Looking to help "underserved" residents, an anonymous benefactor has donated $34 million for education, jobs, health care, housing and technology skills. The foundation, which will disburse the funds to non-profit organizations, received a call in February from a donor who wanted the money "on the streets" by summer. "It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," Blackwell said at a Tuesday news conference at the East Oakland Youth Development Center attended by dozens of community leaders in government and other nonprofit community groups. "We have never gotten a phone call like that in the past." The gift will help build 731 affordable housing units, create about 2,500 jobs and channel millions for early-childhood education and African-American student achievement. News of the cash infusion was music to the ears of Mayor Libby Schaaf, who thanked the "generous soul" who recognized the potential of the city.
– What to do with a spare $34 million? You could buy a private jet, a good-sized Caribbean island—or you could help countless people in one of California's most troubled cities. An anonymous donor went for the latter option, offering the San Francisco Foundation the cash to help "underserved" Oakland residents in areas including education and housing, Inside Bay Area reports. Foundation CEO Fred Blackwell says the donor, who called up out of the blue earlier this year, wanted the money "in the streets" by this summer. The funds will create around 2,500 jobs and more than 700 new affordable housing units, according to Inside Bay Area. "It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," Blackwell told reporters yesterday. "We have never gotten a phone call like that in the past." The money will go to at least 17 nonprofit organizations, including health clinics, early childhood education initiatives, programs that train young people for technology jobs, and programs that help ex-cons back into the work force, reports ABC7. Officials haven't provided any more information on the donor, whom Mayor Libby Schaaf describes as a "generous soul," reports USA Today. (An immigrant couple left their entire fortune to "America.")