Search Through Oakland Grants for Nonprofits in California

Charitable Contributions

Costco Wholesale’s primary charitable efforts specifically focus on programs supporting children, education, and health and human services in the communities where we do business. Throughout the year we receive a large number of requests from nonprofit organizations striving to make a positive impact, and we are thankful to be able to provide support to a variety of organizations and causes. While we would like to respond favorably to all requests, understandably, the needs are far greater than our allocated resources and we are unable to accommodate them all.

Warehouse Donations:

Warehouse donations are handled at the warehouse level - please consult your local warehouse for up-to-date information regarding their donations contacts and review process.

Grant Applications

If the request is under consideration, you may be contacted by staff for any additional information needed. Applications are reviewed within 4-6 weeks, and decisions are made based on several factors, including: type of program; identified community need not otherwise available; indication that evidenced based data will establish measurable results of intended outcomes; community collaboration; broad base of financial support; project budget and operating expenses.

Crankstart Foundation Grant

Crankstart is a San Francisco-based family foundation devoted to bolstering the foundations of a just society - wider access to better education, jobs with prospects for advancement, housing security, social welfare and the protection of civil rights. Crankstart also supports the arts, basic science and efforts to mitigate climate change. About 60% of grants go to groups in the San Francisco Bay Area.

While the Bay Area is our home, on occasion we have made commitments elsewhere – particularly in Chicago and the United Kingdom. The bulk of our grants fall between $100k - $1m. Once we have developed confidence in an organization, we lean toward making multi-year commitments for general support.

Crankstart envisions a vibrant, thriving Bay Area, where our region’s prosperity is strengthened and shared more equitably by all who live here.

Programs

• Economic Mobility - Everyone should have choices and opportunities that lead to economic stability and security. Crankstart focuses on root causes of economic disenfranchisement, particularly in low-income communities hurt by generational poverty.
  • We support work that:
    • Provides the tools and training needed for careers and economic security.
    • Strengthens safety net programs that provide food and health services.
    • Increases access to public benefits programs serving low-income people.
    • Mitigates the insidious effects of fines and fees that erode wealth.
• Education: Our public education system should provide every child and adult, regardless of circumstances, an opportunity to shape their lives.
  • We support work that:
    • Expands post-secondary access to academic and vocational studies, to help students develop the tools and resilience needed to pursue upward mobility.
    • Develops more opportunities for early childhood education and out-of-school learning, particularly in historically marginalized communities.
    • Strengthens the teacher pipeline, to recruit and retain excellent educators in public schools.
• Democracy: We envision a robust democracy in which elections are held securely and with integrity, every person has the information they need to fully participate in civic life, and the underlying structure of our electoral system is fair.
  • We support work that:
    • Protects voting rights through mobilization and engagement.
    • Supports immigrants, ensuring they have the opportunities they need to thrive.
    • Works to change harmful and unfair criminal justice policies.
    • Develops robust interventions to mitigate recidivism and provide economic opportunity.
• Housing Security: Housing security means all people have a place to call home. They have choices that promote economic well-being, health and safety.
  • Crankstart supports work in San Francisco and Oakland that:
    • Reduces homelessness through preventive measures and targeted services.
    • Provides affordable housing choices that allow people to live near work and become involved in their communities. We emphasize housing opportunities for those who are most affected by displacement and high housing costs.
    • Uses policy, law, public resources and good governance to promote economically integrated communities.
• Environment: Communities disproportionately affected by climate change should be partners and the primary beneficiaries of mitigation efforts.
  • We support work that:
    • Accelerates the transition to clean energy.
    • Restores and protects ecosystems in ways that benefit local communities.
• Medical Science & Innovation: Basic science is a foundation for knowledge and discovery based on facts, hypotheses and replicable results. This painstaking endeavor enhances our understanding of the world around us, which may translate into breakthroughs that benefit humans and life on earth.
  • We support work that:
    • Gives researchers funding and time to test novel hypotheses.

Who We Are

The Creag Foundation is a private grant making foundation established in 2009 in Woodinville, Washington.

