Sustainable Futures Fund

The Sustainable Futures Fund is a tightly-held family foundation established in December 2015 by the Gold-Matejka family in San Francisco, California. Elaine E. Gold serves as President, Treasurer, and Secretary — functioning as the sole day-to-day decision-maker — while David and Ben Gold-Matejka sit on the board as directors. With $38.1 million in assets and a consistent annual grant portfolio of $1.4–$2.1 million, this is a mid-sized private foundation operating entirely on invitation.

The foundation's stated mandate is to fund 501(c)(3) organizations that "protect natural resources or promote sustainable food systems," with a secondary but explicit commitment to Jewish causes. This dual focus is borne out clearly in the grantee data: top recurring recipients include CCOF Foundation (organic agriculture certification and policy, $375K across 4 grants), Redwood Empire Food Bank ($375K across 4 grants), Center for Food Safety ($290K), and Marin Agricultural Land Trust ($170K) — all aligned with sustainable food systems — alongside Jewish National Fund ($50K), ZAKA Inc. ($50K), and StandWithUs ($25K).

For grant seekers, the defining reality is unambiguous: the Sustainable Futures Fund does not accept unsolicited proposals. There is no RFP, no application portal, and no deadline cycle. The foundation's own website states grants are awarded by invitation only, and its database record confirms preselected-only status. All grants originate from Elaine Gold's personal cultivation of organizations she identifies as aligned with the family's values.

The most viable strategy for prospective grantees is to establish connections through current recipients. Organizations should seek introductions through CCOF Foundation, National FFA Foundation, Marin Agricultural Land Trust, Bay Area food banks, and Sonoma-area land trusts — all of which have multi-year relationships with the foundation. Appearing at Northern California sustainable agriculture conferences, organic farming policy forums, or Bay Area food security convenings increases the likelihood of entering Elaine Gold's field of view.

The typical relationship progression extrapolated from grantee data: initial small discretionary grant ($25,000–$40,000), multi-year renewal with modest increases, eventual elevation to $75,000–$175,000 for organizations demonstrating impact and relationship longevity. Seventeen grantees appear across three or more grant cycles, confirming that loyalty and consistency — not flashy new proposals — drive the portfolio.

The Sustainable Futures Fund has nearly doubled its annual grants paid over six years, growing from $960,000 in fiscal year 2019 to approximately $1.86 million in 2024 (with $2.15M in total charitable disbursements reported by ProPublica). Total assets grew from $32.5 million (2019) to $38.1 million (2024), driven entirely by investment income — the foundation receives effectively no external contributions (less than $23,000 received across all years of record). Net investment income ranged from $838,820 (2020) to $3,000,362 (2021 peak).

Typical grant size by the foundation's own records: minimum $5,000, maximum $250,000, median $25,000, and average $48,629 across 31 tracked awards. The broader grantee database covering 179 grants shows an average of $31,598 per grant and $5,656,000 in total documented giving across years. Grant counts have fluctuated: 44 (2019), 49 (2020), 31 (2021), 37 (2022), 55 (2023), 33 (2024) — the foundation actively adjusts its portfolio rather than maintaining a fixed grantee list.

By program area, five distinct funding clusters emerge from the grantee data:

• Sustainable and organic agriculture (~35% of identifiable funding): CCOF Foundation ($375K), National FFA Foundation ($175K), California FFA Foundation ($110K), California 4-H Foundation ($80K), Fresh Approach ($80K), Organic Farming Research Foundation ($65K), Rodale Institute ($40K), The Land Institute ($25K), and agricultural education programs at College of the Redwoods and Santa Rosa Junior College (Shone Farm).
• Food security and food banks (~25%): Redwood Empire Food Bank ($375K), SF-Marin Food Bank ($180K), Food Bank of Contra Costa Solano ($150K), Yolo County Food Bank ($150K), Food For People ($125K), Alameda County Community Food Bank ($115K), Community Action of Napa Valley ($90K).
• Land and environmental conservation (~20%): Center for Food Safety ($290K), Marin Agricultural Land Trust ($170K), California Farmland Trust ($140K), Conservation Corp of the North Bay ($100K), Sonoma Land Trust ($85K), Oceana ($130K), Ocean Conservancy ($50K), Earthjustice Toxic Chemicals Program ($50K).
• Jewish and Israel causes (~10%): Jewish National Fund ($50K), ZAKA Inc. ($50K), PEF Israel Endowment ($40K), plus five additional Israel-support organizations at $25,000 each.
• Health research (~7%): Parkinson's Foundation ($140K), Leukemia Lymphoma Society ($65K), ALS Association Golden West Chapter ($25K).

