Episcopal Charities is a
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
based nonprofit
charitable organization
A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good).
The legal definition of a ...
affiliated with the
Episcopal Diocese of California
The Episcopal Diocese of California is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America (ECUSA) in Northern California. The founding Episcopal diocese in the state, once encompassing all of Californi ...
. In 1977, a separate division was established in the Diocese of California by the name Episcopal Community Appeal (ECA) to serve the poor, oppressed, and
marginalized
Social exclusion or social marginalisation is the social disadvantage and relegation to the fringe of society. It is a term that has been used widely in Europe and was first used in France in the late 20th century. It is used across discipline ...
. In 1999, the name was changed to Episcopal Charities and it was established as a separate legal entity, a California
non-profit
A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...
501(c)(3) charitable organization.
Bishop William E. Swing, the Seventh Bishop of the Diocese of California, served as board chair in the 1980s when then Mayor
Dianne Feinstein
Dianne Goldman Berman Feinstein ( ; born Dianne Emiel Goldman; June 22, 1933) is an American politician who serves as the senior United States senator from California, a seat she has held since 1992. A member of the Democratic Party, she was ...
recruited him to help find solutions to the problem of increasing homelessness. Since then, Episcopal Charities, one of the first organizations committed to addressing the issues of homelessness in the Bay Area, has continued to advocate for the poor and marginalized.
Caspar Weinberger
Caspar Willard Weinberger (August 18, 1917 – March 28, 2006) was an American statesman and businessman. As a promi