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 here:
PVF Annual Report 2006

On Responsive Grantmaking

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

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.