Our Mission
San Francisco Neighborhood Centers Together (SFNCT) strengthens and supports San Francisco’s neighborhood centers and the people who work in them. We fulfill our mission through capacity building and network building that achieves tangible results and benefits for our members and the people they serve.
We envision a San Francisco where the vibrancy and diversity of each neighborhood are celebrated and residents of all backgrounds are healthy and safe, with equal access to economic and social opportunities. Since 2001, we’ve convened neighborhood center teams with residents, community and neighborhood groups, schools, faith-based groups, merchants, and local public agencies to pursue this vision.
The Neighborhood Center Model
Neighborhood centers are anchor institutions that provide customized programs and services tailored to the populations in need in their own neighborhood. Neighborhood Centers were born out of the Settlement movement that advocated for the inclusion of all socioeconomic classes in a place-based setting. Historically, this meant volunteers and staff lived in a settlement house while providing critical services to their neighbors such as education, childcare, and healthcare.
San Francisco’s first settlement house, Telegraph Hill Neighborhood Center, was founded in 1890.
Alice Griffith, one of the founders (along with Elizabeth Ashe) of Telegraph Hill Neighborhood Center.
San Francisco’s first settlement house, Telegraph Hill Neighborhood Center, was founded in 1890. It opened just one year after Chicago’s well-known Hull House and paved the way for dozens of settlement houses to be established as San Francisco grew and welcomed new waves of immigrant populations.
Above: Cameron House in Chinatown hosts Jesse Jackson in 1983 to call for justice. In 2021, Jesse Jackson returned to Cameron House to join in a "Solidarity in the Struggle” event, 38 years later.
Today, the Neighborhood Center model is as vital as ever. Our centers lifted and protected their communities during the COVID-19 pandemic: transitioning to community learning hubs when schools shut down and acting as resource centers for vaccine access, food security, and health referrals.
As long as there is a need, our neighborhood centers will continue to rise to serve the community.
Our Services
As a coalition, SFNCT works to advocate for the neighborhood center model as an effective solution for addressing social and economic issues across San Francisco. We do so by elevating the stories and impact from each of our centers into a collective that can speak with a louder voice and command more resources. Our current services offered to members include:
Fundraising
Joint Advocacy
Collaboration
Shared Consulting Services
Training + Peer Education
If you are interested in learning more about our services or wish to join the network, please contact us.
Our Leadership
Danny Sauter | Executive Director
Danny first saw the power of neighborhood centers in his own community of North Beach where TEL HI Neighborhood Center plays an anchor role in serving residents.
He joined as San Francisco Neighborhood Center Together’s Executive Director in 2019. His vision is to empower the centers to act as a collective to advocate for increased services to improve their neighborhoods, both inside and outside the walls of each center.
Admin Team
Executive Directors from four neighborhood centers comprise our Admin Team, setting our organization’s vision and guiding us towards outcomes.
Felisia Thibodeaux - I.T. Bookman Community Center
Mario Paz - Good Samaritan Family Resource Center
Michelle Cusano - Richmond Neighborhood Center
Nestor Fernandez - TEL HI Neighborhood Center