Whether you’re looking to donate or volunteer with an early childhood development and education charity or non-profit in San Francisco or if you wish to pursue a career in this type of organization, you may be interested to know what the largest ones are in the area.

Ash Gujral is a San Francisco native, philanthropist, and founder of The Gujral Community Fund. The organization aims to improve the lives of San Francisco families by contributing time and resources to organizations with the infrastructure and

ability to make a positive impact on the community. Mr. Gujral highlights five of the top early childhood development and education charities and non-profits in San Francisco. 

(1) Aim High 

Aim High is a free summer academic enrichment program for middle school students who reside in the Bay Area. The organization’s mission is to create life-changing opportunities during the summer and beyond. The community nurtures the promise and potential of middle school students from low-income neighborhoods, guiding them on a path to future success. 

Aim High also strives to inspire the next generation of teachers and educational leaders. The organization’s vision is to close the opportunity and achievement gaps in Northern California through its transformational summer learning program, says Ash Gujral. It envisions every middle school student having access to joyful summer learning, inspired and innovative teachers, and the support they need to succeed in school and life.

(2) South of Market Child Care, Inc. (SOMACC)

Celebrating 50 years of serving children, their families, and the community, South of Market Child Care, Inc. (SOMACC) is a top-rated early childhood development charity in San Francisco. The charity’s mission is to serve children, their families, and the South of Market (SOMA) community by providing quality early care and education and free comprehensive family support services in a safe and nurturing environment. 

Starting as a one-room preschool in 1970, SOMACC has grown over the last five decades to three child development centers that serve nearly 180 young children from birth up until the age of five every year and a free comprehensive family resource center that serves almost 500 individuals each year. The organization provides various early care and education programs for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers as well as family resource and support services, says Ash Gujral. 

(3) Foundation for Students Rising Above

Students Rising Above (SRA) invests in first-generation students in the San Francisco Bay Area, providing a unique level of support that’s comprehensive, student-centric, and highly personal, says Ash Gujral. SRA’s mission is to help exceptional low-income high school students in the Bay Area who are overcoming tremendous odds of poverty, homelessness, and neglect. The organization strives to fulfill low income, poverty-stricken students’ dream of a college education. It also provides the mentoring, financial assistance, and employment skills to be successful in school and in life. 

SRA offers the following programs: college application assistance, pre-college readiness support, tuition assistance, career development workshops, paid summer internships, mentors, and healthcare. 

(4) Tandem, Partners in Early Learning

With partnership at the heart of everything it does, Tandem, Partners in Early Learning aims to create a vision of an equitable society where all children enter school ready to succeed. Tandem, Partners in Early Leaning’s mission is to engage the whole community to ensure all families with children from birth up to the age of five have the resources, skills, and confidence they need to support their children’s early brain development and kindergarten readiness. 

At the heart of Tandem’s work is an ecosystem model of support for children and families, where caregivers, educators, and support professionals are well positioned to build a foundation for early learning, says Ash Gujral. The organization’s comprehensive programs include a direct service to families through school-to-home book sharing, read aloud demonstrations, and workshops for families, professional development for educators and family support professionals, and capacity-building for partner organizations around family engagement.

(5) Equilibrium Dynamics

Equilibrium Dynamics is a collaborative non-profit that strives to contribute to early childhood development in San Francisco. The organization’s mission is to teach adults and children how to build a life in which feelings empower — rather than sabotage — responsible relationships, activities, and careers.

Equilibrium Dynamics is rooted on the notion of expressing feelings for responsible relationships, which leads to success in career and life. The organization acknowledges that everybody has feelings, but not everybody is familiar with the fundamental principles and basic dynamics of those feelings. As a result, the non-profit teaches key aspects of feelings as well as the related skills and strategies for managing them. These topics are commonly known as emotional intelligence (EQ), emotional competence, or Social Emotional Learning (SEL) — key skills and strategies that are known to empower students for success whenever they are applied. 

Above all, Equilibrium Dynamics aims to empower individuals to reach highest realistic goals in academic achievements, occupations, and healthy living in functional families, while increasing public awareness and practice of emotional competence skills to create thriving institutions and safe neighborhoods with community participation for the common good. 

Early Childhood Development in San Francisco: Ash Gujral on the Benefits of Giving Back 

Volunteering with children in low-income communities is one of the most fulfilling things to experience. Low-income youth have so much potential to succeed, but face heightened challenges in their everyday life. Donating or giving back time to invest in early childhood development programs, like the ones previously highlighted, can be a very enjoyable experience. Not only will you learn about the children in your community and contribute to each and every one of their successes, but you’ll also be surrounded by happiness and joy brought on by the children.

Ash Gujral, founder of The Gujral Community Fund, understands the importance of giving back to his community and especially to underprivileged children, who are among the most vulnerable. He has a deep love of San Francisco — all its neighborhoods, parks, bridges, and people.