The founders of the Creag Foundation believe that meaningful change can only be achieved through hard work, creativity and passion. They also understand the practical mechanisms that allow charitable organizations to succeed and grow. As a group, Creag Foundation principals are dedicated to helping today’s most innovative programs improve the human condition in a wide variety of ways.

Our Focus

The broad purpose of the Foundation is to support the efforts of nonprofit organizations who are innovators in the field of human services. Our particular focus is on smaller organizations that are starting out or established organizations that are looking for funding to take their organization in a new direction.

What We Fund

/ What We Fund

The Creag Foundation is focused on innovation in the industry. We will consider proposals from 501(c)(3) organizations that are finding new ways to address societal issues facing the nonprofit community. Applicants must have held 501(c)(3) status for one year before submitting. If your organization has held 501(c)(3) status for over a year, and your believe that your organization has a new approach to an existing social problem or is addressing a previously unaddressed social issue, you are welcome to contact us and request that we consider your organization for a funding opportunity.

Mission

The DanPaul Foundation will use its resources to help train teachers and parents in early childhood development, protect children from abuse and neglect, stimulate children's personal social responsibilities, and offer them opportunities for enrichment and growth.

The Foundation will also encourage children to be concerned and informed about the environment and the underprivileged, particularly with regard to clean air and water, and adequate housing and nutrition for all.

Beliefs

The DanPaul Foundation believes that children should have ample opportunities for enrichment in their lives, and thus strives to provide many different ways to enrich and expand children's minds through direct programs and monetary support to organizations doing similar work.

We have provided or currently provide grants related to the following program areas:

• Workshops, Conferences, + Seminars: We strive to offer educational workshops, conferences, and seminars for parents and teachers on topics related to early childhood development.
• Student Scholarships: We aim to help students attending post-secondary education institutions by providing need-based and academic scholarships.
• Scientific Endeavors: We desire to advance scientific endeavors which seek to improve the quality of life for everyone in the world.
• Clean Air + Water: We hope to pass on knowledge and practical life skills to youth regarding their personal responsibility to the environment, teaching them about issues surrounding clean air and water.
• Child Advocacy: We believe in protecting children from abuse and neglect and particularly love to support programs that provide education and assistance to children as well as organizations advocating or caring for vulnerable children.
• Homelessness: We want to encourage young people to take a personal interest in seeing that adequate housing and proper nutrition, especially for the underprivileged and homeless, are available.
• Poverty + Neglect: We seek to help those in poverty as well as educate youth about their responsibility to consider the underprivileged and take care of those most in need of life's basic essentials like adequate housing and proper nutrition.
• Refugee Enrichment: We wish to help refugee youth by supporting programs that provide them enrichment and help them transition to life in a new country.

The DanPaul Foundation provides grants to 501(c)3 tax-exempt non-profit organizations as defined by the IRS. The Foundation is interested in providing funding to programs that directly serve the health, education, development, and welfare of the world's youth.

Grants range from a few hundred dollars up to $15,000 per calendar year.

Background

Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation seeks to dramatically improve the lives of underserved communities across the globe by supporting scalable, innovative, and impact-first solutions that leverage existing systems and stakeholders. Our goal is to find social entrepreneurs with dynamic products or services that have a proven ability to positively impact the lives of underserved people, and nurture those organizations at the early stages by providing capacity, capital, and community.

Our application process is designed to be open and accessible, and we accept applications year round from across our priority geographies and sectors. Borrowing from our venture capital legacy, we find exceptional entrepreneurs and provide them with: 

Capacity

• The core of DRK’s model is deep and extensive operational and technical support for each portfolio organization, both through dedicated hands-on Board service and specialist capacity-building resources for fundraising, board and organizational development, leadership, financial support, and scaling strategy,

Capital

• DRK provides up to $300,000 USD in either unrestricted grant funding or investment capital over a three-year period, and

Community

• DRK convenes our portfolio and alumni annually, facilitating connections and community. 

What We Fund

DRK Foundation funds early-stage social impact organizations solving the world’s biggest social and environmental problems using bold, scalable approaches.

