Erich and Hannah Sachs Foundation

OVERVIEW: The Sachs Foundation makes grants and investments for economic development in underserved areas of the U.S., as well as Central America, South America and Africa. Overlapping areas of giving include housing, education, vocational training and addiction recovery. It also makes a few grants each year for land conservation and animals.

IP TAKE: Traditional grantmaking is only a part of the Erich and Hannah Sachs Foundation’s work. This funder also makes loans and investments to initiatives for economic development and supports microlending institutions in the U.S. and Central America. Grantees tend to receive multiyear support, no matter what form that support takes. Grantees of any size stand a chance here, but reach out for an informal discussion about your organization’s specific needs prior to submitting an application.

PROFILE: The Erich and Hannah Sachs Foundation was established in 1997 by Reynold Sachs in honor of his parents, who emigrated from Germany during the Second World War. Sachs holds a PhD. in economics from Columbia and a J.D. from Georgetown University. He has worked as an economics professor and an analyst for the U.S. Defense Department. He also founded and led communications and consulting companies.

The Sachs Foundation is dedicated to “improving the overall quality of life for economically and/or educationally disadvantaged individuals and families who manifest a genuine desire to help themselves.” Additionally, the foundation supports “efforts designed to strengthen communities.” The foundation’s grantmaking areas of interest include education, economic development, global development, housing, addiction treatment, and environmental preservation. It also organizes its philanthropy by approach.

  • The foundation’s program related investments are grants or loans to “charitable organizations” for the support of programs or activities that present “a substantial likelihood that the funding will be used effectively for charitable purposes, as well as initiate or expand a self-sustaining activity or operation.”

  • Sachs’s microloans are awarded to “individuals, families or groups of individuals” in developing countries of Central America, South America or Africa “to develop business and employment opportunities for low income individuals and families.”

  • The foundation makes grants and loans to individuals or families “who demonstrate a willingness and ability to improve themselves and the quality of their own lives” for expenses related to “education, health and housing.”

  • Grants and loans to founder-driven charitable enterprises support organizations “at critical periods in their development, usually the start-up or earliest phase of a charitable organization's or institution's activities.”

  • The foundation also makes a small number of contributions each year to support organizations working in areas outside of the foundation’s typical areas of interest.

While this funder does not limit its grantmaking geographically, U.S. grantmaking focuses on California and the West Coast, while its global giving focuses on Central America, South America and Africa.

Grants for Housing, Work and Opportunity

The Sachs Foundation’s largest grants and loans appear to be directed towards organizations that support community development in the form of housing and business development. Giving in these areas tends to be directed at the same nonprofits and social enterprises year after year.

In Boston, the foundation supports Bluehub Capital, “a nonprofit community development financing organization” that works in the areas of housing, economic development, as well as related areas of health and childcare. Another recipient, San Francisco’s Low Income Investment Fund, focuses on the development of underserved communities of color and works to develop housing, education infrastructure and job training initiatives. Other grantees working in these areas include California’s Rural Community Assistance Program, the Low Income Housing Institute of Seattle and REACH Community Development of Portland, Oregon.

Sachs has also demonstrated an interest in initiatives and programs for homeless people. Grants have supported emergency shelters and counseling for homeless individuals and families. Grantees include the Downtown Streets Team of San Jose, California and the Committee on the Shelterless of Petaluma, California.

Grants for Education

Education is also a large area of giving for the Sachs Foundation and spans early childhood, K-12 and higher education.

Grants for Early Childhood Education

A significant portion of the foundation’s community development giving supports organizations that include early child education and care as a component of sustainable workforce development. The Low Income Investment Fund, for example, received multiple grants for development projects that included “expanding the availability of quality childcare.” Another grantee, the Santa Cruz Community Credit Union, provides low-interest loans to small businesses including child care providers and early childhood education organizations.

Grants for K-12 and Arts Education

In the K-12 arena, the foundation names “after school programs” as an area of interest. The foundation has provided multiyear support to the Opera West Foundation, which brings “Gilbert & Sullivan musicals to San Francisco elementary and middle schools, particularly those serving lower income communities.”

Other K-12 grantees include SF Achievers, which works with male students of African American descent in the San Francisco Unified School District, and Project Commotion, another San Francisco area organization that provides in- and out-of-school academic enrichment through creative movement.

Grants for College Readiness and Higher Education

Grants and investments in higher education focus on financial and strategic support for “exceptional public high school students” and college retention, although these appear to be smaller areas of giving within the foundation’s education portfolio.

One recipient is the Bay Area’s Meritus College Fund, which provides scholarships and guidance to college students from low-income backgrounds. Support has also gone to the Sonoma Valley Mentoring Alliance, the Oral Lee Brown Foundation and Princeton University.

Grants for Global Development

The Sachs Foundation supports several organizations that run microlending programs to support individuals, families and entrepreneurs in Central America, South America, and Africa. The focus of this giving is the development of “business and employment opportunities for low income individuals and families.”

Recipients of this funding in include Global Partnerships and Friendship Bridge, both of which operate mainly in Central America and work to create opportunities for vulnerable people living in poverty.

Grants for Public Health and Mental Health

The Sachs Foundation names substance abuse rehabilitation as the focus of its health giving but has not made many grants in this area. Past health grants have supported the No AIDS Task Force of New Orleans and the Sonoma Valley Community Health Center in California.

Grants for the Environment, Animals and Wildlife

A small number of grants support land conservation and animal and wildlife rescue initiatives. Grantees include the Oregon Humane Society, Conservation Northwest, the Rural Land Foundation of Lincoln, Massachusetts and the Heart and Soul Animal Sanctuary of New Mexico.

Important Grant Details:

The Sachs Foundation’s grants range from $2,000 to $750,000.

  • Traditional grants are only a part of this funder’s philanthropic work, which includes loans and other investments to nonprofits and social enterprises.

  • About half of the Sachs Foundation’s U.S. grantmaking goes to organizations based in California.

  • Global giving focuses on Central America and, to a lesser degree, South America and Africa.

  • This funder tends to provide several years of funding to a small cohort of grantees.

  • This funder accepts applications at any time, but strongly suggests that grantseekers contact the foundation prior to submission to “discuss their program and financial needs.”

  • Forms and instructions are provided on the foundation’s application page.

According to the foundation’s contact page, questions should be directed to Caryn Sachs or Robert M. Long.

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