Making Impact Together
Annual Report FY23-24
From the CEO & Board President
Dear Friends & Supporters,
We are proud to celebrate an incredible milestone this year—50 years of fighting for social justice in our community. The Law Foundation of Silicon Valley stands today because of supporters like you who have made a difference in countless lives throughout our region. In this report, you’ll read about the impact we’re making together.
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We are deeply committed to supporting children, adults, and families facing crisis and living with limited financial resources. Our clients include individuals who are unhoused, immigrants, children, seniors, and those living with disabilities or mental health challenges. Many of them are people of color and are disproportionately impacted by societal inequities. Through our legal services and dedicated advocacy, we drive lasting, positive change in the community.
Despite the immense wealth in Silicon Valley, many in our community face an uphill battle. With the end of pandemic-era eviction moratoriums, more low-income families are at risk of homelessness. Last year, the number of families with children entering homelessness nearly doubled. We keep a close watch on social issues like homelessness, mental health, and poverty and take action.
The Law Foundation provides free life-changing legal services to over 14,000 people in Silicon Valley each year. We remain flexible and responsive, ready to tackle whatever challenges come our way. We can do all this and more because of you—our community, partners, funders, and donors.
With you by our side, we can keep paving the way for progress and build a better, more equitable future for everyone in Silicon Valley. Cheers to the next 50 years of creating an impact!
With gratitude,
Alison Brunner, Esq.
CEO
Calise Cheng
Board President
Tenant Organizing Creates Lasting Change for Vietnamese Renters
We have been working with two communities of tenants in San Jose to advance their housing and language access rights. These tenants are mostly Vietnamese, low-income, elderly, disabled, and have limited English proficiency. We partnered to help them organize tenant associations including the Corde Terra Seniors tenant association, with a strong 50% of tenants participating.
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The Corde Terra Seniors asked for important safety improvements and to have informational notices translated into their primary language. Instead of answers, they faced harassment from property management who also repeatedly canceled meetings to discuss the tenant association’s demands.
In response, the association staged a rally at the owners’ office with the advice and support of the Law Foundation. The demonstration garnered community support and press coverage, enabling the association to amplify its calls for change. In Spring 2024, with assistance from the Law Foundation, the tenants filed a formal complaint against their landlord with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). As a result, the association secured a meeting with upper-level management, who agreed to have quarterly meetings with the association and translate all notices into their primary languages so tenants could finally access critical information about their housing community.
Tenant organizing is crucial for social justice because it empowers renters from marginalized communities to advocate for their rights, challenge unjust housing practices, and fight for policies that promote affordable, safe, and equitable housing.
Medical Legal Partnership Celebrates 15 Years
A person’s health is affected by the things going on in their life. This could be unstable living conditions at home, a tough situation at work, financial uncertainty, or other obstacles beyond what a doctor can treat. At Santa Clara Valley Healthcare, the County’s public healthcare safety net, patients facing these obstacles can be referred by their trusted doctor to receive free legal help from a Law Foundation attorney. Each year, we reach about 500 children and adults through this Medical Legal Partnership.
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Our innovative partnership to provide free legal services to people referred through the local County hospital is now celebrating 15 years. Over that time, thousands of people have received help with issues impacting their health including protecting their right to safe and stable housing, name and gender marker changes, and accessing public benefits. We are also one of the only partnerships to help children and their families with challenges relating to accessing a free and fair public education.
Dr. Lee Anna Botkin, a pediatrician at Santa Clara Valley Healthcare and the clinic’s Medical Director, shares, "I’m so grateful for the Law Foundation – a group of dedicated, immensely talented people who care deeply about health justice and doing the best we can for our patient/clients. Having such amazing colleagues who have a shared sense of vision and purpose makes innovative, cross-disciplinary work possible. We see that the outcomes can be monumental and transformative for patients, and stress-reducing for our healthcare professionals."
