Salesforce.org Awards $18 Million to Bay Area Nonprofits

Salesforce.org, the philanthropic arm of customer-relationship management software provider Salesforce.com, has announced grants totaling $18 million to Bay Area schools and nonprofits. The grants include $8.5 million to the San Francisco Unified School District in support of a new teacher residency model for aspiring middle school teachers; professional development for teachers through the AVID program; high-quality curricula in math, computer science, and science; and summer programming for underserved students, including opportunities for African-American students to participate in the Black Star Rising program. The foundation also awarded $7 million to the Oakland Unified School District in support of high-quality STEM curricula and support; wraparound support for students from immigrant families; and early intervention mental health services for students experiencing social, emotional, and behavioral barriers to learning. Since 2013, Salesforce.org has committed more than $50 million to Bay Area public schools. To address homelessness and hunger in the Bay Area, the foundation awarded grants totaling $2 million to local nonprofits, including $500,000 each to Hamilton Families and Larkin Street Youth Services and $1 million to the San Francisco-Marin Food Bank. And it awarded $500,000 to the San Francisco Parks Alliance in support of LetsPlaySF!, a public-private partnership between the alliance and the San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department, for the renovation of thirteen high-priority playgrounds in the city.