Michele Landis Dauber, a law professor at Stanford University who studies disaster-relief programs, said such a large undertaking could leave the group open to criticism depending on how it performs.

WSJ: Victim-Aid Overhaul Pushed

"The thing about being in tech is, I have no illusions I know we're being watched, " said Mr. Dauber, who keeps his extensive art collection in its own house in San Francisco.

WSJ: Art's New High-Tech Patrons

The one-room building contained a table with a porcelain top and a hide-bottomed chair, both sitting under an unfrosted light bulb hanging from the ceiling on a long cord, and Obie went in and scraped dust and fallen dirt-dauber nests off the table with the side of his hand.

NEWYORKER: Idols