Samuelis’ big gift targets homelessness prevention in different way ...Middle East

The two-year, $7.5 million gift that the Samueli Foundation gave to three Orange County nonprofits this month – all for the purpose of keeping people from slipping into homelessness – is a lot of things.

It’s big money for three small-ish local charities. It’s a model of simplicity in the sometimes byzantine world of charitable giving. It’s a statement of support for the economically disadvantaged, or the unlucky, at a moment when public backing for that world seems to be slipping.

And, above all, it’s a blunt infusion of cash aimed at a problem that seems to be stumping every elected official in America:

Keeping people from becoming homeless.

“This world is very hard for poor people,” said David Gillanders, executive director of Pathways of Hope, one of the three nonprofits getting Samueli Foundation money through the initiative. “And until the last couple years, homeless prevention of the type we’re talking about had an image problem, that it was somehow free money for freeloaders.

“But it’s nothing like that,” Gillanders added. “It’s simply a small bit of help for working people who are struggling in a system that’s not very hospitable to them.

“Our thinking is that we can use this money to help a lot more people.”

Listening works

The money announced last week came only after a pilot program, run by all three nonprofits for most of last year, showed how a smaller amount of cash could keep people housed. Combined, the three charities used about $1.5 million to keep 294 families from becoming homeless. The new deal expands on that.

But it’s also a potential accelerant, something that could spark new ideas in housing, nonprofits and even other deep-pocketed foundations.

For the charities involved, getting $2 million-plus to spend over two years is potentially transformative.

For example, Gillanders’ organization, Pathways, is a Fullerton-based agency helping north county residents with shelter and food that, in 2023, reported charitable revenue of about $3.75 million. So, depending on how you do the math, the Samueli gift could boost Pathways by as much as 53%.

Similar calculations (if smaller bumps) can be made for the two other recipients, both of which provide food and shelter services in central and south Orange County. In 2023, Families Forward, in Irvine, raised $11.6 million, while South County Outreach, also in Irvine, raised about $6.19 million.

For all three nonprofits, the money is enough to cover what for-profit companies might describe as expansion capital and research funding.

“The money makes us a different organization,” said LaVal Brewer, president and CEO of South County Outreach.

“I mean, it’ll help us help a lot more people. And that’s the most important thing,” he added.

“But it also will change us, I think. It’ll let us double down on what is working, and also think of new approaches that, maybe, we wouldn’t otherwise be able to try.

“The flexibility to innovate, that’s a really big part of this.”

That’s true, in part, because the Samueli gift is also an outlier.

Unlike virtually all corporate donations, which typically require recipients to file reams of paperwork that spell out how every penny of that gift is being spent, the Samueli family money (which the organization describes as a “collaborative investment”) comes with almost no strings.

Yes, it’s supposed be spent on a directed goal: to prevent people living on the financial edge from losing their homes. And, yes, at various points, foundation officials will meet with the nonprofits to see how progress toward that goal is or isn’t being made.

But details about how the money is spent, and who it’s spent on, are entirely up to the nonprofits.

It’s a type of charitable giving known as trust-based philanthropy, and it’s only starting to be seen locally after several years of gaining traction in Europe and other parts of the United States.

Samueli officials say trust-based giving is efficient. Instead of spending money and time on oversight, this grant puts more money directly into the hands of people who have shown themselves to be experts at fixing a problem – homelessness – that’s widely viewed as a crisis.

“We really believe in our partners in this,” said Lindsey Spindle, president of the Samueli Family Philanthropies. “They are closest to the problem. And they understand the solutions far better than we will. So we trust them. We trust them to tell us what’s working and what’s not.

“We don’t proscribe,” Spindle added. “We try to listen.”

Cash works, too

For the particular problem at hand – preventing homelessness by helping people on the financial edge stay in their houses or apartments – no-strings cash is particularly useful.

Federal money aimed at helping people stave off eviction typically comes with some rules that, on the surface, seem to make sense. Such money shouldn’t be spent on attorneys, for example. It shouldn’t go to people battling an active addiction. And, critically, it only can be issued to help someone who has been issued a formal notice of eviction.

But that last rule, at least, doesn’t acknowledge living arrangements that are common in high-cost housing markets like Orange County.

“Suppose you have Grandma living with her adult daughter and young granddaughter. And there’s some friction, and Grandma says, ‘You’re out!’ Now, that might not meet the government’s definition of an eviction, but it’s an eviction,” said Madelynn Hirneise, CEO of Families Forward.

“That’s someone we can help.”

Hirneise noted that while the Samueli money might not come with strings, her agency uses some business tools to determine how to spend money.

“There’s a budget line. There’s some predictive analysis,” she said. “There’s freedom and flexibility, but it’s not a blank checkbook.”

But by those standards, Hirneise added, flexible cash is more efficient than if the money came with tighter rules and more oversight.

Flexibility also allows for more common sense.

For a family working multiple hourly jobs, a car breakdown can mean lost income. So, maybe they get help in paying for a repair bill, and that help is toted up as keeping a family in their home. For a family struggling with child care, a kid staying home from school because of a cold or flu might mean a lost opportunity to work. In that case, paying for extended daycare might qualify as a rent subsidy.

The idea, according to the Samueli Foundation’s Spindle, is for the money to be used to fix real, “day-to-day” problems.

“These are things that can happen to anyone,” she said. “But these funds have a one-to-one ability to keep people housed and on their feet.

“It’s a compelling argument.”

Gillanders, of Pathways of Hope, suggested the tone was set during the pilot program.

“The idea was to test how using cash assistance could help,” he said.

“It turns out it helps quite a bit.”

Key moment

The Samueli Foundation money is also at least one other thing:

A response.

While Henry and Susan Samueli have been giving more to charity in Orange County for several years – from about $23 million four years ago to a projected $125 million this year – the latest gift comes at a potential turning point for charities and people who are wealthy enough to fund them.

A day after the Samueli Foundation announced the $7.5 million grant, the House of Representatives passed a federal budget bill that will keep taxes low for most people, particularly wealthy ones, while reducing spending on social programs used by the poor and people who earn hourly wages.

Though final budget numbers won’t be known until after the Senate and House strike a deal, local nonprofits and their benefactors are gearing up for an era in which charities figure to play an increasingly important role in keeping people fed and housed.

Last year, Spindle said nonprofits in Orange County used an estimated $1.6 billion from federal programs. This year, according to other estimates, that number could be reduced by half.

“The funds (from the Samueli family and others) are clearly more important than they’ve ever been,” Spindle said.

While no single charity can make up that gap, Spindle hopes her organization’s no-strings gift will be copied by others.

Spindle described the current era as a moment of “no regrets” philanthropy.

“We’re prioritizing action over perfection.”

And she suggested the idea of funding a housing program, in particular, during a time when federal spending might make it even harder for people to live in the county, should be viewed by people of all political stripes as a smart investment, not a gift.

“I view this as an all-hands-on-deck moment,” Spindle said. “If you’ve an employer in this county, or you want to attract or retain talent, you should care about housing. And if you’re a public official, or a religious leader, you should care about this issue.

“Money in our (foundation’s) bank account is not helping anyone in the community.”

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