East Bay Community Foundation

06/03/2026

Our latest Inside EBCF newsletter highlights a season of momentum across the East Bay. As communities celebrate graduates, gather with family, and continue the work of strengthening neighborhoods, EBCF is looking ahead to its 100th anniversary in 2028 with a new Impact Planning process grounded in community voice, partnership, and shared vision.

We've hosted some exciting community events in the last few months, including funder briefings to expand support for East Bay small businesses, and to strengthen public-philanthropic partnerships that advance equity and opportunity.

From growing the Small Business Resiliency Fund to supporting food sovereignty, immigrant communities, and our collective wellbeing, EBCF remains committed to building a stronger, more inclusive East Bay.

Learn more about EBCF in our newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/c5064be16499/inside-ebcf-from-mutual-aid-to-community-art-6432467

05/28/2026

The EBCF team recently went on an exciting and restorative kayaking trip in Alameda's Ballena Bay. The outing was part of EBCF's commitment to staff and community wellness and was made possible by a generous grant from the Surdna Foundation.

Through a partnership between Oakland Goes Outdoors and SeaTrek, every EBCF employee's kayaking cost supports outdoor activities for a student at Oakland Unified School District. Together, we're creating more opportunities for young people to explore the beauty of our region.

Learn more about the partnership, and participate with your organization: https://www.seatrek.com/company-offsites-team-building/

05/22/2026

East Bay Community Foundation and the Asset Funders Network were thrilled to host a funder briefing today at Understory Oakland about the Oakland Small Business Resiliency Fund.

Last year, the fund directed $2.2 million in grants toward 170 small businesses across Oakland. We focused on those that face the greatest barriers to capital and resources, including businesses in neighborhoods like Downtown Oakland, East Oakland, Eastlake, Fruitvale, and West Oakland.

Now, EBCF is actively raising resources for Resiliency Fund 2.0 to meet an urgent and ongoing need for investment in our small business ecosystem across the East Bay.

Learn more about the fund: https://www.ebcf.org/post/ebcf-grants-2-2-million-to-oakland-small-businesses/

05/20/2026

As one of the most diverse regions in the United States, the East Bay has been shaped and strengthened by generations of immigration from around the world. Yet across the region, immigrants face escalating threats, from ICE arrests and workplace raids to the quiet erosion of essential supports such as legal aid, rental assistance, and health care.

Philanthropy has a critical role to play in this moment. East Bay Community Foundation recommends that donors focus on two interconnected strategies:

1. Protecting and preparing our neighbors before crisis hits
2. Strengthening community ties to resist harm, generate solutions, and grow collective power for the long run.

Read more about what these strategies mean, and learn about some of the local groups, collaboratives and coalitions at the forefront of this work: https://www.ebcf.org/post/supporting-east-bay-immigrant-communities-a-donor-guide/

05/18/2026

The African American wellness cohort of Contra Costa County’s Office of Racial Equity and Social Justice had its final capacity-building workshop and celebratory luncheon this month!

East Bay Community Foundation is proud to support this local program, which provided cohorts with intentional, relevant capacity workshops to strengthen their fundraising, data impact, and narrative development.

With the support of consultant Jasmine Jones and fundraising expert Kia Croom, the cohort had a truly dynamic and fulfilling experience.

05/14/2026

In 2028, EBCF will turn 100. That’s one hundred years of impact, collaboration, and deep connections to the communities that make the East Bay such a special place. As we approach this milestone, we have an opportunity and a responsibility to get clear about the world we want to build over the next hundred years.

That's why EBCF is launching an Impact Planning process to ensure that our next chapter is shaped by the people we serve. We need your voice to get there.

Read more from our President & CEO, Brandi Howard:

A Note from East Bay Community Foundation’s President & CEO, Brandi Howard In 2028, EBCF will turn 100. That’s one …

05/07/2026

Thank you to everyone who attended the Alameda County Together (ACT) for All funder forum at EBCF today!

ACT for All is an ad-hoc committee created by the Alameda County Board of Supervisors to prioritize inclusion, equity, and opportunity for all residents.

EBCF is proud to support this vision with collaborative gatherings like today's forum, where community leaders spoke about effective strategies to promote food sovereignty access and protection for immigrant communities in the East Bay. They celebrated wins made possible through public-philanthropic partnerships, and amplified ongoing needs to create sustainable movements.

We were joined by committee co-chairs Supervisors Nikki Fortunato Bas and Elisa Marquez, as well as representatives from ACUDIR, ACILEP, AcCord, Oakland Thrives, Mandela Partners, Daily Bowl, Eden Church United in Christ, and our co-hosts Akonadi Foundation and Zellerbach Family Foundation.

05/01/2026

Happy Asian American and Pacific Island Heritage Month, from East Bay Community Foundation!

This month commemorates the beginning of Japanese immigration to the United States on May 7, 1843, and marks the anniversary of the completion of the transcontinental railroad on May 10, 1869, largely helmed by Chinese immigrant railroad workers.

Asian American and Pacific Islander heritage and culture have deeply shaped the Bay Area we know today, and we're proud to celebrate this legacy!

Learn more: https://asianpacificheritage.gov/About.html

04/30/2026

As part of our commitment to economic freedom in the East Bay, EBCF invests in organizations that promote community ownership and stewardship.

One of our partners, the East Bay Permanent Real Estate Cooperative, is a democratic, BIPOC-led organization that takes land and housing off the speculative market in Oakland & across the East Bay. Over the next two years, EBPREC is raising $10 million for its next phase of urban greening and commercial and residential development.

Here's a great piece from CBS Norcal highlighting their Black Earth Day in action, and EBPREC's 7th Street Corridor revitalization project -- which includes plans to transform an asphalt lot in West Oakland into a small redwood forest, playground, amphitheater, and more.

Officially, Earth Day is on Wednesday, but some volunteers got an early start on Saturday. While the day is usually a celebration of the planet's natural beauty, there isn't always a lot of that in West Oakland.

04/24/2026

The East Bay Community Foundation staff had the privilege of joining the Oakland Black Liberation Walking Tour today, hosted by David Peters and Gene Anderson.

It started at present-day St. Andrews Missionary Baptist Church at 26th and West streets, where the Black Panther Party collaborated with the congregation of St. Augustine's Episcopal Church to launch their Free Breakfast Program in 1969, and looped around the Hoover-Foster neighborhood to the Black Liberation Mural at the intersection of West Street and San Pablo Avenue.

The tour emphasized belonging in Oakland, and pride of place for the neighborhood -- which included esteemed residents like labor activist C.L. Dellums, and historian and columnist Delilah Beasley. In a neighborhood deeply impacted by redlining and racial segregation, Peters and Anderson told a story of Black heritage, and the will of both movements and individuals to build beautiful, rooted communities.

Learn more about the tour: https://www.blwt.org/