The Felton Institute, formerly known as the Family Service Agency of San Francisco (FSA), was founded in 1889 as Associated Charities. FSASF is the oldest nonsectarian, nonprofit charitable social-services provider in the

City and County of San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

. It relies on contributions from government, private donors, and private clients. FSA focuses on strengthening families by providing caring, effective, and innovative

social services Social services are a range of public services intended to provide support and assistance towards particular groups, which commonly include the disadvantaged. They may be provided by individuals, private and independent organisations, or administe ...

, with special emphasis on the needs of low-income

families Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Ideal ...

children A child ( : children) is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younger ...

, and the

elderly Old age refers to ages nearing or surpassing the life expectancy of human beings, and is thus the end of the human life cycle. Terms and euphemisms for people at this age include old people, the elderly (worldwide usage), OAPs (British usage ...

, and disabled people, thus improving the quality of life for all San Franciscans.

History

The organization began in 1889, as Associated Charities of San Francisco. In 1928, they moved into a new building designed by

Bernard Maybeck Bernard Ralph Maybeck (February 7, 1862 – October 3, 1957) was an American architect in the Arts and Crafts Movement of the early 20th century. He was an instructor at University of California, Berkeley. Most of his major buildings were in ...

at 1010 Gough Street. Not wanting to be considered a charity, they changed their name to Family Service Agency in 1938. In 2006, the name was changed to Felton Institute, honoring the contributions of

Katharine Felton Katharine Conway "Kitty" Felton (July 7, 1873 – August 8, 1940) was the head of Associated Charities in San Francisco at the turn of the 20th century. Felton was born in Oakland, California, on July 7, 1873, the daughter of a prominent San Fra ...

. the Felton Institute is located at 1500 Franklin Street.

References

External links

Felton Institute WebsiteList of SF Landmarks including 1010 GoughResources in the San Francisco Public Library
{{Coord, 37.7827, -122.42397, display=title Organizations based in San Francisco Social care in the United States Bernard Maybeck buildings Landmarks in San Francisco