Over the years, the Bay Guardian has recognized and celebrated local heroes: Bay Area individuals whose contributions to our own community have made life better for us all. Now you have an opportunity to join their ranks by supporting the Bay Guardian Community Fund. The fund was created on our 25th anniversary as one way to say thanks and give back to our Bay Area home.

If you wish, you may designate your own donation for a specific group or groups. Otherwise, it will be divided equally among them. The Bay Guardian Community Fund is a component fund of the San Francisco Foundation, and The Community Trust for the Bay Area. All contributions are tax deductible.

Click this PayPal button to have your donation spread
equally amongst all beneficiaries

Tenderloin Health - www.tenderloinhealth.org
Many of San Francisco’s residents are struggling to survive every day, despite having little or no resources or help from family. Luckily there’s hope. Open daily, Tenderloin Health's expanded services include: emergency, transitional, permanent and HIV specialty housing; on-site primary, urgent and HIV specialty medical care; syringe exchange; mental health and substance use assessment and treatment; psychosocial and self-help support; critical life sustaining services, such as nutritional supplementation and peer support; job training and access to basic services including restrooms, phones and a clothing bank, all in partnership with, and as a direct result of, input from many of the Tenderloin's most vulnerable residents.

Click this PayPal button to make a Community Fund donation to Tenderloin Health:

SaveNetRadio - www.savenetradio.org
Internet radio has been an increasingly popular medium to expand musical tastes through a non-mainstream outlet, building fan bases and increasing sales of albums & MP3s on pay sites. However, an increase in royalty fees for webcasters has put the future of Internet radio at risk. In the past year, more than 2 million calls to Congress in support of the SaveNetRadio campaign have kept webcasters on the air. But despite the public outcry and growing Congressional support, nothing has changed; in fact, deals have been struck between SoundExchange and Internet radio's closest competitors (satellite & cable radio) setting their royalty rates at less than half of what webcasters pay. Though this certainly places Net radio at a significant competitive disadvantage, it also sets the benchmark for royalty fees and establishes the "price of music" - a price we have always been willing to pay. Congress needs to be reminded that, though Internet radio is still on the air and webcasters are still paying artists for their work, nothing has been resolved and they need to act.

Click this PayPal button to make a Community Fund donation to SaveNetRadio:

Potrero Hill Neighborhood House - nabe.potrerohillsf.com
Many children who live in Potrero Hill need a place to enrich their minds with after-school programs and positive role models. The Potrero Hill Neighborhood House, affectionately known as “The NABE,” is a community center in continuous operation for almost a century. They offer youth programs serving 5-18 year olds, senior nutrition & activities, youth & adult substance abuse and anger management treatment, as well as a space for community meetings and event rental. An investment in the youth’s future is an investment in a greater future for all San Francisco.

Click this PayPal button to make a Community Fund donation to The Nabe:

Rocket Dog Rescue - www.rocketdogrescue.org
A volunteer-based organization serving the Bay Area, Rocket Dog Rescue is dedicated to saving abandoned dogs from overcrowded animal shelters. RDR also helps dogs from other areas that have compelling situations where they are in danger of abuse, neglect or euthanasia; and places non-aggressive dogs into temporary foster homes where they are socialized, spayed/neutered, vaccinated, and treated for any conditions limiting their adoptability. RDR actively searches for permanent homes for its foster dogs by producing & distributing photo-biographic posters, by hosting an actively updated website, and by organizing mobile adoption fairs & special events that provide exposure to potential adopters. Rocket Dog Rescue's ultimate goal is to create a world where all companion animals have loving & permanent homes and where no good-natured dogs, no matter what their age, are killed in shelters because they are considered to be surplus or unadoptable.

Click this PayPal button to make a Community Fund donation to Rocket Dog Rescue:

From the Garden to the Table - www.g2t.org

From the Garden to the Table is a nonprofit organization founded by Jeffrey Smith in 1996. Organic, green, and sustainable since its inception, FGTT is committed to bringing positive change and teaching green/sustainable living in low-income neighborhoods. In these communities green and sustainable is not only about saving the environment, it is an essential lifeline to preventing illness and improving health. Low-income communities suffer a disproportionate incidence of asthma, heart disease, and high blood pressure; and eighty percent of these health problems are related to nutrition, inactivity, and the environment. FGTT's instructors are devoted to preventing these problems by providing cooking, physical development, and health classes to children, and teaching families and schools how to prepare healthier versions of familiar recipes, and how to clean with non-toxic products. The FGTT team shows green opportunities and involves the whole community in building teaching kitchens and learning environments using green, sustainable, non-toxic materials. FGTT's current projects include the green renovation of a community kitchen at a San Francisco middle school and building a green education center that is the heart for demonstrating that eating and living green is the one thing that benefits all communities.

Click this PayPal button to make a Community Fund donation to FGTT: