Publications > General Publications

Many of the publications listed below are available on-line in Portable Document Format (PDF). In order to view these documents, you will need the free Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Annual Report

PVF's latest Annual Report is available as a PDF below.
PVF Annual Report 2009

On Responsive Grantmaking

Articles, speeches, and reports describing PVF's approach to grantmaking.

Oakland Rotary presentation at The California Ballroom, Oakland, CA, on October 30, 2008.

Partnering with Foundations to Meet Needs for Foster Youth - May 2007. Published in the California Judges Association's educational series, The Judicial Role in Improving Outcomes: Part Six-Emancipating Foster Youth.

Syllabus: Understanding Philanthropy (Sociology 248GA) - Spring 2007. PVF Executive Director Bill Somerville is teaching a class, Understanding Philanthropy, at Oakland's Laney Community College, in which students learn about grantmaking and become a miniature foundation, making recommendations for $10,000 in grants to benefit the Laney College community.

Community Foundations and the Juvenile Court - a New Relationship by Bill Somerville, Judge Leonard Edwards, and Commissioner Patricia Bresee, published in Today: Juvenile and Family Justice, a publication of the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, Fall, 2006

Small Effective Grants - Presentation to Kansas Community Foundations, Witchita, KS - May 11, 2006, by Bill Somerville

New Philanthropy - Presentation to the Association of Fundraising Professionals, San Francisco, CA - February 17, 2006, by Bill Somerville.

Preparing for and Responding to Emergencies and Natural Disasters - Recommendations for philanthropic foundations on disaster preparedness, by Bill Somerville.

What is Good Philanthropy? - by Bill Somerville.