Stepping in for Stability: A Renewed Commitment in Pro Bono Guardianship
Sometimes a child is unable to be cared for by both parents due to difficult circumstances like death, abuse, neglect, or absence. In these cases, a family member or other trusted adult can be appointed as a legal guardian through the court system. A guardianship allows an adult other than a parent to legally care for a child, providing safety and stability in the child’s best interests.
But asking the court for a guardianship can be a complicated process to navigate, especially as a minor. That’s where the Law Foundation comes in.
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The Pro Bono Guardianship Project supports youth ages 12-17 who wish to ask the court to appoint a specific guardian to care for them. Through this project, a youth is paired with a pro bono attorney who helps them draft and file their petition, represents them at their court hearing, and empowers them every step of the way.
While the Pro Bono Guardianship Project has existed for years, it was revised and refreshed this year to provide updated guidance and detailed support to the pro bono volunteers who take on these life-changing cases. Thanks to our thorough training materials, accessible mentorship, and early case assessment completed by our in-house social workers, pro bono volunteers are better equipped than ever to handle a higher volume of guardianship cases, expanding our capacity to serve youth in need of advocacy.
“As parents, we were deeply moved by our client’s heartbreaking losses, and as legal advocates, we’re grateful to the Law Foundation for the opportunity to assist with our client’s guardianship petition, and for their support in navigating this complex process,” shared Guardianship Project Pro Bono Volunteers Caroline V. and Michelle R. of Cooley. “We’re hopeful that our contribution can help our client regain a sense of stability and normalcy with a present, loving caregiver.”
Legal and non-legal professionals can get involved in our pro bono work. Learn more.
Our Impact
by the Numbers
14,013
Total number of people served
5,290
Number of clients served ages birth - 25
619
Number of current & former foster youth served
4,798
Number of people
receiving housing services
$1.9 million
Total amount of money saved for housing clients
$3.7 million
Dollar value of donated pro bono services
Breaking Barriers to the Ballot Box: The Voting Rights Project
The Voting Rights Project stands as a powerful reminder of the values we uphold as a society—respect for individual dignity, equity, and the importance of every voice in shaping democracy.
Though the voting process is seemingly convenient for most Californians, for patients who are unable to leave a psychiatric facility it can be especially difficult. Law Foundation attorneys provide many services to protect the rights of people in mental health hospitals. During elections, this includes having their voices heard at the ballot box.
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Every election, including the Primaries in February 2024 and the General Election in November, we help patients at seven Santa Clara County hospitals cast their ballot. We work with medical staff to handle the process of requesting an emergency ballot, help patients fill out any necessary paperwork, and drop ballots off at the registrar’s office to make sure they get counted.
Too often, individuals held on involuntary civil commitments in psychiatric facilities are overlooked and excluded from voting. Mental health crises are frequently sudden and unplanned, taking individuals away from their voting resources unexpectedly. Because we are already working with this hard-to-reach population, the Law Foundation can effectively connect with both patients and medical staff to support voting.
By supporting the rights of those in psychiatric facilities to vote, we affirm that mental health challenges do not diminish one's humanity or political agency. This project underscores that every person, regardless of their mental health status, has a fundamental right to be heard.
Fighting for Housing Justice: Stopping Unjust Evictions
When Victor’s* friend had a medical emergency in his apartment, his only thought was how to get help—fast. But when Victor yelled to an apartment manager to call 9-1-1, the manager used it as an opportunity to evict him for “disorderly behavior.” Under the City of San Jose’s Tenant Protection Ordinance, landlords can evict a tenant for disruptive behavior. But Victor knew he had only done what anyone else trying to get emergency help would do. And he knew what his landlord was doing was wrong.
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Victor met the Law Foundation through our partnership with Santa Clara Valley Healthcare. After visiting our legal clinic, he connected with a Law Foundation attorney who quickly began fighting to keep him housed. During our investigation, the landlord was uncooperative and delayed providing additional information about Victor’s tenancy. In their first court appearance, our attorney argued that the cause for eviction—nuisance—was unreasonable. Because of our advocacy, the case was dismissed allowing Victor to remain in his home.
