News & Updates
Dec 03

3 Holiday Volunteer Opportunities in SF

GIVE BACK THIS HOLIDAY SEASON AT ONE CITY GIVES

In a year like no other, sf.citi invites you to spread holiday cheer in San Francisco by participating in our One City Gives Virtual Holiday Giving Campaign. From December 3–11, we hope to recruit at least 150 volunteers to join this year’s edition of One City Gives and support the work of three San Francisco nonprofits: Meals on Wheels San Francisco, Larkin Street Youth Services, and Compass Family Services.

For the past three years, sf.citi has organized an annual holiday giving event, One City Gives, to bring together our vibrant community of tech workers and give back to our San Francisco neighbors in need. This year, of course, One City Gives will look a little different. Participants will have more than a week to complete one or more of our three virtual volunteer activities, all of which can be done from the comfort of your home. We’re also partnering with three local nonprofits that have been working tirelessly to care for San Francisco’s most vulnerable populations—seniors and unhoused youth and families—throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

The best part about this year’s One City Gives event is that it’s open to everyone! You don’t have to be an employee at an sf.citi member company to join. In fact, we’re counting on all of you to help us reach our goal of getting at least 150 volunteers to participate in One City Gives and support our San Francisco community.

Sign Up for One City Gives

LATEST DEVELOPMENTS ON THE SAN FRANCISCO TECH EXODUS

We took a look at the mounting evidence of a tech exodus in San Francisco and explore what it all means for the future of our City. See below for the latest news on the San Francisco tech exodus.

  • Zumper released its December 2020 rent report, which revealed that the median price of one-bedroom apartments in San Francisco has dropped more than 22 percent year over year. The number of rental units available is also significantly greater than this time last year. According to Zumper CEO Anthemos Georgiades, this latest data reflects a clear spike in people moving out of the City.
  • A number of noteworthy tech executives have left San Francisco, including Dropbox CEO Drew Houston, Splunk CEO Douglas Merritt, Brex Co-Founders Henrique Dubugras and Pedro Franceschi, and investor Keith Rabois. Many of them are opting for fast-growing startup hubs like Austin, Denver, and Miami.
  • San Francisco’s office vacancy rate has risen to a record high of 14.1 percent. With 11.8 million square feet of vacant office space, the last two quarters in San Francisco represent the lowest leasing activity on record based on Cushman & Wakefield data going back to the 1990s.

Do these moves by tech executives foretell future tech capitals to replace San Francisco? While we certainly hope that is not the case, sf.citi Executive Director Jennifer Stojkovic predicted that states like Texas could gain from San Francisco’s tech fallout. To fully understand the potential consequences of a tech exodus, we invite you to read (or reread) our opinion piece on the topic for the San Francisco Business Times.

PLANNING FOR 2021 WITH CALIFORNIA SENATOR SCOTT WIENER

sf.citi was pleased to welcome newly re-elected California State Senator Scott Wiener at our final virtual Lunch and Learn of 2020. We were joined by sf.citi members Airbnb, AT&T, Comcast, Dropbox, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Optimizely, Salesforce, Twitter, Verizon, and more.

After securing another term in the California State Senate against challenger Jackie Fielder, Senator Wiener is already thinking ahead to 2021. His top priority is, no surprise, housing. Over the course his political career, Senator Wiener has established himself as a fierce California housing advocate. Earlier this year, he introduced Senate Bill 50 to loosen zoning restrictions and increase housing density around transit corridors across the state. Though the bill ultimately failed on the Senate floor, Senator Wiener plans to introduce several new bills to spur housing production in 2021. His other priorities for the year ahead include paving the way for safe injection sites in San Francisco and Oakland, as well as decriminalizing psychedelic drugs.

Senator Wiener also told sf.citi members his thoughts on the November 2020 election results in California. He was disappointed that both Proposition 15, which would have increased commercial property taxes, and Proposition 25, which would have ended cash bail, did not pass. At the same time, he was encouraged by the passage of Proposition 17, which grants people on parole the right to vote. Furthermore, Senator Wiener expressed high hopes for what a Biden Presidency might me for housing at the national level. “We want the federal government to use the levers that it has to get more communities to do the right thing on housing,” he said.

Join Future Lunch & Learn Discussions

DID YOU KNOW?

California Secretary of State Alex Padilla is looking like the frontrunner to take over Vice-President-Elect Kamala Harris’ Senate seat. Want to learn more about him and his political legacy in California? sf.citi had the pleasure to talking to Secretary of State Padilla ahead of both the March 2020 primary election and the November 2020 general election. You can revisit our conversations and learn about his work as California Secretary of State here and here.

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