“Live your lives boldly and keep the door open for others.”
January 16, 2024
Hello!
Wishing you a very happy new year and lots of health and happiness in 2024!
Six years ago our dad, Ed Lee, passed away. We’re continuing to remember him every year with this Fund, donating money to organizations that work on many of the causes he cared deeply about. Here’s a quick update on what we’ve given out recently.
In Dec. 2023, we donated to organizations supporting housing, climate sustainability, civic education and local development in the Bay Area:
- The San Francisco Housing Accelerator Fund: $20,000
- Chinese Hospital: $20,000
- California Calls Education Fund: $20,000
- Mission Economic Development Agency: $20,000
- Asian Pacific Environmental Network: $10,000
- India Basin Waterfront Park: $10,000
In Dec. 2022, we also gave to seven organizations in the Bay that work to promote abortion access, support housing development, fight against climate change and prevent gun violence:
- Abortion Care Network: $20,000
- Alive and Free: $10,000
- United Playaz: $10,000
- Hope SF: $20,000
- Chinese Hospital: $20,000
- The Greenlining Institute: $10,000
- Rising Sun: $10,000
Thank you so much to all of you who have contributed to this fund over the years and continue to support our giving.
If you’d still like to make a contribution to the Edwin M. Lee Community Fund, you can find instructions at the bottom of this page: Scroll down to the “Donate by Check” or “Donate Online” sections.
If you or someone you know would like to receive future updates like this, please be sure to sign up on this page.
Thank you!
Anita, Tania & Brianna Lee
Mayor Lee &
the City He Loved
Edwin M. Lee was the 43rd Mayor of the City and County of San Francisco and the first Asian-American mayor in San Francisco’s history. Appointed in 2010 and elected and re-elected in 2011 and 2015 respectively, Mayor Lee’s term was a time of unprecedented prosperity in San Francisco and Mayor Lee sought to bring that prosperity and opportunity to all San Franciscans. He focused on balancing the budget, creating jobs, boosting San Francisco’s economy, building housing, housing the homeless, creating a cleaner and safer city and addressing affordability challenges.
Mayor Lee began his city government career as an investigator for the City’s first whistle-blower program in 1989 and also led the Human Rights Commission, the City Purchasing Office, and the Department of Public Works before he was appointed City Administrator in 2005. Mayor Lee was a community organizer and civil rights advocate and from 1979 to 1989, he was a Managing Attorney for the San Francisco Asian Law Caucus. He was born in Seattle, Washington, and graduated Summa Cum Laude from Bowdoin College in 1974 and from Boalt Hall School of Law at the University of California at Berkeley in 1978.
Our Mission
The Edwin M. Lee Community Fund seeks to continue the work of the late Mayor Edwin M. Lee who fought for a more just, inclusive, and compassionate society. (You can read more about Ed’s legacy here.) In the spirit of these values, the Edwin M. Lee Community fund seeks to support organizations that hold similar values, especially with initiatives that include but are not limited to:
- Protect immigrants and increase pathways to citizenship
- Reduce homelessness with a focus on increasing affordable housing
- Protect the environment and reduce the harmful effects of climate change
- Support equal pay and leadership opportunities for women
- Improve access to quality education for all students
- Advance causes for social justice and human rights
Support
Our family is grateful for the outpouring of support for this fund. As our family is rooted in the San Francisco Bay Area, grants from the fund will primarily support organizations in San Francisco and the Greater Bay Area while some grants may be given to organizations across the US and internationally.
You can read more details about our family’s plans for the fund here.
Donate
The Edwin M. Lee fund will support nonprofit organizations and social causes that were important to the mayor and remain important to his family. Mayor Ed Lee’s wife and two daughters have established a donor advised fund at The San Francisco Foundation in memory of Mayor Lee.
Donate by Check:
Make checks out to:
“The San Francisco Foundation”
Add on Memo line: “Edwin M. Lee Community Fund”
Mail checks to:
The San Francisco Foundation
Edwin M. Lee Community Fund
P.O. Box 889275
Los Angeles, CA 90088-9275
For more details, please see the SFF Donation Page
Donate Online:
Please visit the SF Foundation Donate page and fill out the donation form. This is a Donor Advised Fund, so please input “Edwin M. Lee Community Fund” into the line for donor advised funds.
In addition to the Community Fund, we want to share another fundraising initiative. A volunteer committee made of friends and former staffers are leading the effort to raise funds for a sculpture of Mayor Edwin M. Lee. It will be the first City-owned sculpture honoring a Chinese American individual and will be placed at San Francisco City Hall. This effort is separate from the community fund as the fund is managed by our family and supports nonprofit causes Ed believed in, while the sculpture effort is managed by friends and the San Francisco Arts Commission. Please note that instructions are different for contributing to each one!
You can find the link to donate at Mayor Edwin M. Lee Sculpture, ArtCare – Friends of the San Francisco Arts Commission
If you would like to pay by check:
- Make check payable to “Intersection for the Arts” (ArtCare’s fiscal sponsor)
- Write “ArtCare Lee Sculpture” in the memo line
- Mail check to: ArtCare c/o Intersection for the Arts, 1448 Market St. San Francisco, CA 94102
Donations to ArtCare are tax-deductible through the fiscal sponsorship of Intersection for the Arts (Federal Tax ID #94-1593216).