Client News

President and CEO Brandi Howard took the helm of the East Bay Community Foundation seven months ago, “in a moment of tremendous opportunity to build long-term community power so that everyone who calls the East Bay home can have the economic freedom to dream, heal, and belong.” Brandi shares four ways EBCF is advancing equity and justice in the East Bay in a new blog post.

BOP Executive Director Malaika Parker

The Black Organizing Project (BOP), a grantee of Akonadi’s All in for Oakland initiative, has invested in people power to build a racially just Oakland for over a decade. After a historic victory eliminating the Oakland Schools Police Department in 2020, BOP has introduced the People’s Budget, a common sense approach to investing in violence prevention, partnered with Hummingbirds Urban Farming Collective to address the intersection of racial and environmental justice, as just a few examples of their work. Akonadi President Ray Colmenar recently spoke with Malaika Parker, Executive Director of BOP, about their work and how BOP builds power among Black communities. Says Malaika: “It’s time for us to remove spaces that encourage violence and policing and create new spaces for Black folks to experience humanity, radical love, and community.”

“While California has the 5th largest Black population in the country, Black power building infrastructure in California is under established and lacks investment.” Marc Philpart, Executive Director of the California Black Freedom Fund, sheds unflinching light on the segregation within the philanthropy sector in California. The California Black Freedom Fund exists to invest in Black power-building infrastructure to ensure Black people can win decision-making power over the policies and systems that shape their lives. Read Marc’s full “Mic Drop” at the Northern California Grantmakers website, and learn more about California Black Freedom Fund at their website.

About $1 billion of largely discretionary money from the American Rescue Plan Act was still uncommitted to Bay Area projects in December. This is according to the Bay Area Equity Atlas, a tool to track racial and economic equity in the region developed in partnership between PolicyLink and the San Francisco Foundation. According to Jennifer Tran, a director at PolicyLink, Bay Area governments have a responsibility to use the remaining funds to “make targeted and permanent investments” to address the racial and economic inequality exacerbated by the pandemic to move Black communities and communities of color “toward a more equitable and sustainable future.” Read more by Bay City News at Local News Matters.

As part of our digital/content work, we help clients launch and establish new social media channels, including on LinkedIn – a top destination for organizations and individuals to share industry insights and establish themselves as thought leaders. Check out their profiles and follow them at the links:

ICYMI

How can funders center Black Love in our current political landscape? Tides Advocacy CEO Romy Avila dropped some gems for philanthropy leaders as part of their #BlackLoveRising campaign. The full conversation with Romy is at the Tides website.