Karen Law

As an “investor in a smarter, better-connected future,” Karen Law is committed to building and strengthening communities, one connection at a time. And her donor advised fund at SVCF helps make that happen.

It started simply enough. As recent Stanford grads in the mid-aughts, Karen Law and her husband, Eric Sun, made donations every Christmas in lieu of gifts — a philanthropic endeavor that not only bonded the pair, but also set the tone for what was to come for the couple.

“Philanthropy is a humble recognition that all of the resources we have at our disposal — money, skill, experience, time — are borrowed from a collective whole,” Law says. “Selecting a nonprofit together was a cherished exercise in reflecting on the past year and our hopes for the coming year.”

Then, in 2016 at age 32, Sun was diagnosed with glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer. He died in November 2017. In the last 14 months of his life, Law and Sun turned their “one day” ideas about philanthropy into “now.”

They created a fund at SVCF so that while he was still alive, Sun could plan for and establish charitable vehicles, leaving his money to the causes that he believed in.

Since Sun’s death, Law has expanded and refined the couple’s giving strategies. When asked about her occupation, she describes herself as an “investor in a smarter, better-connected future.”

“I look for opportunities to build and strengthen communities, using both for-profit and nonprofit vehicles,” Law explains. “I see the arts, sustainability and equitable empowerment as three key areas of opportunity. On any given day, I may be working on a fundraising campaign for a performing arts nonprofit, screening technical proposals for clean energy investments and learning about a new women-led venture.”

With this mission in mind, the Peninsula resident experiments with various vehicles in those three key areas. She cites Melinda and Bill Gates’ notion of looking for problems that can’t be fixed by the market or governments as a lens through which she understands philanthropy.

“I’ve come to count on SVCF to flag the most pressing challenges facing our community and to convene thought-leadership events.”

“Some elements of those areas, like diversity in leadership, clean energy and smarter transportation, can be powerfully served by business and/or policy,” Law says. “Others, like the performing arts, environmental protection, journalism and civil rights, benefit from philanthropic attention.”

Through her donor advised fund at SVCF, Law makes one-time, recurring and recoverable grants. She appreciates her partnership with SVCF for its ability to leverage its position as a community connector and matchmaker, and for helping her learn what she doesn’t know.

“I’ve come to count on SVCF to flag the most pressing challenges facing our community and to convene thought-leadership events,” she says. “At one such event, I had the opportunity to chat with social entrepreneur Jim Fruchterman, whose nonprofit work I’ve long admired, who advised, ‘Only make it a nonprofit if it can’t work as a for-profit.’ Experiences like this help shape the way I view impact. There are few partners who have both the community-mindedness and scope of work that SVCF does.”

Shifting, Sharpening Philanthropic Focus

Law believes that her journey with Sun crystalized her conviction about philanthropy; that even if they’re small things, even if they won’t solve the world’s biggest problems, it’s doing something that makes the difference. “We may not yet have the full resources to deliver the perfect solution, but in the meantime, there’s one life waiting to be touched, one connection waiting to be made and one person for whom a little encouragement makes a world of difference.”

The COVID-19 pandemic further sharpened her philanthropic views. “It’s important to me not to look away from all that the pandemic has laid bare, especially where power lies in our communities,” she says. “Philanthropy, markets and government all have the ability to skew or realign this power.”

Two years ago, Law joined the staff of Palo Alto Players, the Peninsula’s first theater company, in a fund development role. “Being embedded as a team member has granted me insights and connections that I wouldn’t otherwise have seen in a donor or board role,” she says. “It has been an unparalleled experience to take part in shifting power, and I look forward to bringing this deep understanding and humility into how I engage with all future social ventures.”