Foundation News

After a complete renovation, the new Lisa & Douglas Goldman Tennis Center in Golden Gate Park is open and bustling with activity, with state of the art public courts to practice and play. It is also home to the Koret Tennis & Learning Center, which provides academic support, mentorship, and tennis instruction for middle schoolers from underserved neighborhoods in San Francisco.

Yom HaShoah commemorates the millions of innocent Jewish and other lives lost during the Holocaust. The Koret Foundation is committed to combating antisemitism and identity-based hatred through grants supporting Holocaust education. A joint memorial program led by Koret grantees Jewish Family & Children’s Services and the San Francisco Jewish Community Center will be held April 7-9 to remember those no longer with us and celebrate the bravery and resilience of survivors.

In spite of the challenges it endured in 2020 and its cancelled summer program, the Camp Tawonga community stayed connected through virtual Friday night song sessions, Tot Shabbats, Jewish holidays and more throughout the year. This Impact Report details Tawonga’s many accomplishments in 2020 as it looks forward to the 2021 summer at camp.

One year after the Bay Area initially shut down, Koret’s director of programs, Danielle Foreman, reflects on the impact of our community’s nonprofit sector, as well as its future. (photo: Getty Images / EyeEm)

Bay Area Jewish funders and fundraisers reflect on the pandemic one year later. “At the beginning of the pandemic, the only thing that was certain was that no one knew what to expect — foundations and grantees alike,” recalls Danielle Foreman, Koret’s director of programs. (Photo/Seth Leslie)

Educating for American Democracy is a bipartisan, multi-sector effort to reinvigorate the teaching and learning of American history and civics in schools. The Commonwealth Club will livestream a conversation with leaders of this effort about why the country needs a renewed commitment to history and civics education. This program is part of Creating Citizens, Commonwealth Club’s new civics education project, founded with Koret support.

Koret director Michael Boskin pays tribute to colleague, mentor, and friend George Shultz, a longtime Koret advisor who left a lasting impact on US policy, diplomacy, and the economy. (Photo: Mary Anne Fackelman / White House via CNP/Getty Images)

George Shultz, the Reagan administration secretary of state who made it his mission to bring about freedom for Soviet Jewry, lived in the Bay Area for three decades before his passing at age 100. “I had the privilege of working for and with George Shultz for over 36 years,” said Abraham Sofaer, a Koret director who served as legal adviser in the State Department under Shultz. “He cared deeply about human rights, helped liberate Soviet Jewry, and supported Israel.”

Koret is saddened by the passing of George Shultz at the age of 100, a longtime Koret special advisor and lauded statesman. The well-respected diplomat held three presidential cabinet positions, advised every U.S. president since Eisenhower, and leaves the legacy of a distinguished career in government, business, and academia. May his memory be a blessing.

The California Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum (ESMC) is currently under review. The new ESMC will be used as the model curriculum for high schools across California and could ultimately be adopted across the nation. The Jewish Community Relations Council has worked tirelessly and in partnership with other Jewish community organizations to help build a balanced and inclusive ESMC. The third version of the curriculum will be reviewed for approval by the California State Board of Education this March.