Beginning in 1983, inspired by the work of the Los Angeles-based Liberty Hill Foundation, a group of San Diego donors began to support local grassroots organizing efforts.  In 1995 the San Diego Foundation for Change was incorporated as its own 501c3 non-profit corporation, the name derived from the slogan, "Change, Not Charity." 

The Foundation for Change is recognized as one of the leading local organizations with the capacity to engage, inspire and mobilize immigrants and other historically under-represented populations in the greater San Diego region.