Unlike criminal cases, a tenant facing an eviction is not guaranteed the right to a lawyer. Unscrupulous landlords can file frivolous evictions because most tenants don’t have access to legal representation to fight back. Without understanding the complicated legal process, tenants often lose their housing and struggle to find new affordable housing with an eviction on their record.
Across the country, less than 5% of tenants involved in eviction cases have legal representation, while nearly all landlords are represented by attorneys. The Law Foundation works to level the playing field for low-income tenants in Silicon Valley. Our free legal services prevent homelessness and displacement for thousands of families and individuals who feel empowered to learn of their housing rights. Many of these tenants go on to educate their family, friends, and neighbors of their rights as well—expanding our reach and preventing even more unjust evictions in our region.
*Name changed for privacy
Advancing Race, Equity, & Inclusion: Updates on Our Progress
Our commitment to advancing racial equity, inclusion, and belonging (REI) remains a central focus as we grow and evolve. This past year, we made significant progress in strengthening our organizational culture and values.
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At the start of the year, we hosted our first in-person staff retreat since the pandemic, supported by the REI Steering Committee. The retreat provided an important opportunity for cross-departmental relationship building, fostering unity, and collaboration across teams. A key goal of the retreat was to introduce and solidify organizational values, ensuring every staff member understood and embraced them.
Beyond the retreat, the REI Steering Committee has been working on building stronger relationships and driving forward essential cultural initiatives. Among the priority areas we have identified for greater impact are the development of an REI training curriculum for both new and existing staff, expanding cultural initiatives to celebrate diversity, and reviewing policies and procedures to ensure they align with our commitment to racial equity.
Financial Overview
Unaudited figures for fiscal year 2024
Revenue & Support
Expenses
| Revenue & Support | FY2024 |
|---|---|
| Government Contracts | $10,300,372 |
| Individuals* | $3,810,551 |
| Contribution In-Kind** | $3,639,564 |
| Corporations | $2,128,886 |
| Foundations | $756,133 |
| Special Events | $166,537 |
| Attorney Fees/Cy Pres Awards | $101,033 |
| Interest Income & Other | $457,359 |
| Total Revenue & Support | $21,360,435 |
| Assets | FY2024 |
|---|---|
| Cash & Cash Equivalents | $10,545,905 |
| Accounts Receivable | $3,015,250 |
| Total Other Assets | $4,996,791 |
| Total Fixed Assets | $220,686 |
| Cash Held in Trust | $6,107 |
| Total Assets | $18,784,740 |
| Expenses | FY2024 |
|---|---|
| Programs | $14,894,341 |
| General & Administrative | $2,330,408 |
| Fundraising | $1,129,010 |
| Total Expenses | $18,353,759 |
| Change in Net Assets | $3,006,676 |
| Liabilities | FY2024 |
|---|---|
| Long-Term Liabilities | $5,092,501 |
| Other Liabilities | $1,375,203 |
| Accounts Payable | $636,044 |
| Total Liabilities | $7,103,748 |
| Net Assets | FY2024 |
|---|---|
| Without Donor Restrictions | $9,830,916 |
| With Donor Restrictions | $1,850,076 |
| Total Net Assets | $11,680,991 |
| Total Liabilities & Net Assets | $18,784,740 |
*In late 2023, the Law Foundation received a one-time gift of $3.4 million gift from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott. This gift has been placed in a reserve fund requiring board approval for spending over multiple years. Our new strategic plan will help inform our investments.
**In-Kind: Pro bono volunteers donated 4,555 hours of services valued at $3,307,226, representing most of this amount.
Thank You
to Our Supporters
Hurlbut-Johnson Charitable Trusts
John Mohme Foundation
