The San Diego Foundation announced it received an unrestricted $100 million cash gift from the estate of local entrepreneur Jay Kahn, the largest-ever gift of its kind to a San Diego nonprofit.
According to the nonprofit, Kahn’s gift is the third most significant gift of its kind to a U.S. Community Foundation. His grant includes $150,000 unrestricted grants to 10 San Diego-Based music education nonprofits to advance their work with under-resourced children. The $1.5 million in total grants were awarded at the SDF Board of Governors retreat on February 2, 2023.
“Jay Kahn was a compassionate man who loved San Diego and wished for his legacy and estate to be used for the good of San Diego,” said Mark Stuart, President & CEO of the San Diego Foundation. “We had no existing relationship with Jay until we learned that he believed San Diego Foundation would achieve his goal and honor his wishes. We are humbled by this incredible generosity and we will honor Jay by continuing to inspire enduring philanthropy and enable community solutions to improve the quality of life in the San Diego region.”
The grants were given in memory of Kahn, who was a classical musician who played clarinet in symphonies at the University of California San Diego and the University of San Diego.
Grantees include:
- A Reason to Survive (ARTS), which offers free after-school arts education to South County youth and young people
- Classics 4 Kids, which provides free live music programming to children at 236 San Diego County schools
- David’s Harp Foundation, which serves system-affected and homeless youth to achieve academic success through music education
- Guitars and Ukes in the Classroom, which trains, inspires, and equips educators to engage students in learning through the joy of making music and the power of song
- Heartbeat Music Academy, which provides affordable after-school music programs in preparation for enrollment at Historically Black College and Universities (HBCUs)
- San Diego Symphony, which makes music an integral part of the cultural fabric of the San Diego region
- San Diego Youth Symphony and Conservatory, which provides ‘cradle through college’ music education through its flagship ensemble program, neighborhood engagement projects and early childhood music curriculum
- San Diego Young Artists Music Academy, which offers programs in vocal, instrumental, choir, dance and many other positive activities in a healthy and safe environment
- Voices of Our City, which reconnects San Diego’s unsheltered neighbors with hope and housing through the healing power of music, individualized care and advocacy
- Young Lions Jazz Conservatory, which enriches the lives of middle and high school students by inspiring imagination, intellectual curiosity, character and self-confidence through jazz music instruction.
The nonprofit said Khan’s estate gave more than $86 million to establish the Jay Kahn Endowment Fund at San Diego Foundation so “Kahn’s legacy and impact continues to grow and transform San Diego County in perpetuity”.
Jay Kahn, who lived in San Diego’s Ocean Beach neighborhood for about 50 years, passed away at 90 years old in 2022. He worked in the Clothing industry in the San Diego-Tijuana region and gained his fortune as an entrepreneur and investor.
