Walter & Elise Haas Fund

For more than six decades, Walter A. Haas, Sr. and his wife, Elise Stern Haas, contributed to the quality of business and cultural life of San Francisco and the greater Bay Area. First as president and later as chairman of the board, Mr. Haas led the development of Levi Strauss and Co. from a small western pants manufacturer to the largest apparel company in the world. An artist and civic leader, Mrs. Haas helped pave the way for future generations of women to participate fully in their community.

The couple created the Walter & Elise Haas Fund to provide education grants to improve the quality of public education by building effective school communities. The program goals focus on school leadership, teacher quality and partnerships for school improvement to build engaging, effective school communities. The Fund gives priority to programs that focus on increasing educational opportunities for underserved students.

The fund's goal is to engage parents, youth, and the broader community in activities to improve the quality of education in public schools. The activities may be led by organizations external to the school system or be initiated within the public schools. These may include:

• Programs and projects that build meaningful collaborations among parents and other members of the school community
• Activities and organizations that engage youth to help improve academic success and develop collaboration with teachers, parents, and other adults within their school communities
• Programs that build effective partnerships between public schools and the broader community
• Limited support for broader school reform efforts that improve partnership for school improvement

This funding source seems best suited for our BDPA Bay Area chapter. We hope to hear from them if there is interest in seeking funding from Haas Fund.