In late 2023, the SBCF Board launched a strategic planning process to review and update the Foundation’s program and investment strategies once the grants totaling $51.5 million supporting the design and construction of the RAC, the Foundation's most significant strategic initiative, are fully paid out. After considering various options for utilizing the Foundation's remaining net assets, in May 2025 the Board approved updates to the Foundation's strategy and provided direction on the implementation of those updates as follows:

 

• Update the Foundation's program and investment strategies to spend down the bulk of the Foundation's remaining total net assets at the end of the current fiscal year in the near-to-mid-term on at least one large legacy project and wind down all other programs;

 

• Identify a new Fire Station No. 52 as the Foundation's top choice for the legacy project to receive most of the total net assets earmarked for legacy projects and direct the Foundation President and Executive Director to send a letter to the San Bruno City Council to communicate this decision and seek the City Council's agreement to the Foundation serving as a funding partner on a new Fire Station No. 52;

 

• Direct the discontinuation of all other programs, including the Crestmoor Scholarship and the Community Grants Fund, at the end of the current fiscal year in order to maximize preservation of the Foundation's net assets for any legacy projects;

 

• Direct the Ad Hoc Committee on Strategic Planning to review the Foundation's Program Strategy Framework and recommend any needed updates to reflect the above changes in strategy;

 

• Direct the Investment Committee to review the Foundation's Investment Policy Statement and Investment Operating Plan and recommend any needed updates to both documents to reflect the above changes in strategy; and

 

• Direct the Executive Director to review staffing needs and begin trimming operating expenses, as appropriate, in the fiscal year 2025-2026 budget to reflect the above changes in strategy.

 

The Board approved these actions with the strong belief that spending down the remaining net assets on at least one additional legacy project, in combination with the nearly $66 million in direct investments that the Foundation has made since 2016, fulfills the Foundation's purpose, as articulated in the Bylaws, to "benefit the San Bruno community through enduring and significant contributions to, and investments in, charitable and community programs, and publicly-owned community facilities, over the long term." In the Board's view, the new RAC, a decade of Community Grants and Crestmoor Scholarships, $10 million in other strategic initiatives, and at least one more major capital project will be a tremendous and meaningful tribute to the Crestmoor neighborhood and leave a legacy whose impact would be felt for decades throughout the San Bruno community. Moreover, the Board believes that investing the bulk of the Foundation's remaining net assets in one or two legacy projects will have a more consequential and lasting impact than making smaller annual community investments by awarding Crestmoor Scholarships, Community Grants, and other, more modest strategic grants over the next 15-20 years. In approving the strategy updates, Board members noted that continuing the Foundation in perpetuity has never been a part of the Foundation’s mandate and expressed concerns that operating expenses would make up a much larger percentage of the budget compared with grants and scholarships awarded if the Foundation were to continue its current programs indefinitely. The Board also noted that while ending popular programs like the Crestmoor Scholarship and the Community Grants Fund is difficult, concluding those programs is necessary to maximize the funds available for any final legacy projects.

 

The Board is targeting a new Fire Station No. 52 as the main legacy project to which to commit the bulk of its remaining net assets as the capital project that the City can most realistically accomplish in the next half decade. The City has identified Fire Station No. 52, which currently is located in the Crestmoor neighborhood, as outdated and in need of seismic improvements. Grant funding in the range of $15 million to $19 million from the Foundation would make a substantial contribution to the overall project cost, with funds resulting from the successful passage of Measure Q last November available to cover any remaining balance. A Foundation investment in the fire station replacement project will allow the City to redirect Measure Q funds currently penciled in for that use to much-needed and community-supported street and stormwater infrastructure improvements, estimates of which exceed the $102 million that Measure Q will raise. Moreover, the Board views investment in a new Fire Station No. 52 as an appropriate final "full-circle" project for the Foundation, given the Foundation's origins. 

 

While the Board is earmarking the bulk of the Foundation's remaining net assets for the fire station, it leaves open the possibility of considering one or two additional, smaller strategic grant initiatives to be funded by a portion of the remaining funds, such as the funding of permanent lighting as part of the Crestmoor Fields Project or a final contribution to support San Bruno’s public schools. To maximize the available funds for the final legacy projects, the Foundation will conclude the Crestmoor Scholarship and the Community Grants Fund at the end of this fiscal year. Although neither of these two programs will be offered during the 2025-2026 fiscal year, the Foundation will continue to administer payments on active grants and scholarships awarded in 2025 and in previous years. The Foundation will continue to operate for several years until it has completed administration of past grant and scholarships awarded and any final legacy projects.