Nicole Taylor joined the Silicon Valley Community Foundation (SVCF), the largest community foundation in the United States, as president and CEO in December 2018. She previously served as vice president of the ASU Foundation, as deputy vice president and dean of students at Arizona State University, and as associate vice provost of student affairs and dean of community engagement as well as managing director of the Haas Center for Public Service at Stanford University, where she had earned her bachelor’s degree in human biology and master’s in education. She also has served as president and CEO of Thrive Foundation for Youth, the East Bay Community Foundation, and as CEO of College Track.

Since April 2020, Taylor also has served as co-chair of the Silicon Valley Recovery Roundtable, a group of 59 business and community leaders working to chart a path to “a better normal” in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Taylor discussed SVCF’s efforts to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, center racial equity in its grantmaking, and help address systemic inequities in the region; her experience as a Black woman in the C-Suite and the challenges women of color continue to face in the sector; and the role of donor-advised funds in democratizing philanthropy and the potential impact of currently proposed reform legislation.

Philanthropy News Digest: Can you share some highlights of how the more than $50 million raised in the early months of the pandemic helped address community needs across the region?

Nicole Taylor: In 2020, SVCF raised more than $65 million for pandemic response. This money went toward seven different funds to ensure that we supported the varied individuals and organizations affected by the pandemic and met their unique needs. Through our COVID-19 Regional Response Fund, we granted more than $20 million to core agency partners across the 10-county Bay Area region, which in turn provided relief—food, housing and financial assistance—to low-income individuals and families. We launched additional funds to support local nonprofits, small businesses, education systems, and childcare providers. Nearly $13 million was granted as part of the Regional Nonprofit Emergency Fund, which supported Santa Clara and San Mateo County nonprofits. Over $3 million was granted from the Small Business Relief Fund, which supported small businesses with employees at risk for lost wages.

As the pandemic continues to affect individuals and families, nonprofits, and small businesses, we will continue to serve these communities with just as much urgency, particularly in our own backyard. In 2021 alone, thanks to our donors, we distributed $777 million in grants to Bay Area organizations, a 48 percent increase compared to 2020 and the most distributed in any region. Our hope is that this community-focused giving will provide necessary support while building more resilient communities.

PND: As the president and CEO of the largest community foundation in the country, how do you define a post-pandemic “better normal”? Having disbursed more than $2 billion in grants in 2021, what role will SVCF play in ensuring the region’s “better” recovery going forward?

NT: For us, a “better normal” looks like an equitable, economically secure, and vibrant future for all Silicon Valley residents. This is only possible when we devote our energy and resources to organizations that are helping their communities chart their own agenda and develop a path to have their own political, social, and economic will and leadership. At SVCF, we do this by supporting a broad range of organizations that serve and build movements within communities of color. Last year, we launched our Community Action Grants Program to increase investments in smaller and emerging organizations led by people of color and allied organizations that amplify the voices and agency of historically underrepresented communities, including Black, Latinx, Indigenous, and other communities of color and undocumented residents.

In 2020 we created our Community Advisory Council, a group of 25 local leaders of color who ensure that we are continuing our work through a race and equity lens. The members also play a key role in our grantmaking by helping us design the grantmaking process and reviewing grant applications. This council holds us accountable for our work. We’ve also co-created, and currently manage, the California Black Freedom Fund, a five-year, $100 million initiative to ensure that Black power-building and movement-based organizations across our state have the sustained investments and resources they need to dismantle systemic and institutional racism. Similarly, our LatinXCEL Fund increases funding for Latinx community leaders and Latinx-led organizations right here in our region.

SVCF was also represented in the Silicon Valley Recovery Roundtable. As one of the group’s co-chairs, I helped ensure that we kept community voices at the center of the recovery planning and strategizing efforts. The roundtable produced a report that detailed key steps for rebuilding the region to be more sustainable and equitable for all. Now, we are co-leading a cross-sector partnership with local higher education institutions, nonprofits, and the private sector to implement this plan and address the racial wealth gap and deep economic inequities in our region.

PND: According to the Council on Foundations’ 2021 Grantmaker Salary and Benefits Report, while people of color represent 28.9 percent of full-time foundation staff, Black women made up just 2.9 percent of CEOs and chief grant officers. As one of just a handful of Black women foundation leaders, what has been your personal experience in the C-suite?

