THE OAKLAND FUND

Oakland's best ideas deserve the biggest stage.

We connect the dots: ideas to action, partners to purpose, and bold solutions to lasting impact. By bringing together government, philanthropy, business, and community, we move Oakland's most promising ideas from possibility to reality.

MISSION

To improve the prosperity, safety, and quality of life for all Oaklanders by establishing innovative public-private partnerships in our most vulnerable communities.

Vision

The Oakland Fund exists to match our city’s brilliance with outcomes. We move beyond structural limitations. We move with urgency, creativity, and a deep belief in Oakland’s potential. Through bold investments, catalytic partnerships, and sustained civic infrastructure, we help Oakland thrive—for real, and for all.

OUR VALUES

Equity & Justice

We center racial, economic, and social justice in all we do.

Community

We listen to and nurture connections, both new and long-standing, that build the fabric of Oakland.

Proximity

Solutions are strongest when built with the people they serve.

Courage

We take risks in service of what’s right.

Innovation

We fund what doesn’t yet exist, help make it stick, and amplify what works—moving pilots to permanence.

Openness

We share power, data, and decisions transparently; and remain open to learning and experimentation.

Resilience

We adapt and remain hopeful through challenges, building on community strength.

Oakland has never lacked vision.

It has long been home to bold ideas, fearless organizers, groundbreaking artists, entrepreneurs, educators, public servants, and community advocates who refuse to accept the status quo.

The challenge has never been imagination. It's been implementation.

Too often, transformative ideas stall because the public and private systems responsible for carrying them forward weren't designed to work together. Government can't solve every challenge alone. Neither can philanthropy, nonprofits, or the private sector.

That's where The Oakland Fund comes in.

We exist at the intersection of government, business, philanthropy, and community, bringing together the people, resources, and partnerships needed to turn promising ideas into lasting solutions. And we don't stop once the idea is launched. We help build, operate, strengthen, and scale the initiatives that create measurable change across Oakland.

WHY WE EXIST

Our FOCUS

Three focus areas. One connected vision for Oakland.

Our work is guided by three interconnected focus areas that embody the conditions Oaklanders need to thrive.

  • Making Oakland work for everyone. We strengthen the people, institutions, and systems responsible for turning bold ideas into meaningful public outcomes.

  • Affordable homes. Real income. Fair costs. We advance solutions that help Oaklanders remain rooted, access economic opportunity, and build lasting financial security.

  • Strong neighborhoods start with strong bonds. We support the relationships, cultural spaces, public places, and community infrastructure that help residents feel connected, supported, and safe.

These focus areas reinforce one another. Strong public systems expand opportunity. Stable housing strengthens neighborhoods. Belonging and safety create the conditions for communities and local economies to thrive.

The focus areas define the change we want to see. Our program areas organize the work we undertake to turn those priorities into action.

Our Approach

One mission. Three ways we make it happen.

Real change requires more than funding. It requires organizations willing to build, test, strengthen, and sustain solutions over time.

That's why our work takes three forms.

  • We create and operate initiatives that address Oakland's biggest opportunities—from permanently affordable educator housing and civic innovation to health equity and strengthening local democracy. When a solution doesn't exist, we're willing to build it.

  • Through fiscal sponsorship, we provide mission-aligned projects and organizers with the infrastructure, operational support, and strategic partnership they need to focus on creating impact instead of building back-office systems.

  • We deploy catalytic grants and strategic partnerships to help innovative ideas take root, strengthen organizations doing transformational work, and unlock opportunities that traditional funding often overlooks.

This tiered approach allows us to meet communities where they are while building solutions that last.

Big challenges demand more than one sector.

Oakland's most pressing challenges—housing affordability, public trust, economic opportunity, community safety, and health equity—cut across sectors and demand coordinated action.

Our role is to bring government, philanthropy, business, and community together around shared goals, align capital with opportunity, reduce barriers to collaboration, and help promising solutions grow into lasting institutions.

Sustainable change grows from coordinated effort, shared accountability, and long-term commitment.

Our MODEL

The future of Oakland will be built together.

Every transformative idea begins with someone willing to imagine something better.

Making it real takes partners.

Whether we're launching a new initiative, supporting an emerging nonprofit, investing in community capacity, or bringing unlikely collaborators to the same table, we believe lasting change happens when people move together toward a shared purpose.

Oakland has no shortage of bold ideas.

We're here to help build what comes next.

Move with us