What stage of growth does DRK Foundation typically fund?

Early stage: Organizations who are early stage, which we define as post-pilot and pre-scale. This typically means: 

• Your program, product or service is already being used in the market or in the field, 
• You have early indication that your model is having its intended impact on the beneficiary populations,
• Your organization is relatively young (ideally between two and five years old, although we will consider both younger and older organizations).

Venture funding: In the case of for profits, we typically support Seed to Series A organizations, and never lead rounds; we also generally but not exclusively refrain from participating in financings exceeding a $15M USD post-money valuation.  

Mission

The mission of the Hearst Foundations is to identify and fund outstanding nonprofits to ensure that people of all backgrounds in the United States can build healthy, productive and satisfying lives. Through its grantmaking, the Hearst Foundations support well-established nonprofit organizations that address significant issues within their major areas of focus—culture, education, health and social service—and that primarily serve large demographic and/or geographic constituencies. In each area of funding, the Foundations seek to identify those organizations achieving truly differentiated results relative to other organizations making similar efforts for similar populations. The Foundations also look for evidence of sustainability beyond their support.

Whether providing a scholarship to a deserving student, supporting a rural health clinic or bringing artists into schools so children can see firsthand the beauty of the arts, the Foundations’ focus is consistent: to help those in need, those underserved and those underrepresented in society. Since the Foundations were formed in the 1940s, the scale and capabilities of the grant making have changed, but the mission has not.

Culture Grant

The Hearst Foundations fund cultural institutions that offer meaningful programs in the arts and sciences, prioritizing those that enable engagement by young people and create a lasting and measurable impact. The Foundations also fund select programs nurturing and developing artistic talent. Supported organizations include arts schools, ballets, museums, operas, performing arts centers, symphonies and theaters.

Funding Priorities in Culture

In the recent past, 25% of total funding has been allocated to Culture. Organizations with budgets over $10 million have received 60% of the funding in Culture.

The Hearst Foundations are only able to fund approximately 25% of all grant requests, of which about 80% is directed to prior grantees and about 20% is targeted toward new grantees.

Types of Support

Program, capital and, on a limited basis, general and endowment support

The Labcorp Charitable Foundation

We believe every person deserves equitable care and education.

In 2020 Labcorp established a private charitable 501(c)(3) foundation to advance our desire to bring quality healthcare access to all by supporting education and our local communities. 

Common grant opportunities include:

• Supporting food pantries and meal programs
• Providing healthcare and patient services for underserved populations
• Encouraging STEM programming
• Advocating for healthy lifestyles through ongoing medical research and screening

Michael & Susan Dell Foundation Grants

The Michael & Susan Dell Foundation only accepts unsolicited proposals for specific areas within the education, family economic stability and childhood health sectors in select countries where we work, namely the United States, India and South Africa.

As a guideline, the foundation does not fund more than 25% of a project’s budget or more than 10% of an organization’s total annual operating expenses.

The Michael & Susan Dell Foundation has always recognized the power of providing grants to partner organizations that we knew were already working hard to improve the lives of urban children living in poverty. By aligning with organizations that are already making a difference, we continue to make an immediate impact on the lives of thousands of children.

Foundation priorities:

We fund social enterprises that directly serve or impact children or youth from urban low-income communities in the areas of education, health, and family economic stability (including livelihoods and financial inclusion). These social enterprises may be structured as for-profit or nonprofit entities.

Partnerships

We collaborate with a range of organizations focused on creating opportunities for children and families living in urban poverty, with a deep emphasis on measuring impact. Our funding advances projects already making an impact in education, health, and family economic stability. Through these enduring and long-standing partnerships, we create lasting change together.

PNC Foundation

Strengthening and enriching the lives of our neighbors in communities where we live and work.

Vision & Mission

For decades, we have provided resources to seed ideas, foster development initiatives and encourage leadership in nonprofit organizations where imagination and determination are at work enhancing people's lives everyday.

