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San Francisco Conservatory of Music Endowment
Founded in 1917 as the first music conservatory west of the Mississippi, the San Francisco Conservatory of Music Endowment exists to support the institution's...
San Francisco Conservatory of Music Endowment
Founded in 1917 as the first music conservatory west of the Mississippi, the San Francisco Conservatory of Music Endowment exists to support the institution's educational mission. The capital base traces principally to arts patrons rather than a single family wealth event. Major donors include Gordon P. Getty through the Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation, and the late venture capitalist William K. Bowes, Jr., whose foundation provided the naming gift for the Bowes Center for Performing Arts, a 12-story mixed-use building with dorms and public performance spaces at 200 Van Ness Avenue. The endowment allocates across a mix of asset classes that includes direct real estate, venture capital fund interests, real estate mortgage funds, and a collection of tangible assets — namely, historical string instruments and the Harris Guitar Collection — that serve double duty as both performing assets and alternative holdings. The real estate footprint spans commercial properties at 50 Oak Street, 70 Oak Street, and 214 Van Ness Avenue, adjacent to the main campus. While the venture capital fund names are not publicly enumerated, the committee's composition signals comfort with technology and life-science exposure: Executive Vice-chair and Treasurer Deepa Pakianathan is a managing member at Delphi Ventures, while Audit and Finance Committee member Maurice Werdegar is CEO of Western Technology Investment. Timothy W. Foo chairs the Board of Trustees, providing oversight of the endowment alongside a committee that blends Wall Street and venture capital experience. The institution operates under WSCUC accreditation and is a member of the National Association of Schools of Music, anchoring its endowment governance within standard non-profit fiduciary norms. A structural differentiator is the endowment's integration with a performing-arts real estate portfolio: the Bowes Center and adjacent holdings generate operating revenue that can smooth the volatility inherent in the venture and private credit sleeves. This self-reinforcing campus model — where the institution is both tenant and landlord — reduces reliance on purely financial asset returns to fund operations.
General information
Firm type
Endowment / Foundation
Year founded
1917
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
San Francisco
Corporate office
San Francisco, CA, United States
Principals
David H. Stull
President
Timothy W. Foo
Board Chair
Lorna Meyer Calas
Investment Committee Chair
Deepa Pakianathan
Executive Vice-chair and Treasurer
Maurice Werdegar
Audit and Finance Committee
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment decisions at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music Endowment?
The Investment Committee sets allocation policy. Lorna Meyer Calas, a former managing director at Merrill Lynch, chairs the committee. Deepa Pakianathan of Delphi Ventures and Maurice Werdegar of Western Technology Investment also serve on related finance and oversight committees, bringing direct venture capital and credit experience to the endowment's governance.
How is the endowment's capital base structured?
The endowment is not tied to a single family wealth event. It has been built through philanthropic contributions, with major gifts from Gordon P. Getty and the Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation, and the William K. Bowes, Jr. Foundation. The institution itself owns commercial real estate in San Francisco, providing a distinct co-mingling of educational mission, tangible assets, and financial investments.
Does the SFCM Endowment invest directly in real estate?
Yes. The endowment's holdings include the Bowes Center for Performing Arts at 200 Van Ness Avenue, the main campus at 50 Oak Street, and additional commercial properties at 70 Oak Street and 214 Van Ness Avenue. It also holds an interest in a Real Estate Mortgage Fund, blending direct property ownership with private credit exposure.
What is the endowment's posture on venture capital?
The endowment allocates to venture capital via fund interests, though the specific funds are not publicly disclosed. The presence of Delphi Ventures' Deepa Pakianathan and Western Technology Investment's Maurice Werdegar on the board suggests the portfolio likely includes technology and life-science venture commitments with a West Coast orientation.
Does the endowment hold any unusual assets outside of traditional securities?
Yes. The endowment stewards a collection of tangible musical instruments, including a historical string instrument collection and the Harris Guitar Collection. These instruments function as performing assets for student use and hold material value as alternative holdings within the broader endowment, a feature uncommon among typical higher-education endowments.
How does the Bowes Center factor into the endowment's financial strategy?
The Ute and William K. Bowes, Jr. Center for Performing Arts is a mixed-use building containing student housing and public performance venues. It generates revenue streams that can provide operational income to the Conservatory, reducing the annual spending-rate pressure on the financial portfolio and effectively acting as an owned, mission-aligned annuity.
What is Gordon Getty's relationship to the Conservatory's finances?
Gordon Getty is a notable alumnus and major donor, channeling support through the Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation. His contributions form a material component of the institution's philanthropic base, though he does not serve on the investment committee or in a direct fiduciary role over endowment management, per available sources.
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