{"id":44394,"date":"2025-11-08T17:24:08","date_gmt":"2025-11-08T17:24:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/44394\/"},"modified":"2025-11-08T17:24:08","modified_gmt":"2025-11-08T17:24:08","slug":"crankstart-foundation-has-low-profile-amid-high-impact-in-sf-the-city","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/44394\/","title":{"rendered":"Crankstart Foundation has low profile amid high impact in SF | The City"},"content":{"rendered":"

His family foundation had committed $9 million to the effort, nearly half the total, and the moment was indicative of the low profile that the venture capitalist \u2014 who has at times been a polarizing figure in city politics \u2014 has generally taken with his prolifically charitable Crankstart Foundation. The philanthropic nonprofit has given more than $500 million to San Francisco causes alone since 2020 and is among The City\u2019s largest private foundations by assets.<\/p>\n

Moritz, Crankstart\u2019s chairman of the board, was not available for an interview. But Crankstart CEO Missy Narula heaped praise on Moritz and his wife, Harriet Heyman, for not seeking more recognition for their giving.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt says so much about the way they view wealth, the way they view power,\u201d Narula said.<\/p>\n

\u201cMichael and Harriet will say that all good things in their lives happened to them because they had the good fortune of moving to San Francisco,\u201d she said. \u201cI think they take that humility in the way they have approached their philanthropy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Mayor<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Venture capitalist Michael Moritz \u2014 seen wearing sunglasses to the left of Mayor Daniel Lurie \u2014 was present Oct. 29 for the announcement of a public-private partnership to pay for food benefits for 112,000 city residents, an initiative funded in large part by his Crankstart Foundation.<\/p>\n

Patrick Hoge\/The Examiner<\/p>\n

Crankstart \u2014 founded in 2000 by Moritz, who became famous as a leader of Sequoia Capital, and Heyman, an artist \u2014 has assets of around $5 billion, said Eli Bildner, its vice president of operations. To date, the organization says it has distributed about $1.6 billion via 2,780 grants to 764 public and private entities. Moritz also funds The San Francisco Standard, an online news organization.<\/p>\n

Under federal law, the foundation is required to distribute 5% of its assets every year \u2014 and with markets up in 2025, the foundation has so far contributed about $255 million, Narula said. About 60% of Crankstart\u2019s donations typically go to Bay Area organizations, according to the organization, and the largest portion of that is distributed in The City, she said.<\/p>\n

Crankstart\u2019s money has supported a wide range of activities<\/a> in program areas that include economic empowerment, education, promotion of democracy and voting rights, criminal-justice fairness, affordable housing and homelessness, environmental health and climate change, and medical science.<\/p>\n

One notable Crankstart grant from this year for $500,000 went to an effort backed by Lurie that raised more than $2 million for nearly 80 groups<\/a> that lost money when the nonprofit San Francisco Parks Alliance dissolved in June amid allegations of financial mismanagement.<\/p>\n

A requirement that Crankstart made: The now-former directors of the defunct Parks Alliance also had to make contributions.<\/p>\n

\u201cNonprofit board governance is very important,\u201d Narula said.<\/p>\n

Moritz was at the center of controversy last year as the major funder of TogetherSF Action<\/a>, a group that tried unsuccessfully to get a November ballot measure passed that, among other things, would have radically restructured San Francisco\u2019s sprawling commission system. Much derided by critics, TogetherSF Action merged this year<\/a> with Neighbors for a Better San Francisco.<\/p>\n

But Crankstart continued doling out money throughout.<\/p>\n

\"Financial<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Klarna CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski, left and company Chairman Michael Moritz, center, meet with specialist Peter Giacchi, right, before their IPO begins trading on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025.<\/p>\n