The PNC Foundation's priority is to form partnerships with community-based nonprofit organizations in order to enhance educational opportunities, with an emphasis on early childhood education, and to promote the growth of communities through economic development initiatives.

Foundation Grant

The PNC Foundation supports a variety of nonprofit organizations with a special emphasis on those that work to achieve sustainability and touch a diverse population, in particular, those that support early childhood education and/or economic development.

Education

The PNC Foundation supports educational programs for children and youth, particularly early childhood education initiatives that meet the criteria established through PNC Grow Up Great. Specifically, PNC Grow Up Great grants must:

• Support early education initiatives that benefit children from birth to age five; and
• Serve a majority of children (>50%) from low- to moderate-income families; and
• Adhere to all other standard PNC Foundation guidelines, as outlined on the PNC Foundation website, applicant eligibility quiz, as well as the Foundation policies and procedures; and
• Include one or a combination of the following:
  • direct services/programs for children in their classroom or community;
  • professional development/workforce development for early childhood educators;
  • family and/or community engagement in children’s early learning
• Additional considerations:
  • The grant focus should include math, science, reading, vocabulary development, the arts, financial education, or social/emotional development.
  • The grant recipient, or collaborative partner, should have early childhood education as an area of focus. If the organization’s focus is beyond birth to age five, the specific grant must be earmarked for birth to age five.
  • Incorporate opportunities for PNC volunteers in classroom or non-classroom-based activities.

Economic Development

Economic development organizations, including those which enhance the quality of life through neighborhood revitalization, cultural enrichment and human services are given support. Priority is given to community development initiatives that strategically promote the growth of low-and moderate-income communities and/or provide services to these communities.

• Affordable Housing
  • The PNC Foundation understands the critical need for affordable housing for low-and moderate-income individuals.
  • We are committed to providing support to nonprofit organizations that:
    • give counseling and services to help these individuals maintain their housing stock;
    • offer transitional housing units and programs; and/or
    • offer credit counseling assistance to individuals, helping them to prepare for homeownership.
• Community Development
  • Because small businesses are often critical components of community growth and help foster business development, the PNC Foundation provides support to nonprofit organizations that
    • offer technical assistance to, or loan programs for, small businesses located in low-and moderate-income areas or
    • support small businesses that employ low-and moderate-income individuals.
• Community Services
  • Support is given to social services organizations that benefit the health, education, quality of life or provide essential services for low-and moderate-income individuals and families.
  • The PNC Foundation supports job training programs and organizations that provide essential services for their families.
• Arts & Culture
  • Support is given for cultural enrichment programs benefitting the community.
• Revitalization & Stabilization of Low-and Moderate-Income Areas
  • The PNC Foundation supports nonprofit organizations that serve low-and moderate-income neighborhoods by improving living and working conditions.
  • Support is given to organizations that help stabilize communities, eliminate blight and attract and retain businesses and residents to the community.

Philanthropy is our commitment to communities in which we operate and broader society. We focus our resources on a limited number of key projects that can deliver valuable benefits from our contributions and those of our partners. We give priority to innovative, high-quality projects that meet the following criteria:

• promote sustainable development
• offer an opportunity for Roche to use its expertise and logistics capabilities
• involve Roche actively at an early stage with local authorities and established partners
• engage Roche employees in cultural (focus on contemporary arts), educational and social activities
• managed by an accredited charity

Our four focus areas

Humanitarian and Social

We direct the majority of our philanthropic donations to humanitarian and social development projects.

Science and education

We are dedicated to programmes that promote scientific interest and provide educational opportunities for young people around the world.

Community and Environment

We are committed to building stronger communities and responding to natural disasters sustainably.

Arts and Culture

We support groundbreaking contemporary art, cultural projects and activities that explore the parallels between innovation in art and in science. 

