and Open Philanthropy Project. Its legacy endures through funded parks, museum wings, civic reforms, and ongoing work by grantees such as The Nature Conservancy, Natural Resources Defense Council, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and California Academy of Sciences. Category:Foundations based in the United States