You can’t tell the story of San Diego Foundation (SDF) without telling the story of Connie Matsui.
Among the region’s most active volunteers and philanthropists, Connie has been involved with SDF for almost half of its 50 years. She was instrumental in developing a 5-year strategic plan that continues to guide SDF’s mission, she served as the nonprofit’s interim chief executive officer during a critical transition, is a past chair of the SDF Board of Governors and supported the search that landed its current President and CEO, Mark A. Stuart.
Connie’s focus today is as a member of the SDF Fifty & Forward Campaign Council, a body of dedicated philanthropists building a community of generous donors during San Diego Foundation’s 50th anniversary year, with a goal of granting $500 million to realize San Diego’s greatest opportunities in three key areas: education, children and families, and the environment – and raising $1 billion to help shape our community’s future.
“I’m a big fan of the Foundation. I want to stay involved, and this is something that is very significant for the organization and for our community,” Connie said when explaining why she joined the Fifty & Forward Campaign.
Why should others invest with SDF?
“There’s such an abundance of information about education and youth, children and families, the environment, and the effort that San Diego Foundation has made to really focus where the most impact can be made in these three areas and where there’s the greatest need can help save time for donors who are really interested in these areas and can provide them with the confidence that what they choose to give will be effectively used,” she said.
Early Influences
Connie comes from humble beginnings.
Her Japanese-American parents were both detained at relocation camps during World War II; her father was drafted into the U.S. Army while incarcerated. As a result, the family had minimal resources while Connie was growing up in Oakland; her mom worked as a maid, and her dad worked as a gardener for a wealthy family. The family of four – Connie has an older sister – lived in the maid’s quarters for most of her childhood.
The family in whose home they lived treated Matsui’s family as kin and emphasized the importance of a quality education.
“They set the bar high in terms of expectations,” she said.
They were also alumni and advocates of Stanford University, and they helped fund Connie’s education at their alma mater, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in English and a master’s degree in business administration.
Connie would spend 16 years as an executive at Wells Fargo, followed by another 16 years at IDEC Pharmaceuticals, a predecessor of Biogen Idec, where she retired in 2009 as Executive Vice President of Knowledge and Innovation Networks. It was while she was working at IDEC that Connie, her husband and their two children moved to San Diego County in 1993 and later settled in Rancho Santa Fe.
“My husband, Bill Beckman, and I met in graduate school. Both of us came from working class families with very little means. After getting our degrees, we were fortunate to get launched into careers that brought success in many forms,” Connie explained.
“We made donations to causes we believed in, but we knew nothing about organized philanthropy. We were working with a wealth advisor in 2000 who said we should talk to San Diego Foundation and start a donor-advised fund. Coming from families of limited means, it was incredibly important to us to create opportunities for other people in terms of scholarships, educational opportunities, job opportunities. What better use of our good fortune than to improve the lives of others?”
Taking it to Another Level
You could literally write a book detailing Connie’s generosity.
When she was a trainee at Wells Fargo, Connie was introduced by a colleague to the nominating chair for the San Francisco Bay Girl Scouts Council. Connie had never been a Girl Scout and had no children at the time. But she dove right in, later serving on the boards for Girl Scouts of the USA and for the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts. For three years, she led the Girl Scouts of the USA as national president and board chair.
Extending her biotech career, Matsui currently chairs the Board of Directors at Artelo Biosciences and Sutro Biopharma, and serves on the Board of Directors at Halozyme Therapeutics, all publicly traded companies. Her primary nonprofit commitment is to the Board of Trustees of Forever Balboa Park.
San Diego Foundation offered an opportunity to do more.
“About the time I was thinking about retiring from full-time corporate work, I decided, ‘Hey, I know a lot about nonprofits, but I really didn’t understand the foundation space and what foundations are all about,” she said. “Because my Girl Scout work, my corporate work and being a parent to two kids kept me so busy, I also didn’t really know San Diego very well, either. I thought the best way to do both, to learn about foundations and learn about San Diego, was to get involved here, with San Diego Foundation.”
The Beckman-Matsui Family Fund at SDF has been a generous source of giving since. Connie said key factors in deciding where to give include the strategic impact a gift will have and organizational readiness allowing for transformational change.
Which is why SDF is the perfect match.
“The Foundation is one of the few organizations that has such an extensive network of relationships, not only with the nonprofits, but also with thought leaders and change-makers, which makes the Foundation a natural convener of forces for social good,” she added.
“I do feel there’s space for corporations and people who work for corporations to integrate philanthropy more actively here in San Diego. Instead of being an add-on, it should be part of the strategy.”