NT: Being a Black woman in a leadership position such as mine is sadly still a rarity, both in Silicon Valley and in the philanthropy sector at large. Many people see my leadership as inspiring or as a mark of progress, which is immensely humbling and I am acutely aware of my privilege of being in a position of power, especially in a region that is dominated by white male executives. On the other hand, there is a lot of pressure being a Black woman CEO in Silicon Valley and in philanthropy. Being one of a small group of Black women in the C-suite, all eyes are on us, and we don't want to let anyone down. Although more and more Black women are entering these roles every day, we are still faced with major challenges and held to higher standards than our peers.

Often, Black women are brought in to fix something at or within a company or organization. That is definitely reflected in my career, and again, it’s a tremendous amount of pressure. This pressure mounted after the nationwide racial reckoning that unfolded following George Floyd’s murder. I was inundated with calls from people asking my advice on how they can be better leaders in the face of injustices that have long pervaded our country’s history. Because of the lack of Black leaders in this space, I felt a deep responsibility to help others work through these issues while balancing my own personal and often very visceral emotions. It was a lot.

And, like any leader, the experiences I’ve had over my career have definitely shaped my leadership style, and I try to bring all of that to the table—especially now, as we continue to navigate the pandemic and the racial and gender inequities it has laid bare.

PND: In recent years the U.S. philanthropic sector has had to confront its own legacy of helping—if unintentionally—to perpetuate systemic inequities, and many foundations are taking steps to audit and reform their internal and external policies and practices. Where do community foundations fit within that dynamic, as opposed to private foundations? How is it playing out at SVCF (for example, in the context of the enormous wealth Big Tech has generated)?

NT: SVCF has always approached our work through a lens of equity, and we have a rich history of addressing racial and economic disparities through our community impact and public policy work. In 2017, we invested in a report that exposed how Black and Latinx communities are disproportionately impacted by predatory pay lending. In 2019, we sponsored the California 2015 Mathematics Placement Act that addressed how students of color were unfairly held back in ninth-grade math classes. We support nonprofits that focus on serving communities of color and undocumented residents and advocate for policies that fight the systems of oppression. For example, we invested in organizations working to reach hard-to-count communities for the 2020 Census and in the “Know Your Rights” campaigns during ICE raids.

In early 2020, SVCF completed a new strategic plan that places equity squarely at the center of our work moving forward. Our new impact goals focus on reducing systemic disparities and ensuring our resources are directed to low-income families, undocumented residents, and communities of color. Just as we were able to formally roll out our strategic plan, the pandemic happened, launching us into an accelerated path to live out our strategic plan and continue our pursuit of equity and racial justice.

Our COVID-19 response was intentionally rooted in equity, prioritizing help to those who were disproportionately shouldering the health and economic effects of the pandemic like communities of color. We worked with our two local counties on recovery planning efforts, ensuring that we kept equity at the center of all conversations and strategies.

We deepened our engagement with our local community and our local nonprofit partners. As mentioned above, in 2020, we launched our Community Advisory Council. We also launched new grantmaking programs that invest in smaller or emerging organizations led by or serving people of color and have a clear focus on racial justice.

Community foundations across the country played similar roles in the past two years. We stepped up for our communities because we are grounded in them. Many of us also worked closely and partnered with our private foundation colleagues to get resources "on the ground" in our respective communities. Community foundations have a distinct role in the philanthropic sector; because we know intimately the geographic areas we serve, we are positioned to meet the long-term needs of our local communities and take on unexpected emergencies, crises, or natural disasters that come our way. We have a unique role and responsibility to advocate for our communities and partner with other sectors so that together, we can meet the needs of those we serve.

Silicon Valley, unfortunately, sees a large amount of economic inequity and wealth disparity, and it is our goal to help disperse the opportunities and resources that exist here more evenly. We are committed to supporting policies and solutions that eliminate the systemic injustices that block access to opportunity.

We are proud to serve a community as vibrant and diverse as Silicon Valley and have a duty to address the unique needs of its residents to ensure that every person can have an equitable, economically secure, and vibrant future.

PND: You began your career as an educator in the Oakland public school system and have also spent many years at institutions of higher education. How do you see the role of educational equity in advancing gender equity as well as racial equity?

NT: I’ve always believed in the power of education to provide life-changing opportunities and ultimately advance gender and racial equity. I was raised by an immigrant mother from an underprivileged background, but with her faith and support, I was able to pursue higher education and make opportunities for myself. As a Black woman, I have experienced the dual barriers of racism and sexism and, while education did not and cannot completely remove those challenges, educational equity can open doors to help get women and people of color a seat at the table. I want to pay it forward and ensure that people with backgrounds like mine can do the same and are able to pursue a life of opportunity and choice.

