Our Imperative: Commit and Invest

Originally published here as a Stanford Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society "Philanthropy Innovation Summit Blog."

Nonprofits and foundations across the nation are working under immense pressure to meet rising needs, even as they themselves face growing threats. Policy reversals, investigations, funding cuts, and regulatory uncertainty are requiring leaders to adapt quickly with fewer resources. Low-income families, immigrants, LGBTQ+ individuals, and communities of color are standing on the frontlines while too many funders worry that now might not be the time to invest. It’s time for philanthropy to step up and step in. If we expect our grantees to be bold and meet their commitments, we must commit ourselves… and in greater numbers than ever before.

At The Sobrato Organization (TSO) and for the Sobrato family, we see this as a “moment of truth” in which our values are being tested against the increased criticality of our mission. At the 2025 Philanthropy Innovation Summit, I shared that our values have compelled three generations of Sobrato family members to expand our commitment to giving back to our communities by leveraging the collective power of our TSO enterprises—Sobrato Philanthropies, Sobrato Real Estate, and Sobrato Capital. We codified this commitment with a mission statement that inspires us to do more: “to build a more equitable and sustainable world through business and philanthropic leadership.” Our mission is our commitment to pull every lever, and to do so with urgency and generosity.

We believe the key to delivering lasting impact is to consistently nurture and invest in strong partnerships in our communities that enable economic advancement, belonging, power, and agency—all toward building an inclusive democracy at every level of government. We do so by funding a deepening network of community-based organizations that serve and give voice to the many residents in Silicon Valley who struggle to meet their basic needs despite being a vital part of our regional economy.

For this moment, we are also adapting our response strategy. We are taking actions at three levels to catalyze and model larger collective action using our funding, voice, and influence:

• Protect: Regionally, ensure vulnerable families can meet basic needs and that local nonprofits stay operational—providing direct cash aid, emergency operating support, and sector-wide infrastructure to sustain critical services.
• Defend: Statewide, safeguard California’s at-risk communities by strengthening the nonprofit, public institution, and foundation networks that uphold vital policies, resources, and protections on their behalf.
• Advocate: Nationally, in solidarity with our peers, mobilize philanthropic partnerships and amplify sector-wide advocacy.

We are deploying our largest annual giving budget to date and the full force of our relationships and voice for our region:

• We are mobilizing. In 2025, we have planned our largest financial commitment to date, contributing more than 25% of our philanthropic assets across a range of priorities. This includes $150M for our regional programs focused on economic mobility, affordable housing, and educational equity for multilingual learners to strengthen community infrastructure and advance public policy.
• We are listening. Across our regional and statewide portfolios, our program team is actively in touch with our partners—grantees and tenants of our nonprofit centers, peer funders, policymakers, and public sector officials—to understand what our communities are facing, and to collectively prepare for budget and policy changes. We are leaning into conversations with our Grantee Working Group, composed of 12 regional partners, to co-develop a participatory monitoring, evaluation and learning effort for our collective work.
• We are speaking up. Our team is attending key civic meetings in support of grantees, communicating with elected officials on behalf of our low-income communities, and signing collective statements to affirm our support for nonprofits as they face unprecedented challenges. We have signed two national statements: “Meet the Moment” is a call to action to move in solidarity with nonprofits that outlines a set of practices fully aligned with our current grantmaking approach. The second is a Public Statement from Philanthropy asserting our First Amendment right to grant money as an expression of one’s distinct values and direct resources to a wide variety of important services, issues, and places to improve lives today and build a stronger future for our country.

There are a few moments in our lives that are turning points, times when we find ourselves making decisions that will have an outsized impact on our futures and the futures of those around us. This moment is such a turning point—a moment that calls anyone with the means to step up, and to do so with as much fortitude as we can muster. We must not only invest, but lead with our actions and our words, stepping in to support others to have courage and move with us.

When we stand together with our communities, when we address historical inequities, and when we amplify marginalized voices, we become a force of conscience for our democracy. Our collective imperative is to commit and invest – today.