Richard Drew\/Associated Press<\/p>\n

Crankstart has given $20 million to help develop The City\u2019s new India Basin Waterfront Park. It has contributed to Downtown First Thursdays, the popular street party on 2nd Street south of Market Street; gave $7 million in April to a nonprofit housing cooperative in the Fillmore district; and provided a grant to Avenue Greenlight, a neighborhood-improvement initiative that launched a citywide sidewalk power-washing program in May.<\/p>\n

Despite its extensive giving, Narula said, the Crankstart operation is lean, with only 15 employees. Given the scope of Crankstart\u2019s activities, it would be reasonable to think the organization should have a staff of more than 100 people, she said.<\/p>\n

In addition to leading the Crankstart Foundation, Narula is also CEO of Crankstart Management LLC, which manages Moritz and Heyman\u2019s family-office investments and business activities.<\/p>\n

Though Crankstart is headquartered in The City, it does not maintain its own offices, instead using WeWork space in Salesforce Tower at 415 Mission St. and in other parts of San Francisco.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you’re just sitting in a big building in San Francisco, you kind of miss the fabric of The City, and so it’s most important to be out and about,\u201d Narula said. \u201cThat’s why we don’t have dedicated office space, because we try to make sure that the team members are incentivized to go where our community partners are and to do site visits as often as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

Generally, Crankstart has served the function of funding other organizations. It did release a paper in April with recommendations about The City\u2019s fractured response to homelessness<\/a>, but Narula said that Crankstart does not claim expertise about homelessness. That publication was heralded in an unusually public event attended by Mayor Lurie at the Taube Atrium Theater in the War Memorial Veterans Building.<\/p>\n

Crankstart produced the report with research conducted pro bono by McKinsey & Company in collaboration with Kunal Modi<\/a>, then a partner at the consulting firm. Modi is now Lurie\u2019s chief of health and human services.<\/p>\n

In his current position, Modi worked recently with Crankstart to stand up the program to provide money for groceries to people with SNAP benefits affected by the shutdown of the federal government, Narula said.\u00a0Crankstart and The City committed to paying out the money to some 82,000 households regardless of what the federal government does, with benefit letters to recipients going out in recent days, she said.<\/p>\n

\"San<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

San Francisco Chief of Health, Homelessness and Family Services Kunal Modi produced a report alongside Crankstart prior to his current role, and he worked with the foundation on the private-public partnership to provide money to families who are without SNAP benefits amid the government shutdown.<\/p>\n

Jeff Chiu\/Associated Press<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n


\n \"Macy’s
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\"\"<\/p>\n

Retailer to pair with TMG Partners in effort to revamp huge department-store property\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\n \"La
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\"\"<\/p>\n

Other 25 vendors will gather at China Basin Park this weekend<\/p>\n

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\n \"Rodney
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\"\"<\/p>\n

Chamber of Commerce has, under Fong, focused on bolstering citywide recovery, advancing small business resilience and advocating for economic vitality\u00a0<\/p>\n

Trent Rhorer, executive director of The City\u2019s Human Services Agency, which administers the food-benefits program in San Francisco, told the Board of Supervisors this week that the undertaking was complex and demanding.<\/p>\n

\u201cI do have to say that this was a Herculean effort,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Born and raised in Euclid, Ohio \u2014 a relatively low-income town \u2014 Narula said she is sensitized to families being in need.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis isn\u2019t an inconvenience for low-income people,\u201d she said. \u201cThis is a crisis.\u201d<\/p>\n

Narula said her first employment was working at a McDonald\u2019s, where she filled numerous positions, from griller to cashier.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt has taught me to be grateful for sitting at a desk these days,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

With financial aid, work-study jobs and belt-tightening by her parents, Narula was able to attend Yale University. She then worked in investment banking for two years to pay off debts before going to Harvard Business School, after which she worked for a decade for Boston Consulting Group and TPG Capital.<\/p>\n