We have strong partnerships with nonprofit organizations across the country that are working to advance economic mobility and social progress in low- and moderate-income communities. Our focus areas include basic needs like food and housing, workforce development and education, and community development. In addition to our philanthropic investments, we also encourage our employees to make a difference by offering robust employee giving and volunteering programs, including the opportunity to direct funds to organizations they support through volunteer efforts, and a matching gifts program that doubles their individual giving to causes they care about. Last year, we invested $350 million in the communities we serve, and employees contributed more than 1 million volunteer hours and directed $65 million through individual giving and matching gifts to support nonprofits.Through our regional U.S. sponsorships, we support the economic, social and cultural life of the places we live and work. We provide an extensive program of arts and sports sponsorships to help maintain vibrant, healthy communities.Sponsorships supporting communitiesBank of America welcomes your sponsorship proposal for opportunities that make our communities a better place to live and work. We are particularly interested in providing support to address needs vital to the health of our communities through a focus on:

• preserving neighborhoods;
• educating the workforce for 21st century jobs;
• addressing critical needs such as hunger and emergency shelter;
• arts and culture;
• the environment; and
• diversity and inclusion programs.

Grants are made at the Foundation’s discretion based on our current funding strategies focused on housing, jobs and hunger. 

About the Foundation

Jesse W. Couch lived a life of zeal, honor, and dedication to the betterment of his community. The Couch family now humbly stewards the foundation he created to carry on his legacy of service for future generations. We believe that impact is best accomplished through partnerships with local organizations that know the people and communities they serve. We invest in and support efforts to protect the environment, further conservation and preservation initiatives, and save historical architecture that preserves community heritage. We also support initiatives that promote wellness and mental health and organizations seeking to provide and further education for all communities.

Annual Grant Focus

Each year, we seek to partner with and support non-profit organizations making an impact in the focus areas listed here.  The focus areas for 2025 are:

• Animal Wellbeing: We are dedicated to helping nonprofit organizations that nurture compassion and respect for all living animals. We must have animal-focused organizations that advocate for animal rights and provide humane treatment across all spectrums.
• Early Childhood Education: We are looking for schools that are providing young children with a creative and balanced approach to education. Things we love in early childhood curriculums:
  • Life Skills
  • Collaboration With Their Peers and Teachers   
  • Having Fun   
  • Montessori Teachings   
  • Project Based Teachings   
  • Diversity   
  • More Time Outside   
  • Less Screen Time
• Teachers: Teachers are essential to providing children with the best possible education. We must invest in their future and are always looking for teams that help them succeed in educating future generations.
• Get Outside: Being outside can improve memory, fight depression, lower blood pressure, and more! We support organizations that facilitate and encourage more outdoor activities that help create healthier communities. 

LISC and Foot Locker, Inc., through the Foot Locker Foundation, are launching a third round of grants for the Foot Locker Foundation Community Empowerment Program, a multi-city initiative to support nonprofit community organizations that empower youth in underserved communities. The program aims to bridge gaps driven by racial inequity and promote youth empowerment and community wellness—all while supporting community-based organizations led by people of color. 

What we’re offering 

The Foot Locker Foundation Community Empowerment Program offers two types of grants: 

• Grants to support current youth programming, create new programming or extend existing programming. These grants will range from $25,000 to $75,000 over one year. 
• Grants to support capital improvement projects that enhance the impact of youth programming. These grants will range from $25,000 to $100,000 over one year. 

Calling to Serve

Since its inception in 2016, the Robinson Foundation has sought to demonstrate God’s love through sharing the gifts we have received. We understand the often unspoken hardships and struggles that people in and outside of our community face everyday. As such, our contributions are focused on relieving these hardships for the betterment of our world.

As a family-operated foundation, we pray that our small efforts will not only create immediate change in the lives of our neighbors, but will help set those lives on a course for success in the future. We are thankful for each and every day we have on this earth to use what God has granted us to make a difference.

Areas of Interest

• Animal Welfare
• Children & Families
• Disaster Relief
• Education
• Medical Assistance
• Nature & Wildlife Conservation
• Poverty Relief
• Religious & Spiritual Endeavors
• Veterans' Issues

Grant Considerations

We take many different aspects of applications into account when making grant issuing decisions, however these are some of the high-level questions we ask ourselves during the process:

• How does the organization serve their key audience goals?
• Is the organization fiscally responsible?
• Will a grant have a tangible, meaningful impact?
• Will we see direct results from this grant?
• Does the organization have other financial contributors?