Geographically, California accounts for 73% of grants (131 of 179), concentrated heavily in the Bay Area and North Bay. DC and NY account for 11 grants each, representing national-level policy organizations. Pass-through giving via Schwab Charitable ($800K total) likely adds further directed funding not captured in grantee-level 990 data.

The asset-size peer set for Sustainable Futures Fund consists of five foundations all holding approximately $38 million in assets under the NTEE Philanthropy & Grantmaking classification. These peers share a similar financial scale but diverge significantly in geography, focus, and public transparency.

Within this peer group, Sustainable Futures Fund stands apart for the specificity and consistency of its documented grantmaking. It discloses 179 tracked grants across multiple years with identifiable grantees, program purposes, and recurring relationships — a level of transparency unusual for a family foundation of this size. The Systrom Foundation (founded by Instagram co-founder Kevin Systrom and Nicole Systrom) has comparable assets but a California tech-philanthropic orientation with minimal public grantee disclosure. The remaining three peers maintain no public websites and disclose no grantee data, making programmatic comparison impossible. Among this cohort, Sustainable Futures Fund is the most geographically focused (Northern California), the most programmatically explicit in its dual mandate, and the most analytically accessible for prospective grantees building a case for alignment.

No major public announcements, new program launches, or leadership changes were identified in web research for 2025 or 2026. The foundation maintains an intentionally low public profile consistent with its invitation-only giving model and family governance structure.

The most significant recent development visible in public records is the fiscal year 2024 data showing $2,149,956 in charitable disbursements, up 27.6% from $1,685,000 in grants paid during 2023. Elaine Gold's total compensation increased substantially to $312,500 in 2024 ($250,000 salary plus $62,500 other), from $200,000 in 2023 — a 56% increase reflecting what appears to be more active portfolio management or compensation alignment with growing assets.

The shift from 55 grants (2023) to 33 grants (2024) while total disbursements rose suggests a deliberate consolidation: the foundation appears to be deepening its investment in a smaller set of core grantees rather than expanding its portfolio breadth. This aligns with the observed pattern of multi-year general support to top recipients across 4 consecutive grant cycles.

Assets grew from $36.1 million (2023) to $38.1 million (2024) despite significant annual giving, as fiscal 2024 revenue of $2.4 million more than offset disbursements. The portfolio is entirely investment-income driven — the foundation received no external contributions in 2024.

The foundation website (sustainablefuturesfund.org) is active but contains no dated announcements, press releases, or grantee spotlights. Elaine Gold has held her role since the foundation's founding in December 2015 with no indication of leadership transition. David and Ben Gold-Matejka remain on the board at $16,000 each in 2024, maintaining the family governance structure established at founding.

Given the Sustainable Futures Fund's strictly invitation-only posture, the strategy for prospective grantees is entirely a relationship-cultivation strategy — not a proposal-writing exercise. Here is concrete, actionable guidance specific to this funder:

Map your network to current grantees before anything else. The foundation's core portfolio is well-documented. Check whether your board members, senior staff, or major donors have any connection to CCOF Foundation, Marin Agricultural Land Trust, National FFA Foundation, Redwood Empire Food Bank, Conservation Corp of the North Bay, or Sonoma Land Trust. These organizations' executive directors and program officers represent the most direct warm-introduction pathway to Elaine Gold.

Speak the foundation's own language precisely. The website uses specific framing: "protecting natural resources," "promoting sustainable food systems," "organic production education and policy." These are not aspirational terms — they describe funded work. Organizations that cannot authentically use this language across all their communications are not well-aligned regardless of relationship quality.

Lead with general operating support, not project grants. The overwhelming majority of Sustainable Futures Fund grants are coded as "General Support" — recurring, unrestricted, multi-year operating support. The foundation values organizational trust over project accountability. Prepare your case around organizational mission, stability, and track record rather than a project-specific scope.

Demonstrate multi-year sustainability. Seventeen of the top-50 grantees appear across 3–4 consecutive grant cycles. Elaine Gold backs organizations she believes will endure. Highlight diverse revenue base, leadership longevity, and clear financial health in any introductory materials.

For Jewish community organizations: The pathway runs through Bay Area Jewish philanthropy networks — Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco, local Israeli emergency and culture organizations — rather than through the sustainable agriculture pipeline. Align framing with community resilience, identity preservation, and direct human services rather than environmental language.

Avoid cold outreach as a first move. The foundation's phone number is (415) 729-9930 and mailing address is PO Box 29588, San Francisco, CA 94129-0588. These are not invitation channels — they are operational contacts. A cold letter or call without a warm referral is unlikely to be productive and may signal poor research on your organization's part.