Our mission is to promote, assist, and support childcare and child care related organizations in the San Francisco Bay Area. The emphasis is placed upon benefits provided to children. However, as in the case of homeless children, support for the family can becomes a focus. The Foundation's programs are in two major areas. The first is to make available to a child care provider a child care center. The facilities are provided at less than prevailing rental market rates for similar property. The child care center is located at 1101 Masonic Avenue in San Francisco.

The second program provides grants to child care and organizations that meet the Foundation's eligibility requirements.

What We Do

The Asbury Children's Foundation has two activities:

1. To make available a facility to deliver child care services
2. To support and promote child care and related services

The first mission is accomplished by owning a complex of three buildings on a large lot in the Haight Ashbury neighborhood of San Francisco. The buildings are leased to operating child care programs at below market rate rents.

The money derived from rent on the the realestate and investment income is reclycled into grants to child-care and child related services.

History of the Foundation

The Foundation was established by a number of civic minded residents of San Francisco's Haight Ashbury District. They saw the need for a child care in the neighborhood and were willing to assist in establishing a child care center.

When a group of buildings, suitable for child care, became available at 1101 Masonic Avenue, they established a real estate partnership and purchased the buildings.The partners leased the property to the Haight Ashbury Children's Center, a preschool child care program. The partnership operated for several years.

Since Masonic Avenue, near Haight Street, is a commercial area, 1101 Masonic Avenue was subject to high property taxes. The tax was a significant part of the annual budget for a child care provider. Since the property was owned by a "for profit" organization, the charitable tax exemption, allowed by California law, was not available. So the Ashbury Childrens Foundation was established as a tax exempt organization and Federal and California tax income tax exemptions were obtained. The partners owning the property made a charitable, tax deductible, gift of the property to the Foundation.