The McCarthy Family Foundation enhances the health, welfare, education and safety of the community through family philanthropy.

2009 was our twenty first year of grantmaking in San Diego and elsewhere in California. Our geographic and programmatic areas have undergone some changes throughout the years but our goals and purpose have remained steady.

McCarthy Family values have always included sharing within our community, giving back and reaching out. Creating this foundation was a purposeful decision of the original donors with clear goals and intent, both external and internal. Our family wants to give back to the community by supporting a healthier, safer, educated society. As a family, we hope to challenge succeeding generations and encourage members to consider philanthropy as an important, necessary part of their lives. The McCarthy Family Foundation seeks to serve as a catalyst for the family to act collectively in philanthropic endeavors and collaboratively with others in our community.

In recent years, we have taken steps to improve our grant application process. This includes working with the Foundation Center on this web site and also adopting the Common Grant Application (CGA) of San Diego Grantmakers. In the granting of our resources to serve our mission, we give high priority to the realization of equality of opportunity for all members of society. We expect organizations and programs that we support to take appropriate affirmative steps with respect to women and disadvantaged minorities. We have continued collaborative funding with the San Diego HIV Funding Collaborative and with partners at the San Diego Grantmakers Homelessness Working Group. We also continue to explore cooperative opportunities with the Child Welfare Funders Group, also sponsored by San Diego Grantmakers.

Our Board of Directors is comprised of immediate family members of the two founding donors. All directors fully participate in the proposed grants evaluation process. This includes reviewing and researching proposals and making site visits to applicant organizations. The foundation is grateful for the opportunity to serve many important needs in San Diego.

The Foundation's assets declined sharply during the second half of 2008 and continued to decrease during the first quarter of 2009. As indicated in the Financial Summary for 2008/09 (2009 Annual Report), we began 2008 with a fund balance in excess of $11.5 million but ended that year at about $7.7 million, about a 33% decrease. By March 31, 2009, the fund balance declined further to approximately $7.3 million. However, by the end of 2009, assets recovered to almost $9 million, still a level 22% below the 2007 year end peak.

Foundation grantmaking was significantly decreased during this same time period from $551,450 in 2007 to $330,300 in 2008. Our 2009 grants increased to $355,850.