Salesforce founder Marc Benioff is making headlines in Silicon Valley once again. This time, however, the news is not centred on SaaS, cloud computing or lingering feuds with Larry Ellison, but about making a sizeable donation to help San Francisco's homeless.

San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee announced that Benioff and his wife Lynne, along with the Salesforce Foundation, will help to establish a $3m 'Home for the Holidays' fund to provide housing and rent assistance for homeless families in the city.

"We talked about our plans for addressing this issue, and within 24 hours, the Benioffs agreed to pledge $1.5m in grants to jump-start the new initiative," Lee said in a statement.

"I thank Marc and Lynne for their leadership and their support of homeless families in need, especially now during the holiday season."

Lee added that the campaign will back an initiative to provide 30 to 40 families with housing, a considerable effort in a city where housing can be scarce and among the most expensive in the country.