I guess I don't know enough about SVCF, but when it has Silicon Valley in it's name, shouldn't most of the money go to Silicon Valley education/non-profits?

"The largest chunk, $132 million, went to U.S. nonprofits outside of California."

Does anyone know why that is OK?

Silicon Valley Community Foundation is the result of a merger between two foundations a few years ago, one of which (at least) was a community foundation. According to the story, "community foundations typically operate to carry out charitable activities of and for the benefit of residents of a defined geographic area." I guess "typically" does not have to mean "always".

The article also said, "The foundation manages donors' charitable assets – for which they take a tax deduction when they transfer the funds to the foundation -- and enables them to recommend grants to nonprofits from their "donor-advised" accounts. It also calls attention to regional problems in areas, such as public education, and tries to direct donor resources to address them."

I'm guessing that if the donor wants to money to go outside the Silicon Valley, the foundation will do that but I agree that the name implies the money will be spent here. The Voice's annual Holiday Fund (which does benefit very local charities) is managed by the foundation, for example.