“I love the fact this is going to be a very Bay Area event,” he says. “The 50 Fund gives a reason for people to feel proud of this being our Bay Area Super Bowl.” December 2015/January 2016 53 made a lot of sense,” Tshionyi says. The result was a focus on awarding grants to nonprofits in three main areas: youth development, community investment and environmental sustainability. But more than that, Tshionyi says they looked at different levels of impact, from the grassroots level that includes Playmakers such as ALearn to the regional level, represented by such groups as Juma, to even the national level, by connecting with national literacy programs looking to raise reading levels among low income Bay Area children. The 50 Fund created its own signature program, The Re(a)d Zone, a 14-month initiative to support high-quality literacy programs, with a firm focus on those preventing the “summer slide” among low-income students who are at risk of falling behind in reading levels over summer break. They set the lofty goal of reaching 500,000 Bay Area students, and engaging 500,000 “literacy champions”— people willing to volunteer as tutors, donate books or serve as advocates. The Re(a)d Zone is partnered with two national groups: The Campaign for Grade-Level Reading, and Tuck’s R.U.S.H. for Literacy, co-founded by Oakland Raider Justin Tuck and his wife Lauren. More than 500 nonprofits have applied for grants, and the fund’s leaders acknowledge that they have passed over some great organizations because their goals did not match the fund’s areas of focus. “I thought granting the money would be easy, but that’s not the case,” says Tshionyi. “There are over 10,000 nonprofits in the Bay Area; we can’t help every one.” SCORE BOARD One year ago, The 50 Fund kicked off its efforts with the first announcement of Game Changer, Playmaker and Re(a)d Zone grants. In July it announced it had awarded $2.5 million to Game Changer nonprofits, nearly $200,000 to Playmaker groups and $805,000 to groups chosen by the Re(a)d Zone. Another $150,000 went to three Bay Area food banks. Since that time about 20 more nonprofits have received $10,000 Playmaker grants, for approximately $200,000, with five more Game Changers for another $2.5 million. Playmaker announcements will Super Bowl 50 Host Committee. continue to be made right up until the Super Bowl, when more Game Changers and Re(a)d Zone grants will also be presented. The donation touchdowns will go on after the Super Bowl ends, until at least $10 million is distributed. Another group that came together this year, the Friends of The 50 Fund, seeks to raise an additional $5 million, which will mean even more money flowing toward Bay Area charities. The Re(a)d Zone’s efforts will continue through the end of summer 2016. POST GAME The far-reaching impact of The 50 Fund is already becoming known. Leaders of organizations that have received grants say they’ve heard from both existing and new donors, who became aware of the grants through word of mouth or saw one of the Playmaker videos. “Having the Playmaker grant allows us to reach out to our current donors and new donors in a way that’s really helpful to tell the story,” says ALearn co-founder and Executive Director Kathryn Hansen. Besides fundraising, receiving a 50 Fund grant gives the nonprofit a platform to raise awareness. “It allows us to make people aware of what’s happening in our own back yard,” she says. Hansen thinks The 50 Fund has achieved something else that’s proven surprisingly elusive in the past: bridging the gap between nonprofits to the north, in San Francisco and Oakland, and those here in the South Bay. She hopes the experience will bring the region’s nonprofits together in solving societal challenges. “There’s a lot of talk nationwide about the gap between the rich and the poor, the students with high needs and others, but I think The 50 Fund is pointing to the fact that we’re really all together,” Keith Bruce, CEO of the Hansen says. Tshionyi is proud of the fact that Super Bowl 50 is being stamped with the Bay Area’s own unique way of approaching life, by putting issues such as philanthropy and environmental sustainability into the core of major sporting events in order to leave a positive lasting impact on the communities that surround them. “I love the fact this is going to be a very Bay Area event,” Tshionyi says. “The 50 Fund gives a reason for people to feel proud of this being our Bay Area Super Bowl.” n SCOTT CHERNISW
South Bay Accent - Dec 2015/Jan 2016
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