Tipping Point Raises $6.2 Million to Prevent Poverty in the Bay Area

SAN FRANCISCO, May 20, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Tipping Point Community, the Bay Area's leading poverty-fighting organization, today announced that its annual benefit held last night raised $6.2 million, and 100 percent of the money raised will go to local nonprofits that provide education, housing, employment and wellness services to low-income individuals and families, as Tipping Point's board underwrites all event costs.

As California has now sunk to 43rd in the nation in per-student spending and consistently ranks in the bottom quartile of student achievement, Tipping Point Community's benefit this year focused its major fundraising efforts on supporting education and the most effective educational programs serving students and their families in low-income communities.

This year's auction raised $4 million from 290 donors and was largely focused on filling the gap in education funding created by California's budget crisis. In an environment of growing class sizes and shrinking support staff, teachers and school leaders are stretching to do more now with fewer resources than ever before. And with less access to learning materials and individualized attention, children from low-income communities are falling quickly behind their more affluent peers. Tipping Point funds will cover everything from increased professional development for teachers, to supplies and services to support low-income youth to and through college.

"We have a responsibility to dream big for every child in the Bay Area," said Tipping Point Community Founder + CEO, Daniel Lurie. "A college degree is a one-way ticket out of poverty. You graduate from college and you double your earnings. It's that simple." 

The benefit was co-chaired by Lisa and John Pritzker, Katie Schwab Paige and Matt Paige, Owen Van Natta, and Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins.  Comedian and Bay Area native Brad Wollack hosted the 5th annual event, while Tipping Point board chair Alec Perkins, San Francisco Giants owner Larry Baer, and Jed York, owner of the San Francisco 49ers and also a Tipping Point board member, addressed the guests as well. Beck entertained the nearly 1,700 guests who gathered at Pier 48 for the fundraiser, and DJ Ruckus spun for the spirited after party.

Of the evening, Mr. Lurie commented, "Thanks to an extraordinary $1 million match from Google's Sergey Brin and his wife Anne Wojcicki, we saw members of Tipping Point Community make gestures of remarkable generosity tonight. We're humbled to take part in creating educational opportunities that will end the cycle of poverty for the next generation of Bay Area residents."

Visit tippingpoint.org to learn more and to get involved.

About Tipping Point Community

Tipping Point screens nonprofits rigorously to find the most effective groups connecting low-income people to the services and opportunities needed to break the cycle of poverty and achieve economic self-sufficiency. Tipping Point's board underwrites all operating and fundraising expenses so that 100% of every dollar donated goes directly toward fighting poverty.  Beyond dollars, Tipping Point provides its grantees with the communications, technical and management assistance they need to grow and increase their impact. More information about Tipping Point Community is available at tippingpoint.org.

SOURCE Tipping Point Community