"Skoll Celebrates New Office in San Jose" - Delivered at Community Foundation Silicon Valley
By Sally Osberg, 08.16.01

Welcome.

Thanks for coming across the hall, over the hill, down the freeway or from whatever direction you hail. And special thanks to Peter, Karen, and all our wonderful colleagues at Community Foundation Silicon Valley for everything you do to make Skoll feel part of your impressive and dedicated team, and for our fine new space.

Special thanks to Keely Stevenson, my Skoll colleague, and Connie Padre for your great work in planning and pulling this fine event off. And to Kathi for a great idea and I think it's also appropriate to thank Kathi and the Kirsch Foundation team for blazing the supporting foundation trail for us, and for pioneering life on the West Side of the building during those long, dusty noisy weeks of construction. Thank you!

At the Skoll Community Fund, we see ourselves less as grantmakers, sounds so dry! than as community builders. It's as you all know, and as one of my heroes John Gardner has said so well, work that is never done: it's by turns humbling and exhilarating, frustrating and inspiring, work-in short-worth doing. It's the first word in Community Foundation Silicon Valley's name, and the middle word-the core of what we're about-in ours.

But the first name in our name belongs to a man who is leading us all in the way we think about and empower communities-from the transformational on-line trading community known as eBay-for which he served as the first President and developed the business model still in use today-to some vibrant learning communities being created right here in the Bay Area at some remarkable charter schools.

So, I'm very pleased to introduce to all of you the Founder and Chairman of the Skoll Community Fund, Jeff Skoll. You've all seen his name-(statements, donor acknowledgments, PR inquiries, Web site). I don't think there's anyone here who hasn't in some way been part of getting the Skoll Community Fund up and going-now you have the chance to meet the real person!!

I'd also like to introduce other Skoll Board members here-Peter, and Leo Chavez. Leo also serves on the CFSV Board and is Chancellor of the Foothill DeAnza College District, another fine Skoll grantee.

Thanks again for coming, and for all you do to make the 10th floor at 60 South Market such a super community itself.