Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund
Encyclopedia
The Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund is a private foundation established in 1953 by Evelyn D. Haas
and Walter A. Haas, Jr.
As of 2011, the Fund has awarded nearly $390 million in grants towards advancing fundamental rights and opportunities for all.
Based in San Francisco, California
, the Haas, Jr. Fund supports nonprofit organizations and initiatives in five main program areas: Immigrant Rights and Integration; Gay and Lesbian Rights; Education Opportunities; Nonprofit Leadership; and Community Partnerships and Initiatives.
The foundation is particularly well known in the San Francisco Bay Area
for its support for institutions such as UC Berkeley and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
, and for its leadership in local efforts such as the San Francisco Chronicle
Season of Sharing Fund and the transformation of Crissy Field
from a former military base to a 100-acre urban national park.
, an immigrant from Bavaria
, arrived in San Francisco in 1853 and started a dry-goods house that grew into a prosperous business and eventually became Levi Strauss & Co.
A donor to organizations serving children and the poor, as well as UC Berkeley, Strauss was credited in a 1902 obituary for his “numberless un-ostentatious acts of charity in which neither race nor creed were recognized.” Six generations later, the Haas family still supports local San Francisco Bay Area institutions, as well as some national nonprofits.
Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. started the Haas, Jr. Fund while Walter was working as an executive at Levi Strauss & Co. In its mission statement, the Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund describes its goal “to fulfill (its) founders’ vision of a just and caring society where all people are able to live, work and raise their families with dignity.”
“I always seemed to have a consciousness about people who really struggled with great challenges and adversity, while trying to live positive, productive and healthy lives,” Walter remarked when asked why he created the family foundation. “Evie and I wanted our Fund to help those in need and to try to make a difference in people’s lives. It’s most gratifying when the Fund, quietly, can help people help themselves.”
Evelyn and Walter’s three children are trustees of the Fund’s Board: Walter J. Haas is Chair, Robert D. Haas is Treasurer, and Betsy Haas Eisenhardt is Secretary.
Evelyn Danzig Haas
Evelyn D. Haas was a prominent San Francisco Bay Area civic leader and philanthropist. She was the co-founder of the Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund. Under the leadership of Evelyn and her husband, Walter A...
and Walter A. Haas, Jr.
Walter A. Haas, Jr.
Walter A. Haas, Jr. was a president and CEO and chairman of Levi Strauss & Co, succeeding his father Walter A. Haas. He led the company in its growth from a regional manufacturer and wholesaler of work clothes to one of the world’s leading apparel companies...
As of 2011, the Fund has awarded nearly $390 million in grants towards advancing fundamental rights and opportunities for all.
Based in San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
, the Haas, Jr. Fund supports nonprofit organizations and initiatives in five main program areas: Immigrant Rights and Integration; Gay and Lesbian Rights; Education Opportunities; Nonprofit Leadership; and Community Partnerships and Initiatives.
The foundation is particularly well known in the San Francisco Bay Area
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
for its support for institutions such as UC Berkeley and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art is a modern art museum located in San Francisco, California. A nonprofit organization, SFMOMA holds an internationally recognized collection of modern and contemporary art and was the first museum on the West Coast devoted solely to 20th century art...
, and for its leadership in local efforts such as the San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
Season of Sharing Fund and the transformation of Crissy Field
Crissy Field
Crissy Field is a former airfield, now a part of the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy in San Francisco, California, United States. Historically a part of the Presidio of San Francisco, Crissy Field was closed as an airfield and eventually the National Park Service took control over it...
from a former military base to a 100-acre urban national park.
History
The roots of family philanthropy run deep in the Haas, Jr. family. Walter A. Haas, Jr.’s great-great-uncle Levi StraussLevi Strauss
Levi Strauss was a German-Jewish immigrant to the United States who founded the first company to manufacture blue jeans. His firm, Levi Strauss & Co., began in 1853 in San Francisco, California.-Origins:...
, an immigrant from Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
, arrived in San Francisco in 1853 and started a dry-goods house that grew into a prosperous business and eventually became Levi Strauss & Co.
Levi Strauss & Co.
Levi Strauss & Co. is a privately held American clothing company known worldwide for its Levi's brand of denim jeans. It was founded in 1853 when Levi Strauss came from Buttenheim, Franconia, to San Francisco, California to open a west coast branch of his brothers' New York dry goods business...
A donor to organizations serving children and the poor, as well as UC Berkeley, Strauss was credited in a 1902 obituary for his “numberless un-ostentatious acts of charity in which neither race nor creed were recognized.” Six generations later, the Haas family still supports local San Francisco Bay Area institutions, as well as some national nonprofits.
Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. started the Haas, Jr. Fund while Walter was working as an executive at Levi Strauss & Co. In its mission statement, the Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund describes its goal “to fulfill (its) founders’ vision of a just and caring society where all people are able to live, work and raise their families with dignity.”
“I always seemed to have a consciousness about people who really struggled with great challenges and adversity, while trying to live positive, productive and healthy lives,” Walter remarked when asked why he created the family foundation. “Evie and I wanted our Fund to help those in need and to try to make a difference in people’s lives. It’s most gratifying when the Fund, quietly, can help people help themselves.”
Evelyn and Walter’s three children are trustees of the Fund’s Board: Walter J. Haas is Chair, Robert D. Haas is Treasurer, and Betsy Haas Eisenhardt is Secretary.