Our History

The Crescent Porter Hale Foundation was founded in 1961 with a focus on supporting nonprofit organizations involved in religious, charitable, scientific, literacy, educational, or community purposes in the San Francisco Bay Area. Since then, the foundation’s focus areas have evolved to what they are today.

Crescent Porter Hale, the seventh child of Titus Hale, was born in 1872. His father, Titus, was an original Forty-Niner, arriving in California from Missouri in 1849 in pursuit of gold. He was the President of The Society of California Pioneers from 1911-1913. Crescent Porter Hale, “Cress”, as he was known, followed in his father’s footsteps as a pioneer and explorer. A plaque dedicated to him at the time of his death in 1937 credits him with making the voyage for 50 years to the Nuskagak River in Bristol Bay, Alaska. Cress was one of the pioneers responsible for the development of the red salmon industry in Alaska.

Mabel Eugenie married Crescent Porter Hale in San Francisco in 1906, the year of the Great San Francisco Earthquake and Fire. The following year the couple moved to Alaska. She braved the Alaskan winters, working alongside the fishermen, and enduring the sea-going voyages to and from the salmon industry in Bristol Bay, at the northern end of the Aleutian Islands. In 1909 a son, Elwyn C. Hale, was born to Mr. and Mrs. Hale.

Mrs. Hale made her home in the San Francisco Bay Area for many years and was known for her generous contributions to many community organizations. When she founded the Crescent Porter Hale Foundation in honor of her husband, she did so with the stated desire her son would carry on the philanthropy of the family. Upon his death, Mrs. Hale expanded the Board of Directors to ensure its leadership for future generations. Mabel Eugenie Hale, an extraordinary woman, died July 18, 1982, three months before her 101st birthday.