A partnership with San Diego Foundation (SDF) is helping philanthropist Marilyn Brown keep the legacy of her late husband, James Silberrad Brown, alive and is serving as a template for others.
James, a proud San Diego State University alumnus, was invested in various causes, nonprofits and his alma mater. Since its founding, the James Silberrad Brown Foundation at SDF has granted more than $15 million to organizations that meaningfully serve our region. Among them:
- $6 million to Sharp Healthcare to help fund enhancements at Sharp Mesa Vista Hospital and the creation of the Brown Simulation Center at the Sharp Prebys Innovation and Education Center
- $5 million for the renamed James Silberrad Brown Center for Artificial Intelligence at the SDSU Fowler College of Business
- $1 million for the Aztecs Going Pro student-athlete career development program
- $625,000 to the San Diego nonprofit newsroom, inewsource
- $500,000 to the San Diego Symphony
SDF, Marilyn says, has been a critical and strategic partner.
“Philanthropic work is a big responsibility and I think it’s important to do it well, and doing it well means taking the time to understand what the needs of an organization are, what the appropriate amount would be to help that organization move forward,” said Marilyn. “You want them to be able to articulate what it is that they want to do with the funding.
“And partnering with San Diego Foundation means you have access to people who know how to do that. They know what to look for. They’re just really good partners to help us as a donor be wise in our giving, and, obviously, having the administrative support is just critical.”
The partnership has motivated Marilyn to serve on the SDF Fifty & Forward Campaign Council, which is driving the Foundation’s 50th-anniversary 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. The Fifty & Forward Campaign, Marilyn said, “will raise the profile of philanthropy in San Diego.”
The Making of a Team
A U.S. Navy veteran originally from Puerto Rico, Jim was an accomplished entrepreneur who moved to San Diego to enroll at SDSU, where he graduated with honors in business management in 1967. He flourished during a nearly 50-year career in real estate, was a founding chairman of the Bank of San Diego and launched a number of general and limited partnerships through his company, Silberrad Inc. He served on the board of directors at the Vista Hill Foundation and Sharp Memorial Hospital, in addition to boards and committees at the Old Globe Theatre, the San Diego Symphony and the San Diego Rotary.
Born in Kansas, Marilyn attended Kansas State University and earned her MBA from Michigan State, eventually moving to San Diego in 1987 for an executive position in the banking business before being named chief financial officer for The San Diego Union-Tribune during its most profitable years.
Marilyn founded the James Silberrad Brown Foundation at SDF after Jim’s death in 2020. “Jim was an extremely generous man,” Marilyn said, adding that her focus “has been on things that mattered to him.”
A Legacy of Generosity
Marilyn became a fan of SDF after COVID-19.
“The way the Foundation stepped up during Covid really brought them to my attention,” she said, referring to the SDF COVID-19 Community Response Fund that resulted in $67 million in grants to provide more than 4.1 million services and impacting 79% of our region’s residents living in poverty.
It was a solid decision. Partnering with SDF, she said, is the most effective way to make sure that the philanthropic means that you have are going to be properly cared for.
How does she measure the impact her dollars are having?
“The only way you can know that is if you stay engaged with the organizations you’re giving to,” Marilyn said, noting that she is on the Sharp Memorial Hospital Board of Trustees, remains closely connected with the James Silberrad Brown Center for Artificial Intelligence at SDSU and retains close ties to inewsource leadership.
“The organizations we’re working with are making a difference in this community. Jim loved San Diego and I love San Diego, and the idea that we can help institutions in our community thrive and move into the future is very rewarding.”
The investments you make, Marilyn said, can lead to profound outcomes. She pointed to a $200 scholarship her late husband received from SDSU in 1966. That investment has contributed to millions of dollars in grants from the James Silberrad Brown Foundation at SDF.