At SVCF, we support educational equity through various initiatives. We believe that quality early education and care provides the foundation for lifelong success. We recently launched a report on philanthropic investment in early childhood care and learning that also provides guidance for increased giving in the space. SVCF’s focus on early care and learning has taken many forms, from supporting the creation of collective action initiatives such as The Big Lift, to establishing Early Childhood Development as one of our three institutional strategic initiatives. All families and their children deserve equitable access to high-quality programs that will foster healthy development and vibrant futures.

PND: According to the Chronicle of Philanthropy, SVCF is among the largest donor-advised fund (DAF) sponsoring organizations in the U.S.—and in 2020 it saw a 69 percent jump in contributions to its DAF accounts, a 16 percent increase in assets held in its DAFs, and an 86 percent surge in grant dollars distributed. Do you expect the popularity and outsize impact of DAFs to continue to grow?

NT: Given the convenience and simplicity of DAFs, we do expect popularity to grow. DAFs are powerful and effective giving tools that increase the amount and impact of charitable giving by democratizing philanthropy. With DAFs, you don’t need billions of dollars or your own private foundation to have an impact on important, societal issues through philanthropic giving.

Virtually anyone, no matter their income level, can open a DAF at SVCF with just $5,000, receive philanthropic guidance, and start making a difference in our communities. We’re glad that donors have this option that makes it easier for those interested in charitable giving to take part and make a difference. More than a third of donor advised funds held at SVCF have balances of $25,000 or less.

PND: DAFs also have come under criticism from those who see them as a way for the wealthy to receive upfront tax benefits—subsidized by other taxpayers—without actually disbursing the funds to charities in a timely manner. What are your thoughts on tax reform efforts to require DAFs to accelerate their giving? Will it help or hurt philanthropic giving?

NT: More than 2,000 individuals and families and 75 companies partner with Silicon Valley Community Foundation using our donor advised fund (DAF) and corporate advised fund services. We encourage and advise donors to be active philanthropists and to give on a continual basis. Under our rigorous policy to discourage inactive funds, if after two years a donor has not recommended any grants from their DAF, SVCF will pool and distribute the funds through our Community Endowment Fund.

DAFs provide a steady stream of support during economic recessions or crises, providing communities with immediate and long-term support. It would actually hurt communities to discourage this type of giving. SVCF and our donors gave $2.27 billion to nonprofits in 2021, and we are leery of legislation that would diminish our ability to help people who need it.

While the legislation seems like a way to get more money to nonprofits and the communities they serve, in practice it will create more barriers to charitable giving, and hurt many community foundations in the process. For instance, it would eliminate the ability of many community foundations to accept complex non-monetary gifts like real estate, disrupt family legacy giving, and create more costly requirements that will impact smaller community foundations most. These would result in more donors turning to large charities instead of community foundations.

We support thoughtful strategies and reforms that will get more money to communities in need and are working with colleagues at community foundations and other DAF-sponsoring organizations on what strategies and reforms would make sense. Current proposed legislation would cause massive disadvantages for community foundations, leading to less charitable giving and thus, less money to nonprofit organizations that are doing vital work in our communities.

PND: As a woman of color leading a major foundation, what do you envision for those coming up after you in the sector? What challenges might they face, and in what ways will they change the philanthropic sector?

NT: It’s refreshing to see more companies and organizations embrace diversity, equity, and inclusion. There are also more women of color in leadership positions who function as beacons of hope for the next generation and lead to more open doors for other women by virtue of their existence in these spaces. This presents a ripe opportunity for all women of color to advocate for themselves and their career advancement.

I believe this will change the philanthropic sector by bringing a much-needed infusion of diverse backgrounds and perspectives, which will allow organizations to arrive at more innovative and effective solutions. That being said, women of color will undoubtedly continue to face challenges as they navigate these spaces. Women of color will still run into organizational cultures that are close-minded and dismissive of ideas and backgrounds that are different from the majority. It is still a reality that these women will also be held to a higher standard than their peers. I encourage women of color in these positions to remain strong in their identity, remember their worth, continue growing their skill sets each and every day, and when at all possible, learn about the culture of the organizations in which they seek to work.

—Kyoko Uchida