San Antonio Area Foundation Parent
San Antonio Area Foundation
EIN: 74-6065414
as of November 2023
as of November 13, 2023
Programs and results
Reports and documents
Download annual reportsWhat we aim to solve
The seventh most populous metropolitan area in the U.S. and second most populous in Texas, San Antonio has remained one of America’s fastest growing large cities for the past ten years. Recent Census estimates put San Antonio’s overall population beyond 1.5 million residents for the first time. There has been an increase of almost 185,000 people within city limits since the 2010 census, with San Antonio’s latest population estimate at 1,511,946. Between 2016 and 2017 alone, the city gained 24,208 residents. Furthermore, an additional 1.1 million people are expected to move into Bexar County by 2040. This level of growth creates rising demands for San Antonio’s infrastructure, health care system, housing stock, educational institutions, social services, and environmental conditions. It impacts the city’s quality of life, particularly for its most vulnerable and under-served populations. The key question for the city’s philanthropic sector; are we prepared for our future?
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
High School Completion
Grants are awarded to out-of-school time programs that provide academic, recreational and cultural activities to keep youth in school.
Responsive Grantmaking
Annual responsive grants are awarded in two grant cycles on an annual basis in the areas of: animal services, arts and culture, children and youth, community-at-large, medicine and healthcare, and seniors. Funding available in Bexar County and the following surrounding counties: Frio, Atascosa, Karnes, Wilson, Guadalupe, Gonzales, Comal, Blanco, Kendall, Gillespie, Kerr, Bandera and Medina.
Strengthening Nonprofits
In an effort to strengthen and deepen the Strengthening Nonprofits (SNP) grant making process, the San Antonio Area Foundation will temporarily place on hold the current grant making process for Phase I and Phase II.
Successfully Aging and Living in San Antonio (SALSA)
To create a stronger community where seniors thrive and are prized as vital citizens.
Outreach Funds
San Antonio Area African American Community Fund, South Texas Hispanic Fund, and Women & Girls Development Fund.
Culinary Health Education for Families (CHEF)
Rooted in the belief that food is medicine, Culinary Health Education for Families (CHEF) is a simple, engaging, and proven program that teaches children and families basic nutrition and practical cooking skills, with the long-term goal of reducing the rates of obesity and diabetes in the communities we serve. To do this, CHEF partners with passionate nonprofit organizations, health care providers, and school districts to ensure the provision of a coordinated and complementary array of resources and programming including evidence-based curricula, food, and engaging activities that drive healthy eating and reduce food insecurity.
CHEF is committed to serving our community's most vulnerable and marginalized populations. We partner with the San Antonio Food Bank, School Districts, and other local partners to reach under-resourced communities and to ensure that our curricula, materials and implementation processes honor local culture and customs while achieving the greatest positive impact. We specifically target Title I school districts, prioritizing those with high rates of at-risk students.
For more information, visit: https://www.chefsa.org/
Where we work
Accreditations
Council on Foundations National Standards 2006
External reviews

Videos
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
The San Antonio Area Foundation is the region's community foundation dedicated to honoring donor's charitable wishes while improving community outcomes and preparing for the future. As a result, the Area Foundation is focused on the following objectives:
1. Alignment to community dashboards, metrics and outcomes to establish clear pathways to understanding whether funding is improving lives.
2. Coalescing with the philanthropic sector to influence and create intentional strategies to ensure effective funding.
3. Sharing our deep understanding of the nonprofit ecosystem with Area Foundation fund advisors to magnify and amplify funding strategies within aligned fields of interest.
4. Realign the Area Foundation's six primary fields of interest where funding is allocated into four areas of greater impact.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
The Area Foundation's strategies for preparing for the needs of our community, include:
1. Partnering with community organizations to align to the city's dashboard of measures and population-level outcomes to create synergy and an understanding of collective funding impact.
