CASE STUDY
East Bay Community Foundation
Beginning in 2019, the East Bay Community Foundation revised its mission and strategy to focus more on equity and modify its programmatic priorities. This entailed restructuring the foundation’s financial, social and human capital to better support communities in need.
Theory of change, Program & activities
Table of contents
Background
The East Bay Community Foundation (EBCF) was founded in 1928, incorporated in 1982, and currently receives support from more than 400 donors to invest in organizations with strong community ties; build powerful community voices by fostering bold ideas; and advance partnerships and policies in the East Bay region of California. EBCF’s main funding areas are early childhood success; arts and environment; economic empowerment; and policy advocacy and civic engagement. In 2020 EBCF had $771 million in financial assets and issued some $76 million in grants.
The equity journey
Beginning in 2019, the East Bay Community Foundation revised its mission and strategy to focus more on equity and modify its programmatic priorities. This entailed restructuring the foundation’s financial, social and human capital to better support communities in need. In particular EBCF sought to provide educational opportunities for donors and partners to understand and discuss structural barriers that impede East Bay residents from accessing opportunities to improve their lives. These efforts are now embodied in the “A Just East Bay” initiative, which aims to transform local power structures to promote equity, including in philanthropy.
Theory of change
In 2019 the East Bay Community Foundation established the “A Just East Bay” initiative, with four core strategies:
- Community organizing, power-building and movement-building to empower those most adversely affected by societal injustices in the East Bay;
- Fostering new inclusive economic models, such as increasing the breadth and impact of community-led initiatives;
- Capacity-building for racial equity, including expanding the scope, scale and impact of equity-building initiatives; and
- Supporting cultural strategies for social and racial justice.
A Just East Bay has led EBCF and its partners to increase support for community-based grassroots organizing and movement infrastructure “to build and expand the power of Black, Indigenous, Latinx, Asian American and Pacific Islander, and South Asian, Southwest Asian, and North African (SSWANA) people to exercise self-determination and agency in their communities and lives.”
Program & activities
EBCF’s “A Just East Bay” initiative has spawned specific equity-related initiatives and activities, including:
- “Ascend:BLO” — which supports registered non-profits with Black staff and/or Board leadership, to strengthen communities of color;
- “Inclusive Economy” — which provides equitable opportunities for good jobs, entrepreneurship, and career pathways, especially for underserved communities;
- “Boys & Men of Color” — which funds programs to empower boys and men of color to thrive in the East Bay; and
- “Nonprofit Sustainability” — which provides technical assistance, connections and capacity-building funds to Black-and-Brown-led organizations that are transforming their communities.
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