First Republic Bank founder Jim Herbert was front and center at a fundraising lunch this week for the BASIC Fund, a nonprofit that helps Bay Area students from low-income families attend private schools in the region from kindergarten to eighth grade.

Herbert is a founding director and chairman of the BASIC Fund, which for many years had its offices tucked inside First Republic's headquarters.

Now the nonprofit is a key focus for Herbert, who saw the San Francisco bank he built over almost 40 years spiral down last year until it was seized by regulators and sold to JPMorgan Chase on May 1, 2023.

Herbert declined to discuss the state of banking in a brief interview following the BASIC Fund's lunch in San Francisco Oct.1. But he was eager to share highlights of how the nonprofit will be on stronger footing with an endowment. It's a popular move among Bay Area nonprofits operating in a regional economy marked by booms and busts.

The BASIC Fund endowment campaign has received donations or commitments totaling $27 million toward a $40 million goal. Herbert kicked off the endowment campaign at last year's lunch, which insiders say was designed as a celebratory gathering to thank donors.

This year's lunch included about 20 minutes for BASIC Fund supporters in attendance to wave paddles in the air, committing to contributions of various sizes. The event raised more than $800,000 for scholarships. Fundraising for the endowment is a separate effort that's expected to benefit from supporters' legacy gifts.

Herbert, who spent much of his life building a bank catering to the Bay Area's most successful residents, sees the BASIC Fund as an avenue to create opportunities for a better life for students from Bay Area families on the lower end of the income ladder. The nonprofit has long depended on the generosity of the region's well-to-do.

"I think it says that they're committed to the community, which is good. I think it speaks to who they are personally:' Herbert told the San Francisco Business Times in discussing BASIC Fund's supporters. "The BASIC Fund has been around for a quarter century, so it's a pretty established way to support young people. The BASIC Fund is working incredibly well."

The BASIC Fund was founded in 1998 by pioneering venture capitalist Arthur Rock, an early investor in Intel and Apple; Jim McCarthy, who was a former Merrill Lynch senior executive; and John Walton, son of the Walmart founder.

In the BASIC Fund's program, parents choose the school their child attends, paying at least $500 toward tuition. Once a child is selected, all children in the family can participate in the BASIC Fund program up until eighth grade. The BASIC Fund awards scholarships on financial need, not grades, test scores, or a lottery.

BASIC Fund provides scholarships to a recipient's siblings to keep the family together in one school community.

Since its founding, the BASIC Fund has provided more than 27,000 students with scholarships totaling more than $165 million. BASIC Fund's current class of recipients totals more than 3,200 students, with 92% of them being people of color.

"The BASIC Fund is very near and dear to my heart:' Herbert once said.