When Marc Benioff co-founded Salesforce in a small San Francisco apartment in 1999, he promised himself that the company’s success would be measured not just in revenue but in the positive impact it created locally, regionally, nationally, and globally. More than 25 years later, Salesforce has become the city\u2019s largest private employer, and that promise has grown into one of the country\u2019s most ambitious corporate and personal philanthropic legacies \u2013 one that is deeply rooted in San Francisco and the broader Bay Area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
From Salesforce’s first day of operation, Marc Benioff built philanthropy<\/a> into the company’s business plan. The result was the novel 1-1-1 model, a framework committing 1% of the company’s equity, 1% of its product, and 1% of employee time to community causes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Since then, Salesforce has given just shy of $900 million in grants and 10.5 million employee volunteer hours to communities around the world. More than 64,000 nonprofits currently benefit from free or deeply discounted access to Salesforce technology, helping them raise funds, scale operations, and deliver services more effectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The impact extends beyond Salesforce. Today, the Pledge 1% initiative<\/a>, inspired by Salesforce, has been adopted by more than 19,000 companies worldwide, igniting $3 billion in new philanthropy, and proving that the 1-1-1 model can be operationalized and replicated at scale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As a fourth-generation San Franciscan, Benioff has a personal connection to the city that goes beyond business. Together with his wife, Lynne, he has invested more than $1 billion in the Bay Area’s healthcare, education, housing, and public spaces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In 2025 alone, the combined charitable contributions of the Benioff’s and Salesforce to the Bay Area surpassed $1 billion<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Transforming healthcare at UCSF Since 2010, Salesforce has raised more than $130 million in unrestricted funds for UCSF Benioff Children\u2019s Hospitals through Concert for Kids, a concert during the annual Dreamforce event. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In October 2025, the Benioff’s announced another $100 million donation, this time dedicated to modernizing the UCSF Oakland hospital campus<\/a> and expanding its capacity to serve children and families from all backgrounds with a new hospital building and additional critical care services. \u201cTheir generosity has improved our pediatric health system and made life better for children and families all across the Bay Area,\u201d said Dr. Nicholas Holmes, President of UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Benioffs’ healthcare giving in the Bay Area extends beyond pediatrics. They have also funded research in prostate cancer, nephrology, and pediatric strokes at UCSF.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Addressing the root causes of homelessness In 2023, BHHI produced The California Statewide Study of People Experiencing Homelessness, which became the largest representative study of homelessness in the U.S. since the 1990s. The initiative subsequently has informed homelessness policy in Hawaii, Washington, and Oregon and has become a nationally recognized resource for understanding and addressing the homelessness crisis. Benioff also championed San Francisco’s Proposition C, a 2018 ballot measure that levied a tax on large businesses, including Salesforce, to fund homelessness services. His vocal and financial support helped secure its passage in the face of opposition from some of his fellow tech executives. According to data from the city of San Francisco<\/a>, as of 2025, Prop C had funded and sustained more than 5,300 units of permanent housing, shelter, and mental health beds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Investing in local parks Making a difference at the corporate levelA Billion-Dollar Impact on the Bay Area<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/strong>At the heart of the Benioffs’ Bay Area philanthropy is their partnership with UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals. This began with a $100 million gift in 2010 to fund the construction of the Mission Bay campus, followed by another $100 million in 2014 to build the Oakland campus. Researchers at these facilities have developed breakthrough cures in gene therapy<\/a>, engineered significant advancements in treatment of pediatric cancer<\/a>, and innovated new approaches toward responding to rare diseases<\/a>. The hospitals also support programs that provide free care to those who can\u2019t afford it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/strong>Homelessness has long been a challenge and concern in San Francisco, and Marc Benioff has been one of the foremost tech leaders funding efforts to provide care and services for people experiencing homelessness in the Bay Area. In 2019, the Benioffs made a founding gift of $30 million to establish the UCSF Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative (BHHI)<\/a>, a research group dedicated to studying the drivers of homelessness and providing data-driven, science-based policy recommendations to city and state leaders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/strong>Marc and Lynne Benioff have given more than $35 million to support public spaces around the city. This includes donations for day-to-day operations at the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, beautifying parks in India Basin, and rehabilitating the China Beach bathhouse, as well as seed money to help create the Presidio Tunnel Tops park. The Benioffs gave additional funds for a student-inspired playground at Presidio Middle School, a project that comprised new basketball courts, a running track, an artificial turf field, and a dedicated courtyard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/strong>Beyond the personal philanthropy of Marc and Lynne Benioff, Salesforce has donated millions of dollars to San Francisco nonprofits. These donations have included:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n