Letter from the CEO: 12 Characteristics of Silicon Valley Philanthropists
 Silicon Valley has re-shaped the world. Our region is headquarters to a staggering concentration of companies whose products and technologies have changed the way people communicate, buy and sell. Just as Henry Ford, John D. Rockefeller and other industrialists were studied decades ago, so too the companies of Silicon Valley are being watched and emulated for their best practices, organizational structures and philosophies. However, the world is not just watching the way we do business. They are also watching what companies and people do with the wealth being created and what philanthropic practices are coming to light.
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Keeping Music in Schools Through Local Affiliate Funds
 Ruth and Dale Connell, married for 68 years and Gilroy residents for 60 of those years, have found a way to ensure that music education will always be part of the lives of students in the Gilroy Unified School District. Through the Gilroy Foundation, an affiliate fund of Silicon Valley Community Foundation, the Connells have established two endowment funds to support music and choir in the Gilroy Unified School District.
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Supporting Legislative Change Impacting Local Children and Families
 Silicon Valley Community Foundation participates in and contributes staff support to the Peninsula Partnership Leadership Council. The mission of the leadership council is to formulate policies that effectively address the needs and foster the healthy development of children, youth and families in San Mateo County. Leaders from the highest levels of the public, private and nonprofit sectors, including two youth commissioners, serve on the council.
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Why We Can’t Wait: Convening on African American Males
 Why We Can’t Wait was the topic of a Silicon Valley Community Foundation convening on the plight of African American males in the United States today. More than 40 funders from California and Washington D.C. discussed findings from a Ford Foundation report titled Why We Can’t Wait: Opportunities for Improving Life Outcome of African American Males. The purpose of the event was to inspire a greater and more coordinated response to key issues within the philanthropic sector.
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