More than 400 donors and supporters gathered at the Witte Museum Mays Family Center this week to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the San Antonio Area Foundation.

At the event, Area Foundation leadership announced that the nonprofit community foundation – the first of its kind in Texas – has given back more than $809 million to the community through grants and scholarships since its founding in 1964.

“With your partnership, the Area Foundation has become the epicenter of philanthropy in our region,” said Nadege Souvenir, the Area Foundation’s CEO. “We have accomplished this work together by guiding investments that help our neighbors who need it most.”

A series of community leaders took the stage to share the breakdown of funding across the decades through the Area Foundation’s principal impact areas:

  • $348 million in health and human services.
  • $209 million for children and youth.
  • $105 million in student scholarships.
  • $58 million in arts and culture.
  • $23 million in animal services.
  • $7 million for older adults.

“I’ve had the privilege of working alongside the San Antonio Area Foundation in a variety of roles and through many initiatives,” said former San Antonio Mayor Henry Cisneros. “Working together, we’ve tackled big goals to make San Antonio a place where people feel they can truly belong and build a future.”

For children and youth, the Area Foundation highlighted its pioneering Smart Start Fund, a philanthropic effort focused on early childhood development and childcare started more than three decades ago that provide the foundation for the widely known city-led program Pre-K 4 SA.

“I am immensely proud of what Smart Start has accomplished,” said fund co-founder Tracy Wolff, wife of former Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff. “Yet I am equally proud of the Area Foundation’s unwavering commitment to children and youth throughout Bexar County.”

The event also featured the official unveiling of the Area Foundation’s 60th anniversary report, providing a retrospective look at the lingering impact various initiatives and programs have had in our community for decades.