Housing

Silicon Valley Leadership Group’s 35th Anniversary

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July 11  |  Government Relations, Housing, Tax Policy, Transportation  |   Carl Guardino

Here’s food for thought… Are you making your mark or simply marking time?

Thursday July 18, marks the 35th anniversary of when HP Co-founder David Packard created the Silicon Valley Leadership Group. Today, 375 CEOs personally engage to strengthen the economic health and quality of life of our region, state and nation.

Through Packard’s vision, the impacts have been measurable:

* In the 1980s, the Leadership Group co-led Measure A, which built Highway 85 and improved 101 and 237.

* In the 1990s, the Leadership Group led Measures A and B, delivering 19 key road and rail improvements on-time and on-budget.

* In 2000 and 2008, the Leadership Group co-led sales tax measures to fund the capital construction and operations costs to bring BART to Silicon Valley.

* In 2000, the Leadership Group established the Housing Trust Fund, which has already helped 10,000 families secure homes in high-cost Silicon Valley.

* And most recently, the Leadership Group led the effort to secure a Regional Patent Office in Silicon Valley.

Can private citizens truly make a difference? As David Packard proved, we can – and we must – if our Valley will continue to drive the earth’s Innovation Economy.

 

Santa Clara County Housting Trust : Celebrating Success One Family at aTime

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April 11  |  Housing  |   Carl Guardino

Here’s food for thought – don’t be afraid to fail.

Recently, we celebrated the 13th anniversary of the Housing Trust of Santa Clara County. Created in the boom years of 1999, the Housing Trust was established to help first-time homebuyers, provide affordable rental homes, and – for our valley’s most vulnerable, assistance for the homeless.

Our ambitious goal was to raise $20 million in voluntary contributions, to leverage $200 million in private development, assisting as many as 5,000 families in this high-cost valley.

Well, those were not the numbers we achieved.  In fact, we exceeded them. To date, we’ve loaned out $45 million, leveraging $1.8 billion in private development, helping 9,369 families with safe, affordable, well-built homes.

When we launched the trust, a cynic stated that our efforts would be, quote, “The biggest failure in the history of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group.” Yet in Silicon Valley, we are not afraid to fail. It is in our DNA to be bold in tackling even the toughest of challenges.

Undaunted, the Housing Trust was launched – and to date, nearly 10,000 families have been helped, and the voice of the cynics have been stilled.

To the Housing Trust of Santa Clara County and all its investors – we salute you.

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