2. Working with the top philanthropic entities in our community to create intentional approaches to aligning funding.
3. Analyze unmet needs within our community and working with fund advisors within the Area Foundation to create impactful, aligned grant-making opportunities. Share our knowledge of the nonprofit ecosystem (our core competency) with donors to ethically influence funding approaches.
4. Through a strategic planning process launched in 2017, the Area Foundation determined through a collaborative process within community that its current six fields of interest (where funding is aligned) should be realigned to four areas and made available to nonprofits in 2019.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
The Area Foundation, with over half a century of service to our community has experienced unprecedented growth. From this growth, we have a unique opportunity to create a greater impact. Internal enhancements to meet this increased role in community are already in process, such as additional staff, improved technology, and the creation of a balanced scorecard performance management system. Further, we are investing in our staff through training programs focused on competencies aligned to a Leadership System, as well as race, and equity awareness to create a new lens of grant-making.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
Our balanced scorecard will be in place by the end of 2018, and project prioritization and management was deployed throughout 2018. Alignment to the community dashboard will occur by the first quarter of 2019. A pilot of top funders in relation to aligned outcomes, race, and equity training is already in process and should be measurable in 2019. Our efforts to align to philanthropic entities to create intentional strategies to align funding are in a pilot stage, with results determining next steps in 2019.
Financials
Financial documents
Download audited financialsRevenue vs. expenses: breakdown
Liquidity in 2021 info
18.57
Months of cash in 2021 info
1.6
Fringe rate in 2021 info
16%
Funding sources info
Assets & liabilities info
Financial data
San Antonio Area Foundation
Balance sheetFiscal Year: Jan 01 - Dec 31
The balance sheet gives a snapshot of the financial health of an organization at a particular point in time. An organization's total assets should generally exceed its total liabilities, or it cannot survive long, but the types of assets and liabilities must also be considered. For instance, an organization's current assets (cash, receivables, securities, etc.) should be sufficient to cover its current liabilities (payables, deferred revenue, current year loan, and note payments). Otherwise, the organization may face solvency problems. On the other hand, an organization whose cash and equivalents greatly exceed its current liabilities might not be putting its money to best use.
Fiscal Year: Jan 01 - Dec 31
This snapshot of San Antonio Area Foundation’s financial trends applies Nonprofit Finance Fund® analysis to data hosted by GuideStar. While it highlights the data that matter most, remember that context is key – numbers only tell part of any story.
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Business model indicators
Profitability info | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Unrestricted surplus (deficit) before depreciation | $7,182,637 | $4,127,332 | $29,203,177 | $20,989,646 | $32,684,021 |
As % of expenses | 13.0% | 9.5% | 75.3% | 31.9% | 66.8% |
Unrestricted surplus (deficit) after depreciation | $6,884,055 | $3,879,661 | $29,040,899 | $20,809,001 | $32,468,629 |
As % of expenses | 12.4% | 8.9% | 74.6% | 31.5% | 66.1% |
Revenue composition info | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Total revenue (unrestricted & restricted) | $54,022,364 | $49,550,967 | $131,999,201 | $78,878,697 | $192,937,536 |
Total revenue, % change over prior year | 33.4% | -8.3% | 166.4% | -40.2% | 144.6% |
Program services revenue | 6.2% | 6.6% | 2.3% | 3.6% | 1.0% |
Membership dues | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
