About the Fund

Mount Zion Health Fund traces its origins to the establishment of a Jewish hospital, Mount Zion Hospital, in San Francisco at the end of the nineteenth century to serve the Jewish and broader communities.

Over the course of almost a century, the hospital remained independent and was guided by the values, culture, and traditions that were the legacy not only of its founders, but of all those associated with it over the decades. More recently, change has brought many Jewish hospitals the opportunity to integrate with other systems.

MZHF (formerly Mount Zion Health Systems) became a supporting foundation of the Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco, the Peninsula, Marin and Sonoma Counties in 2005, and continues in this capacity to preserve the traditions of Mount Zion Hospital and oversee the interests of donors, past, present and future.

Funding Priorities

The following guidelines apply to the general and specific funds that grant discretion to MZHF's Board of Directors. Additional limitations and guidelines govern expenditures from restricted and advised funds.

In order to maximize the impact of its grantmaking program, MZHF supports organizations whose programs are consistent with its mission to improve the physical, emotional and spiritual health of underserved individuals.

Grant requests to MZHF should be program-specific. Requests are evaluated based on how the program for which funding is being requested fits the following priorities:

• Serves a vulnerable population whose health status, compared to the general population, is particularly compromised.
• Provides responsive and creative solutions to health-related needs in San Francisco.
• Provides direct health services to improve the health of the Jewish and/or broader community.
• Program is of a pilot or start-up nature and articulates plans for future sustainability.
• Program has current and/or historical roots in the Jewish community.