Gerson Bakar Foundation
/OVERVIEW: The Gerson Bakar Foundation provides ongoing support to the University of California campuses at Berkely and San Francisco. Other areas of interest include K-12 education, Jewish causes, arts and culture, animals and Bay Area communities.
IP TAKE: The Gerson Bakar Foundation maintains a low profile, which restricts information about it’s grantmaking strategies and interests. It’s not transparent or accessible. It’s a loyal grantgiver, however, tending to support the same grantees year after year, making it extremely difficult to get on Bakar’s radar. Grantseekers might reach out with inquiries using the contact information provided below, but they’re are not particularly approachable either. One other way to get around their lack of accessibility is to contact previous grantees to ask how they got on this funder’s radar.
All of this funder’s work supports organizations strictly located in the Bay Area, except for it’s Jewish giving, which spans the U.S., though prioritizes the Bay.
PROFILE: Based in San Francisco, the Gerson Bakar Foundation was founded in 1984 by the late real estate developer, Gerson Bakar, and his wife, Barbara Bass Bakar. Born in California, Bakar is a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley, where he studied business. His firm, Gerson Bakar and Associates, excelled in both residential and commercial development projects in California, Oregon and Washington. During his lifetime, Bakar was also an enthusiastic philanthropist, pouring millions each year into Jewish causes, education and arts and culture, with a strong focus on the Bay Area of California. The Gerson Bakar Foundation maintains a low profile, limiting information about its specific funding goals and practices.
Grants for Higher Education
Higher education appears to be the Bakar Foundation’s largest giving area. Over the past several decades, the Bakars, through their foundation, have provided ongoing support to Gerson’s alma mater, the University of California at Berkeley. The school is home to the Bakar Fellows Program, which supports “early-career faculty who are undertaking innovative science and technology research.” Gerson Bakar was also a co-founder of the university’s Fisher Center for Real Estate and Urban Economics and was a member of the board of advisors for the Haas School of Business, both of which continue to receive annual support from the foundation. Other higher education grantees to receive grants of more than $1 million in recent years include the University of California San Francisco, which is home to the Bakar Cancer Center, and the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island. Smaller grants have gone to Stanford University and Saint Mary’s College of California.
Grants for K-12 Education
K-12 education is a smaller area of giving for the Bakar Foundation, with grants mainly going to organizations serving students in the Bay Area. The foundation does not name specific priorities for its grantmaking in this area but appears to support college preparatory schools and initiatives, as well as out-of-school learning opportunities in the STEM disciplines. Recent recipients include San Francisco’s Exploratorium, College Track and the College Preparatory School of Oakland, California.
Grants for Jewish Causes
A significant portion of the Bakar Foundation’s grantmaking supports Jewish education and community organizations in Northern California. The foundation provides ongoing support to the Jewish Family and Children’s Services of San Francisco and San Francisco’s Contemporary Jewish Museum. The foundation has also supported the Oakland Hebrew Day School, the Jewish Community High School of the Bay, the Jewish Home and Senior Living Foundation of San Francisco and the Peninsula Jewish Community Center. Outside of the Bay Area, the foundation has made grants to Birthright Israel and New York’s Hebrew Union College.
Grants for Arts and Culture
The Bakar Foundation’s arts and culture grantmaking prioritizes organizations in the Bay Area. Recent grants have supported the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the East Palo Alto Youth Arts and Music Center.
Grants for Animals and Wildlife
Each year, the Bakar Foundation supports a handful or organizations working with wild and domestic animals. In a recent year, the foundation made grants to the San Francisco Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, the National Audubon Society and the Humane Society of the United States.
Grants for the Bay Area
The Bakar Foundation makes smaller grants to a broad range of organizations supporting communities in the Bay Area each year, although the foundation does not name specific priorities for this giving. Grantees include the Chicana Foundation of Northern California, the San Francisco AIDS Foundation, Youth Employment Services of Costa Mesa and the San Francisco Food Bank.
Important Grant Details:
In a recent year, the Gerson Bakar Foundation made about $90 million in grants. It is worth noting that more than half of this amount went to the University of California campuses at Berkeley and San Francisco. Of the foundation’s remaining grants, amounts ranged from a few hundred to $9 million, with an average grant size of about $10,000. This funder tends to provide ongoing support to its grantees. For additional information about past grantmaking, see the foundation’s recent tax filings.
This foundation does not maintain a website or accept unsolicited proposals for funding. An address and phone number are provided below.
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CONTACT:
Gerson Bakar Foundation
201 Filbert St. No. 400
San Francisco, CA 94133
(415) 576-8100