A mother of three children \u2014 now aged 13, 10 and 6 \u2014 Narula tried her hand at entrepreneurship for two years, launching a company that sought to help new parents easily navigate paid-leave rights and produced a patented phone holder designed to increase safety and parental comfort during diapering of toddlers.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was not a particularly good entrepreneur,\u201d Narula said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a very, very humbling experience, to be honest,\u201d she said. \u201cYou think you’re important, and you think that you know something, and people treat you with an enormous amount of respect. And then you’re an entrepreneur, and nobody answers your emails.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 2021, Narula joined Crankstart after a lawyer working for Moritz and Heyman \u2014 a \u201cmom friend\u201d \u2014 recommended her for the job, she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s the best job,\u201d Narula said. \u201cI hope it\u2019s my last job. I feel so lucky to work my butt off doing something that matters.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe remain committed to supporting people who are hungry,\u201d she said. \u201cWe remain committed to supporting immigrants. We remain committed to supporting people who need a second chance after being released from the criminal-justice system.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Michael<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Working for Michael\u00a0Moritz\u00a0\u2014 seen at his San Francisco home in 2007 \u2014 at Crankstart has been Missy Narula\u2019s \u201cbest job.\u201d \u201cI feel so lucky to work my butt off doing something that matters,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Jim Wilson \u00a9 2007 The New York Times Company<\/p>\n

Moritz has a strong interest in immigration issues because he is an immigrant from Wales, where his parents made their home after fleeing from the Nazi Germany, Narula said.<\/p>\n

Crankstart is currently working to assist immigrants \u2014 including the Bay Area\u2019s thousands of residents with federal Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals protection \u2014 to continue living and working in the country. It is also supporting efforts to reunite immigrants with family members in different countries.<\/p>\n

Narula said Crankstart seeks to provide \u201ccatalytic capital.\u201d<\/p>\n

One example is the UCSF Career Pathways Initiative, which launched with a $14 million Crankstart grant in August 2024. It aims to train about 2,000 San Francisco residents over five years for possible positions at UCSF, including as medical-practice coordinators, medical assistants and radiology technologists. The Crankstart money was to cover 75% of the program\u2019s costs.<\/p>\n

Offered free of charge to trainees, the program works with community organizations to recruit city residents, including people who are unemployed or underemployed and transitional-aged youth. Narula said that serving students from low-income neighborhoods such as the Bayview is a priority.<\/p>\n

Another Crankstart initiative that has yet to become public is an effort to get grocery stores into low-income neighborhoods that lack them, Narula said. The foundation is working with \u201ca really community-oriented for-profit grocer to create an innovative model\u201d in which Crankstart could cover costs such as rent or credit-card processing fees to incentivize the company to operate markets with healthy foods such as fresh produce.<\/p>\n

A rare initiative that bears the Crankstart name is the Crankstart Scholarship program unveiled in April. It aims to provide 200 graduates of public high schools in The City with grants of between $1,500 and $15,000 per year for up to six years to cover college-related expenses such as tuition, housing, books and fees.<\/p>\n

Crankstart has so far contributed $10 million million to the program, which takes students from Balboa, Burton, Galileo and Mission high schools \u2014 all large schools where many students who qualify are from lower-income households.<\/p>\n

At the time, school-district Superintendent Maria Su\u00a0said in a prepared statement that the Crankstart Scholarship program is \u201ca powerful investment in equity, ensuring that our students facing the greatest economic challenges have a clear path to college and the opportunities that follow.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"His family foundation had committed $9 million to the effort, nearly half the total, and the moment was…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":44395,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[29417,29419,29418,29415,29416,101,103,102,104,106,105],"class_list":["post-44394","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-francisco","tag-crankstart-foundation","tag-harriet-heyman","tag-kunal-modi","tag-michael-moritz","tag-missy-narula","tag-san-francisco","tag-san-francisco-headlines","tag-san-francisco-news","tag-sf","tag-sf-headlines","tag-sf-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44394","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44394"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44394\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/44395"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44394"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44394"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44394"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}