Meredith May, Chronicle Staff Writer

(SF Gate)

When it comes to giving away money, Bill Somerville doesn’t mess around.

Quite possibly the Bay Area’s fastest philanthropist, Somerville gives away $5 million a year to fight poverty, granting each proposal he likes within 48 hours.

He calls it “paperless giving,” and he’s made it the hallmark of his Philanthropic Ventures Foundation in Oakland, as well as his mantra for transforming the way money flows in America from the rich to the poor. Charities typically must submit multi-page grant proposals and wait months, even years, for grants. With Somerville’s foundation, it’s just a talk, a handshake and a whole lot of trust.

Critics say the approach doesn’t work for large-scale, international poverty work. But Somerville is convinced he’s found a better path to giving.

“I’m trying to push the envelope of philanthropy – most foundations are paralyzed in bureaucracies of their own making,” he said recently, over a meal of meat loaf, curry pilaf and steamed vegetables at the St. Anthony of Padua soup kitchen in Menlo Park.

“I find good people and fund them,” he said, using a favorite Somerville-ism from his grab bag of catch-phrases… [the rest]