Juan Lorenzo and Isaac (right) celebrate 200 surgeries completed in our Pediatric Heart Program (2018).

Isaac Goff was an entrepreneur and philanthropist from Northern California. Sadly, he passed away in February of this year. As a member of the Solidarity Bridge (SB) community from our earliest days, we mourn Isaac’s passing and celebrate his life-giving legacy. Our hearts and our prayers remain in solidarity with his wife, Renee, and his sons Sampson and David, during this difficult time.

Below we share a reflection from Juan Lorenzo Hinojosa, founder of Solidarity Bridge and a close friend of Isaac’s.

Isaac was a person of deep integrity, endeavoring throughout his life to discern the will of God and to follow it in concrete ways. He and Renee were leaders in Subud, an international spiritual community that emphasizes surrendering oneself to God and seeking and following God’s guidance. Isaac fully embraced the spirituality of Subud and faithfully endeavored to put it into practice. As a result, God was able to lead him to use his tremendous gifts to contribute to the welfare of others: family and friends, colleagues and employees, suppliers of the goods sold through his business, Dharma Trading Company, and even the customers who bought those goods.

Isaac’s personality was an unusual combination of great warmth and compassion combined with extreme competency and productivity. He was no-nonsense—no nonsense at all—and yet he had a wonderful sense of humor. His strong sense of vocation as a business person included a clarity about business having a social purpose beyond making a profit. For many years now, the social impact of his company has been tied to our mission.

From the start of our work in Bolivia, we recognized the inextricable links between poverty and poor health. To confront this, SB began to support fair trade cooperatives in Bolivia. Isaac was the first to partner with us in this initiative. Through his business, Dharma Trading Company, Bolivian textile cooperatives have been able to export and market their products in the US. Isaac generously determined that his company would take no profit from their sales so that all proceeds would support Bolivian artisans, honoring their cultural heritage, paying living wages, and supporting locally-sourced, low-impact, or recycled materials. Today, that generosity continues to support many Bolivian families.

The love and friendship we shared was very important to both of us. It was a deep friendship and we were unafraid to challenge each other to be true to our deeper selves. Many years ago, I challenged Isaac to expand his generosity, and Renee wholeheartedly supported the idea of sharing their significant wealth to better the lives of others. With their support, our pediatric heart surgery program was founded, and the Goffs have continued to support this year after year. To date, the Goff Gift Fund has contributed to life-saving heart surgery for more than 286 children in Bolivia.

Isaac visits with families in our Pediatric Heart Program during a trip to Bolivia

Isaac and Renee felt a personal interest in children with congenital heart conditions because Renee has had heart surgery, as well as their two sons, David and Sampson, with congenital heart conditions. They knew that without good medical care it was unlikely that they would be alive today. And just as the excellent care Renee received made it possible for their own children and grandchildren to flourish, so too does the surgical care supported by Isaac and Renee Goff make it possible for Bolivian families to flourish.

Why was Isaac so very generous with Solidarity Bridge? Our friendship is what first introduced him to SB, but another factor is even more crucial to why the Goffs became such committed donors: they recognized that the SB mission is amazingly effective. Isaac was always extremely goal and productivity oriented. He didn’t want his generosity to be wasted or frittered away with inefficiency or incompetency. Isaac and Renee trusted Solidarity Bridge because they saw that we would use whatever they contributed for the greatest possible impact on people’s lives. They saw that through the mission of SB their gifts could transform and save the lives of individual people and could impact the whole system of medical and surgical care in Bolivia. Isaac visited Bolivia numerous times and saw this impact for himself. This inspired their long-term commitment and increased giving over the years. Since Isaac’s passing, Renee and her sons have assured Solidarity Bridge that the Goff Gift Fund will continue to support the work of SB.

Finally, the Goff family’s gifts are about more than just generous philanthropy. Their financial gifts are born out of a true sense of solidarity with the families we serve. And in true solidarity, the impact of the connection is mutual. Isaac had told me that making that initial significant donation many years ago changed his relationship to money. He became freer and more generous over all. He felt honored to have been a partner in this important life saving work and he rejoiced in each story and photo of a child’s healing operation.

Isaac, we are so grateful that you are part of our SB community. We miss you.

In Memory of Isaac Goff, Cherished Mission Partner