It was brought to our attention that an article was published by the San Francisco Chronicle on Monday March 20, 2023 that includes data about City of San Francisco contractors/vendors titled, S.F. spent $5.8 billion on city contracts last year. Here’s where that money goes.  The article included not only a misleading headline, but an inaccurate representation of some of the named organizations in the data set. 

We understand that the procurement process is complicated and varies based on the type of vendor or service provided. The data in its entirety did not represent monies spent by the City in one year. Specifically, the data set showed the amount of money that RAMS (Richmond Area Multi-Services) will receive over the life of multi-year contracts. It is important to note that RAMS must provide the agreed upon services and invoice the City to receive payment. To this end, the money has not yet been “spent” by the City. This also means that contract terms can potentially change throughout the life of the contract and the amount distributed is determined based on the availability of City funding annually. Unfortunately when contacted, the authors were unwilling to make adequate changes to the article and instead stood by the generalizations made in the headline and throughout the article. We hold transparency and accountability to the highest importance at RAMS. Sharing accurate information and open communications with the communities we serve is at the core of our organizational culture. We hope that in the future media outlets consider the potential harmful effects of providing information that is not factual about organizations and employees who tirelessly serve the many communities of San Francisco. We value our relationship with the City of San Francisco and look forward to continued tangible impact throughout the City.

If you’d like to learn more about RAMS, you can view our 2022 Annual Impact Report and 2022-2025 Strategic Plan. Further questions can be sent to our Director of Development and Communications Domenica, DomenicaGiovannini@ramsinc.org.