San Francisco’s budget: The grant program has ballooned with little oversight

Part 11 of a 13-part series: Nonprofit spending gone wild

One of the most dramatic and least scrutinized areas of San Francisco’s spending growth lies in the City Grant Program, money given to nonprofit organizations to deliver services on the city’s behalf.

While many nonprofits do vital work, this surge in spending has not come with a surge in oversight or a surge in results.

In the 2025 fiscal year budget, the San Francisco government departments apportioned $1.6 billion to grants. That’s $1 billion more than in 2018, up 167 percent in seven years.

Just six departments account for 92 percent of this spending:

— Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing

— First 5/Early Childhood

— Department of Children, Youth and Their Families

— Human Services Agency

— Office of Economic and Workforce Development

— The Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development

While many nonprofits do vital work, this surge in spending has not come with a surge in oversight, or a surge in results.

In fact, recent years have been marked by headlines about fraud, waste, and mismanagement within city-funded nonprofits. In 2023, city officials revealed that $125 million in grants had gone to nonexistent nonprofits. Where did that money go? Was any of it recovered? Taxpayers deserve answers — especially in the midst of a budget crisis. And the waste needs to stop. 

That same year, the Civil Grand Jury issued a report documenting widespread dysfunction and the urgent need for:

— Clear performance goals

— Metrics tied to results

— Meaningful oversight and accountability

The city’s new controller has implemented stronger audit requirements. But even now, performance goal setting and tracking remains absent or insufficient. The money flows, but we don’t know what we’re getting (if anything) in return.

Reform here shouldn’t be controversial. We can reduce fraud and improve results without cutting outcomes for residents by managing better and demanding accountability.

Sources: U.S. Census, California Department of Finance, SFGov.org, Association of Bay Area Governments, San Francisco Chronicle, San Jose Mercury News, San Francisco Examiner, San Francisco Standard. Full cites available on request. 

Marie Hurabiell is the executive director and founder of Connected SF.

Originally posted on The Voice of San Francisco on May 22, 2025 by Marie Hurabiell