Program Overview and Goals

The San Francisco Bay Area program includes the Betty Irene Moore Nursing Initiative, a commitment to the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing, and two areas of focus: land conservation, and supporting science education and learning. These issues reflect the Moore family’s values and priorities and have been identified as areas where the Foundation’s grant dollars can have a significant impact. Our program objective is to make measurable, long-term improvement in the quality of life in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Betty Irene Moore Nursing Initiative 

Receiving high quality care is not guaranteed for millions of patients admitted to U.S. hospitals due to a serious and growing shortage of registered nurses (RNs), existing systems do not consistently safeguard against dangerous and avoidable medical errors, and RN training has not kept pace with technological advancements and the changing needs of more seriously ill patients. Nurses provide approximately 95 percent of patient care in hospitals, and face many challenges within today’s complex hospital environment. To address these challenges, the Foundation established the Betty Irene Moore Nursing Initiative to improve nursing-related patient outcomes of adult acute care hospitals in the San Francisco Bay Area and Greater Sacramento.

Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing 

The Foundation committed $100 million to launch the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing at the University of California, Davis, to transform nursing education and improve healthcare through leadership development, interprofessional/interdisciplinary curricula, extraordinary research, cultural inclusiveness, and innovative technology.

Land Conservation 

The San Francisco Bay Area is renowned for its close proximity to naturally beautiful landscapes. However, during the next 30 years an estimated 400,000 acres of open space are at risk from suburban development. The Foundation seeks to conserve the Bay Area’s unique and irreplaceable landscapes and ecosystems for future generations.

Science Learning 

Science literacy in America is low and the United States lags behind other countries in graduating students with degrees in science and engineering. Statewide tests show that San Francisco Bay Area students score slightly above the average of California students, but even so, Bay Area students only average a “C” in science. The Foundation supports a number of Bay Area science and technology museums to enhance science education and learning by students (especially children) and the public to increase science literacy.