Who We Are
We began Philanthropic Ventures Foundation to do something different — to bring joy, simplicity, trust and effectiveness to grant- making.
We knew the answer was not more — more paper, more procedures, more obstacles, more time. And we believed that if giving grants involved fewer, simpler processes, every dollar would work harder and do more.
We think our approach is working. In 23 years, thanks to our family of more than 2,000 donors, we have made grants of $87 million. PVF strives to make a significant impact with every charitable dollar it invests.
PVF in the news - radio, TV, press - recent and upcoming.
Featured Grantee
We are pleased to present one of five short Micro-Documentaries that depict PVF’s work. Each film is one minute long and features the testimonial of a different PVF donor, colleague, or grantee. In the second film of our series, PVF grantee Sister Christina Heltsley of the Saint Francis Center in Redwood City, California, talks about her continued partnership with PVF.
"The heart of everything that goes on at PVF is relationships." - Sister Christina
FEATURED Initiative
PVF's latest project to spark change focuses on supporting young people with innovative ideas for improving our communities.
The Bay Area Inspire Awards is a newly-launched community initative that provides grants of up to $10,000 to young social innovators living and working in San Francisco or Alameda Counties who are dedicated to advancing social equity in their communities.
Are you between 18 and 30 with a fresh idea for how we can create change in the Bay Area? If so, we're interested...
Featured BLOG POST
Kathy Ahoy knows a good project when she sees one. With decades of public health nursing experience under her belt, she has a unique ability to identify individuals and organizations working at the grassroots level to incite change. Because of this, we selected Kathy to be a PVF Ambassador, providing her with $10,000 to fund important grassroots initiatives on behalf of PVF.
It was through Kathy and her ambassadorship that we were introduced to the New Roots MicroProducer Academy, a project of the International Rescue Committee.