Welcome

We hope you and your families remain safe and healthy during this crisis. We have put together this summary of how we are operating at The Carl Gellert & Celia Berta Gellert Foundation (Foundation) during this time. First and foremost, we are hyper-focused on the health and safety of our employees and doing what is in our power to help slow the spread of the virus. Simultaneously we are working to ensure that the non-profit community we serve is treated in the same way as before this crisis. As a result, our staff at the Foundation is working remotely and will be doing so for the foreseeable future. Our phones have been forwarded to us as well as our emails. Therefore, you may communicate with us as in the past because our connectivity has not changed. The technology we use in our Foundation’s mission is working well and it can be accessed remotely by us. And finally, our staff and Board is in constant contact with each other to discuss Foundation matters as well as how we are doing individually in this time of self-distancing. If you find a need to contact us, please do, as we are available as in the past, even if we are operating from a remote location.

Take care and be safe.

IMPORTANT NOTIFICATION

guidelines and applications for our 2021 grant cycle are now available on our website.

please carefully read all documentation (2021 guidelines and faq’s) prior to submission of an online application.

ACCESS THE E-GRANT APPLICATION SYSTEM HERE

OUR MISSION AND VALUES

The mission of the Carl Gellert and Celia Berta Gellert Foundation is to support community-based organizations and Catholic Schools strengthening the Bay Area and serving those in need.  The Foundation’s values center around investing primarily in  Catholic education which provides a critical path for the future success of our youth; partnering with organizations that, with dignity and compassion, support marginalized individuals; and supporting those organizations whose focus is on building a strong Bay Area community for today and for the future.

OUR HISTORY

The Carl Gellert Foundation was established in December 1958, and The Celia Berta Gellert Foundation was established in November 1970. The two foundations merged in December of 1994 to become The Carl Gellert and Celia Berta Gellert Foundation. 

Carl Gellert was born in the San Francisco Bay Area and as a child, grew up with very little means.  From a young age, Carl knew what it was like to work hard and to earn a living.  "We worked after school, and all day Saturday. Sometimes we worked all day Sunday" recalled Carl. "There was no going off to camp for us in the summer, but we liked the business and never felt we were missing a thing." With his strong work ethic, and dream to one day build homes, Carl along with his brother, started Sunstream Homes. "In 1962 Sunstream Homes joined with the Crocker Land Company in developing one of the Bay Area's first large scale planned communities".  In addition, Carl Gellert served as president of the local home builders' association and as regional director and lifetime director of the National Association. He was past president of the Associated General Contractors and served as chairman of the Building Industry Conference Board and was recipient of the Board's honor award. (Sunstream Homes: 50 Golden Years of Home Building Excellence). Carl passed away in 1974. Celia "Tillie" Berta Gellert was born in San Francisco, and passed away in 2000. The legacy of Carl and Tillie Gellert now lives on through their philanthropic generosity in the education, religious, and scientific fields in the San Francisco Bay Area.