More big-name companies and organizations chipped in this month to help San Francisco meet its fundraising goal to pay for hosting the highly anticipated Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit.
Set for mid-November, the conference is expected to bring in tens of thousands of visitors and top political and business leaders from the 21 Pacific Rim member economies.
According to the latest data from Mayor’s Office, a total of $9.34 million has been raised to host a variety of events, putting the city about halfway toward meeting its $20 million goal.
The city is not allowed to use public funds to cover the APEC-related event cost.
“We’re pleased to share that we have just about reached the halfway mark in our fundraising efforts,” said Maryam Muduroglu, chief of protocol of San Francisco, who is overseeing the fundraising effort. “San Francisco businesses are investing generously in APEC because they recognize the impact of the city making its mark globally this November.”
A month ago, the number was at $6.8 million. In August, Kaiser Permanente has donated $1 million, while Autodesk, Google, billionaire and investor John Pritzker, Bank of America, United Airlines, OpenTable, PG&E and Lyft also donated.
Other big donors include Salesforce, Sutter Health, Visa, biotech company Mebo and real estate company Prologis, with $1 million each.
“I want to thank everyone who has generously donated so far to make San Francisco shine brightly on the world’s stage,” Mayor London Breed said. “Our departments are working together to make APEC a world-class experience.”
APEC’s main events will be held at Moscone Center, and the surrounding area in SoMa will be closed off with heavy security during the conference.