Investment income | 9.8% | 8.0% | 11.5% | 11.8% | 4.9% |
Government grants | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.9% |
All other grants and contributions | 57.7% | 73.4% | 82.9% | 76.0% | 87.4% |
Other revenue | 26.3% | 12.0% | 3.2% | 8.5% | 5.8% |
Expense composition info | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Total expenses before depreciation | $55,046,541 | $43,560,590 | $38,764,982 | $65,846,390 | $48,926,329 |
Total expenses, % change over prior year | -11.7% | -20.9% | -11.0% | 69.9% | -25.7% |
Personnel | 20.8% | 9.4% | 11.8% | 7.8% | 10.0% |
Professional fees | 6.7% | 5.2% | 5.3% | 3.0% | 5.2% |
Occupancy | 1.3% | 1.3% | 1.5% | 0.9% | 1.2% |
Interest | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
Pass-through | 79.5% | 81.0% | 77.3% | 85.9% | 79.9% |
All other expenses | -8.3% | 3.1% | 4.1% | 2.4% | 3.7% |
Full cost components (estimated) info | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Total expenses (after depreciation) | $55,345,123 | $43,808,261 | $38,927,260 | $66,027,035 | $49,141,721 |
One month of savings | $4,587,212 | $3,630,049 | $3,230,415 | $5,487,199 | $4,077,194 |
Debt principal payment | $41,157,627 | $24,000 | $0 | $0 | $761,774 |
Fixed asset additions | $0 | $0 | $325,928 | $0 | $0 |
Total full costs (estimated) | $101,089,962 | $47,462,310 | $42,483,603 | $71,514,234 | $53,980,689 |
Capital structure indicators
Liquidity info | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Months of cash | 3.9 | 1.7 | 2.5 | 1.7 | 1.6 |
Months of cash and investments | 56.8 | 64.6 | 109.0 | 72.6 | 138.7 |
Months of estimated liquid unrestricted net assets | 27.2 | 35.5 | 48.8 | 32.5 | 51.8 |
Balance sheet composition info | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cash | $17,747,932 | $6,137,004 | $8,047,876 | $9,340,131 | $6,331,105 |
Investments | $242,817,235 | $228,219,942 | $343,955,778 | $388,793,877 | $559,036,675 |
Receivables | $4,283,048 | $13,841,117 | $10,786,025 | $10,552,984 | $20,898,300 |
Gross land, buildings, equipment (LBE) | $2,765,960 | $2,677,514 | $3,003,441 | $2,909,467 | $1,917,350 |
Accumulated depreciation (as a % of LBE) | 71.7% | 78.3% | 75.2% | 74.5% | 72.6% |
Liabilities (as a % of assets) | 8.2% | 9.6% | 4.2% | 4.2% | 3.2% |
Unrestricted net assets | $125,424,617 | $129,304,278 | $158,345,177 | $179,154,178 | $211,622,807 |
Temporarily restricted net assets | $95,668,894 | $69,376,997 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Permanently restricted net assets | $22,860,202 | $26,484,676 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Total restricted net assets | $118,529,096 | $95,861,673 | $190,492,341 | $213,473,505 | $356,789,615 |
Total net assets | $243,953,713 | $225,165,951 | $348,837,518 | $392,627,683 | $568,412,422 |
Key data checks
Key data checks info | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Material data errors | No | No | No | No | No |
Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Documents
Chief Executive Officer
Mrs. Marjie French
Number of employees
Source: IRS Form 990
San Antonio Area Foundation
Officers, directors, trustees, and key employeesSOURCE: IRS Form 990
Compensation data
San Antonio Area Foundation
Highest paid employeesSOURCE: IRS Form 990
Compensation data
San Antonio Area Foundation
Board of directorsas of 03/10/2023
Board of directors data
Gen. James T. (Tom) Hill
The JT Hill Group, retired
Term: 2021 - 2022
R. Bruce Tilley
Wells Fargo Advisors
Term: 2021 - 2022
Gen. James T. (Tom) Hill
The JT Hill Group
Michelle R. Scarver, CPA/PFS
Exencial Wealth Advisors
David Komet
Alternivest
Adena Williams Loston, Ph.D.
St. Philip's College
Alex Perez
Sanudo Perez PLLC
R. Bruce Tilley
Wells Fargo Advisors, LLC
Harry W. Wolff, Jr.
Dykema Cox Smith
John Hayes
Activa Resources
Lorenzo Gomez III
Geekdom Media
Sarah Harte
Civic Leader
Blake Hastings
Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas
Michael Bolner
Bolner's Fiesta Products
James Darryl Byrd
ULTRAte Strategies
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as: