“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”

This proverb resonates in business, but it also holds true in philanthropy.

Aligned giving – the strategic collaboration of individual resources and passions – multiplies impact and creates lasting change.

At San Diego Foundation (SDF), we’ve seen time and again the incredible power of giving together. For nearly 50 years, San Diegans have partnered with us to align their philanthropy around shared priorities to amplify both their giving and their impact.

Amplifying impact through collaboration.

Take Jay Hill, for example.

The Executive Director of the Dr. Seuss Foundation understands the potential of aligned giving. By partnering with San Diego Foundation, the Dr. Seuss Foundation awarded over $1.3 million this past summer to local nonprofits focused on early childhood education and families with young children.

Jay Hill

“Through this partnership, we are focused on ensuring young children have access to learning opportunities that build the foundation for lifelong success,” Hill shared.

By working with a trusted partner, Hill and the Dr. Seuss Foundation extend the reach of their philanthropy, creating a broader and more lasting impact for children and families.

Strategic philanthropy focused on community.

Similarly, Vicki and Moises Baron have taken a strategic approach to their charitable efforts.

Longtime supporters of youth and education, the Barons have contributed to several scholarships administered through the San Diego Foundation Community Scholarship Program.

Because of generous donors like Vicki and Moises, the program has grown into the largest scholarship provider in the region outside of the university system, awarding over $53 million to more than 14,000 local students – most of whom are the first in their families to attend college and come from low-middle-income families.

Vicki and Moises Baron

Through the program, donors provide scholarships that meet students’ most pressing educational needs. SDF is unique in offering a full-service program where donors can shape scholarship criteria and participate in the selection process.

“[Being] part of a process that can bring about systemic change and more of a collective impact is very attractive,” said Moises, who recently retired as the president and CEO of the San Diego Center for Children.

“The community piece is important to me,” Vicki shared, “feeling that I’m part of something larger that is making an impact.”

Jay Hill and the Barons have two things in common:

  1. They connect their resources and passions with others to align their giving for a greater impact.
  2. They are dedicated philanthropists who serve on the SDF Fifty & Forward Campaign Council.

Fifty & Forward: Campaign for the Next 50 Years.

Man and Daughter at Sunset

As San Diego Foundation celebrates its 50th anniversary, we invite you to join us in shaping the next 50 years through the Fifty & Forward campaign, the most ambitious fundraising and grantmaking campaign in our history.

With your help, we will grant $500 million to realize our region’s greatest opportunities in three targeted areas: education, children and families, and the environment – and raise $1 billion to help shape our community’s future.

While these priority areas represent three of San Diego’s most pressing needs, the campaign provides flexible opportunities for you to align your giving in a way that reflects your values.

Whether through corporate philanthropy, donor-advised funds, planned gifts, or online donations, you can amplify your impact just like Jay Hill, Vicki and Moises Baron, and thousands of other San Diegans and San Diego companies who have partnered with us over the years.

The impact you envision.

It’s your turn to help make a transformational change for the issues you care about most – and the issues that mean the most to our community.

This Giving Season, I encourage you to consider the power of aligned giving. Let’s work together to create a better future for all who call San Diego home.

Explore: Fifty & Forward

This article originally appeared in the San Diego Business Journal Giving Guide.