Last night, more than 1,200 Bay Area residents attended Tipping Point Community’s 10th annual fundraising event, held this year at Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco. More than 60% of Tipping Point’s annual grantmaking funds are raised through this one evening alone, and the community did not disappoint, contributing more than $13 million to alleviate poverty in the Bay Area.
The need could not be more urgent. Today, 2 in 5 families in the Bay Area are too poor to meet their basic needs; nearly 7,000 people sleep on the streets every night in San Francisco, and housing costs continue to skyrocket.
More than 600,000 low-income people have been served by Tipping Point grantees since 2005. Tipping Point’s board of directors underwrites all operating costs, so that 100% of every dollar donated, including the more than $13 million raised last night, will go directly to the most promising education, employment, housing and wellness organizations in the Bay Area.
“Before I found Year Up and Larkin Street Youth Services, I didn’t believe it when people told me I could make it. I really just thought it came down to luck,” speaker Devin Ross said as he spoke of two Tipping Point grantees at the top of the night’s program. “But now I know that if you get the right opportunity, if you work hard and be consistent, you can do whatever you desire.” Ross, 22, works at Gap, Inc. and attends City College.
The evening also served as a platform to announce the organization’s first foray into leveraging philanthropic dollars to unlock public funds and affect systems-level change. Over the next couple years, an anonymous donor will invest up to $5 million to fund these efforts at the intersection of homelessness and mental illness in San Francisco.
Alex Briscoe, former director of Alameda County Health Services, has been hired to lead this new team, bringing more than 20 years of experience and his proven track record to Tipping Point.
“Homelessness is a symptom of what’s broken all around us,” said Daniel Lurie, Tipping Point’s CEO + Founder. “With failing public schools, minimal support for young people aging out of foster care, and no viable options for those coming out of our justice system, it’s no mystery how people end up on the streets. We have to attack these problems at their roots.”
The event, with the theme of Bay Area Block Party, was co-chaired by Nicole Curran and Joseph Lacob, Christina and Mick McGuire, Amy and Drew McKnight and Laura and Gregg Perloff. Guests were greeted by a display of mad-lib style letters written by heads of business, non-profit leaders and community members reflecting on what it means to “be civic centered.”
“There are a lot of ways to raise money and give it away,” Lurie said. “Our goal was to bring people together. To have a community represented by every sector, every age group, everyone who wants to make the Bay Area better.”
Rye prepared the cocktails and local culinary artist Paula LeDuc made the meal. After a program featuring three speakers who have benefitted from the support of Tipping Point grantees, Compass Family Services, KIPP Bay Area Schools, Larkin Street Youth Services and Year Up, the evening concluded with performances by Alabama Shakes and DJ Ruckus.
Read Lurie’s perspective on Tipping Point’s efforts to tackle homelessness on Medium.
ABOUT TIPPING POINT COMMUNITY
Since 2005, Tipping Point Community has raised more than $100 million to educate, employ, house and support over 600,000 people in need. Tipping Point screens non-profits rigorously to find, fund and partner with the most promising groups helping low-income people achieve self-sufficiency. Beyond dollars, we provide our grantees with the communications, technical and management assistance they need to grow and increase their impact in the fight against poverty. Thanks to our generous board of directors that covers all fundraising and operations costs, 100% of every dollar donated goes out the door.
