POST Receives $1 Million Gift From Steve Blank, Alison Elliott

April 5, 2004

Silicon Valley entrepreneur Steve Blank and his wife, Alison Elliott, have donated $1 million to Peninsula Open Space Trust to support POST's land-saving efforts on the San Mateo County Coast.

Blank has been involved with eight Silicon Valley startups as a co-founder or executive during the last 25 years. He was most recently the co-founder of E.piphany, an enterprise software company, before retiring in 1999.

"One of the nice things about Silicon Valley is that if you get lucky you have an opportunity to leave a legacy for yourself and your kids," Blank said. "Alison and I spent a lot of time thinking about what kind of legacy we'd like to leave. We figured the open space on the coast was an irreplaceable resource. There's really nowhere else in the United States where you have this amazing conjunction of an urban area with a rural unspoiled coastline. We wanted to help save this resource for generations to come.

"POST by far has been the most aggressive, innovative and cost-effective land preservation group in the country," he continued. "We've been very impressed with not only their vision, but how they've spent their money and what they're spending it on."

Blank and Elliot reside in Menlo Park and own a ranch on the coast near Pescadero adjacent to the Año Nuevo State Reserve.

Their gift, made from the Elliott-Blank Family Foundation, benefits POST's $200 million campaign, Saving the Endangered Coast, and pushes it past the $170 million mark.

"A gift this size really makes a massive difference to the campaign," said Audrey Rust, POST President, in announcing the contribution. "The philanthropic community has been in the doldrums since 9/11 and the burst of the high-tech bubble. This gift signals a return to people stepping forward with significant philanthropic gifts, and I'm very excited about it.

"Steve and Alison have spent a lot of time developing an understanding of the nonprofit conservation world. A gift from them is particularly gratifying for POST."