Airbnb co-founder and CEO Brian Chesky pledges to donate $100 million to San Francisco parks
On November 9, 2026, San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie announced that Airbnb co-founder and CEO Brian Chesky has pledged to donate $100 million to the city’s Recreation and Park Department to improve public parks. The city said this is the largest single individual donation ever received in San Francisco’s history.
The funds will be delivered in two phases and require approval from the Board of Supervisors and a recommendation from the Recreation and Park Commission. The first $39 million will be used immediately to complete five projects, including:
Rachele Sullivan Park in SoMa (half an acre, including a half basketball court, children’s play area, fitness area and shaded seating), with opening moved up from the originally planned 2031 to the end of 2028;
Garfield Square Park and Recreation Center in Mission (extended pool hours, added Sunday service, and playground renovations);
India Basin Waterfront Park in Bayview-Hunters Point (filling the funding gap to complete the next phase, including a gravel beach, boathouse, playground and basketball court);
a full renovation of Jackson Playground in Potrero Hill;
the transformation of Embarcadero Plaza and Sue Bierman Park in downtown into an approximately 5-acre waterfront park.
The remaining $61 million will be assigned by the parks department to specific uses within the next year. The related funding will also cover capital expenditures as well as five years of maintenance and project operations, so that the city can seek subsequent ongoing funding sources.
Source: SF.gov (official announcement from the Mayor’s Office)
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This pledge reflects the pattern of technology company founders returning personal wealth to their city of origin, consistent with Chesky’s own statement that San Francisco’s success is inseparable from the community. The city frames it as “game-changing” and emphasizes the role of parks in equitable access to recreation, but the funds have not fully arrived and remain subject to legislative and commission procedures. Against the backdrop of the Lurie administration’s continued efforts to seek private capital to supplement public projects, the donation is notable in scale, but its long-term impact will depend on the specific allocation of the remaining $61 million and the city’s maintenance capacity.