Less than three weeks from now, Silicon Valley residents have a chance to make a wonderful difference in the community, strengthening their connections to their neighbors, their neighborhoods and to the future of this region. They can do it by making donations to their favorite local charities through Silicon Valley Gives on Tuesday, May 5.
Occasionally, Silicon Valley is portrayed as a place where people work hard to develop “the next big thing” but are disconnected from the communities around them. But I know that’s not the real story. Our region is full of everyday people committed to helping make the Bay Area a more vibrant, equitable and fulfilling place to work, live and play. We do work hard – and we also know how to give back and help others.
Nearly 700 nonprofit organizations serving San Mateo, Santa Clara and San Benito county residents have already registered to participate in Silicon Valley Gives (SVGives). The event is a 24-hour online day of giving, hosted by Silicon Valley Community Foundation with lead sponsorship by Microsoft. On May 5, generous donors will be matching many contributions, and Silicon Valley Community Foundation will award bonus prizes to nonprofit organizations throughout the day.
So whether you’re interested in supporting safety-net services, educators, fine arts organizations, mental health services or any of the hundreds of charities that are participating, I urge you to contribute and to ask others to contribute on May 5 and so that all of us can make a difference for our community. Learn more at SVGives.org, or click here for a searchable list of the organizations participating.
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Emmett D. Carson, Ph.D., is the founding CEO of Silicon Valley Community Foundation. An international thought leader in the field of philanthropy, in 2006 he led the unprecedented merger of two community foundations, creating SVCF. With a growth in assets from $1.4 billion to over $6.5 billion, SVCF is the nation’s largest community foundation and in the top 10 among all types of foundations. Before this, Emmett had a distinguished 12-year career as CEO of The Minneapolis Foundation, and prior to that oversaw the Ford Foundation’s U.S. and global grantmaking program on philanthropy and the nonprofit sector. Emmett received both his master’s and Ph.D. degrees in public and international affairs from Princeton University and his bachelor’s degree in economics, Phi Beta Kappa, from Morehouse College.
