We are Susan and Ash Gujral, founders of the Gujral Community Fund: a new Donor-Advised-Fund (DAF) established with the mission of helping to keep families living in San Francisco. While our family has been supporters of several charitable organizations throughout the years, we are excited for the opportunity to give back to this community in a more focused fashion, and to make a real difference for urban families.
What is a DAF?
A Donor-Advised-Fund is an investment vehicle where assets are managed specifically for charitable giving purposes. As implied in the name, donors work with their fund manager to decide when and how the funds will be distributed to established tax-exempt charitable organizations.
What Is the Focus of the Gujral Community Fund?
Our grants are focused on the core mission of keeping families in San Francisco. We identified four key program areas that embody the needs of urban families and use them to guide our grant-making decisions:
- Families Deserve Safe and Sound Housing
- Access to Healthy Food is Vital for Strong Communities
- Kids Need Safe, Engaging and Accessible Play Spaces
- Proper Care and Nutrition Promotes Healthy Babies
Why is it Important to Keep Families in San Francisco?
Families add diversity and vibrancy to urban centers, while services and improvements made with families in mind also benefit the community as a whole.
People often think of diversity in terms of race, but age diversity is important as well. According to a blog by Samuel Williams on childinthecity.org:
“Many elderly live in old people’s homes which children rarely visit, while children spend more time in environments such as schools and day care, with only members of their own age group. Everyone loses out as a consequence. Young people who grow up aware of people’s differences and abilities are more likely to be accepting of age differences and behaviours as adults, while isolation and loneliness are major problems for the elderly.”
We agree with the Canada-based group 8 80 Cities, which believes that if a city is designed for both an 8-year old and an 80-year old, everyone else will benefit. This includes accessible sidewalks, proper crosswalks, safe open green spaces and parks, protected bikeways, and other infrastructure improvements such as widely-available public transportation and health services.
While we cannot solve the problem on our own, we are determined to help make a difference and are excited for the opportunity to give back to San Francisco families. Follow us on social media (Facebook: @gcfund.org / Twitter: @gcfund_org) for updates on our grant-giving and to learn more about how we can all help our city remain a great place to live, for everyone.