Corporate Contributions

Community involvement and corporate citizenship are an example of Insperity’s mission in action. We are committed to helping the communities where we live and work because together, we know we can make great things happen.

Grants

Philanthropic grants are a strong part of our community outreach and aid institutions needing financial support to meet important service goals.

Event Sponsorship

Fundraising events are an important part of nonprofit support. Insperity provides event sponsorships to approved charities to assist them in meeting their financial and community goals.

Our History

Headquartered in Oakland, California, Ability Central is the philanthropic division of the California Communication Access Foundation, a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit founded in 2003. Ability Central is committed to improving communications and information access for individuals who are D/deaf or disabled and their families and caregivers.

Our Mission

To serve as an educator, convener, and resource that works collaboratively to ensure communications and information access in service of individuals who are D/deaf or disabled.

Our Vision

Transforming the field of communications and information access so that all individuals can realize their right and ability to access information and express themselves.

Our Goals

• To promote the expansion of quality communication access programs and services to individuals with disabilities
• To strengthen the entire sector providing communication access for people with disabilities
• To educate other grantmakers about the communication access needs of people with disabilities

Rapid Response: Access Improvement Grants

Ability Central offers rapid response Access Improvement Grants on a rolling basis for organizations or projects serving people with communication disabilities.

These mini grants provide short-term funding ranging from $1,000 to $5,000 with a turnaround of roughly one month from application receipt. These rapid response grants aim to help smaller nonprofits (especially those with a budget less than $1 million) increase the participation of people with disabilities in their events and programs.

Examples of expenses covered by rapid response Access Improvement Grants:

• Staff accessibility training
• Audio description of materials
• ASL interpreters
• DeafBlind Co-Navigators
• Captioning
• Sensory or tactile experience rooms for socio-emotional learning

Max and Victoria Dreyfus Foundation Grant

The Foundation will consider requests to support museums, cultural and performing arts programs; schools and hospitals; educational, skills-training and other programs for youth, seniors, and persons with disabilities; environmental and wildlife protection activities; and other community-based organizations and programs.

Overview

Since 2018, California has made significant progress in addressing marine debris from source to sea through the California Ocean Litter Prevention Strategy (OLS). A partnership between the California Ocean Protection Council (OPC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Marine Debris Program (MDP), and California Sea Grant, has overseen the implementation of the updated Strategy by bringing stakeholders together to collaboratively work toward six goals to address ocean litter in California: 1) source reduction; 2) changes in product design; 3) waste management and land-based interventions; 4) research; 5) behavior change; and 6) ocean-based debris prevention and clean-up.

The NOAA Office of Response and Restoration (OR&R) Marine Debris Program is the United States government’s lead for addressing the impacts of marine debris on our oceans, waterways, and Great Lakes. The NOAA Marine Debris Program works with organizations around the United States and globally to prevent marine debris from entering the environment, remove it from coastal areas, better understand the problem through research and shoreline monitoring, and respond to debris created by disasters. Learn more about the Marine Debris Program here. The NOAA Marine Debris Program has a California Regional Coordinator based in Oakland, CA who supports local marine debris initiatives through coordination across the state, guides implementation of the OLS, and identifies and addresses the needs of the marine debris community. 

California Sea Grant College Program (CASG) is a federally funded, university-affiliated organization that supports applied ocean and coastal science for all of California through research grants, fellowships, extension programming, and communications and outreach. CASG’s mission is to provide the information, tools, training, and relationships needed to help California conserve and sustainably prosper from our coastal and marine environment. 

The CASG Extension Program, situated within CASG, aims to extend knowledge from universities to California communities to better balance use and conservation of coastal & marine resources. Through building relationships and trust, Extension Specialists work with state and federal agencies, municipalities, nonprofit organizations, local businesses, and members of the California coastal community to identify emerging marine resource problems and opportunities, conduct applied scientific research, and share findings with stakeholder groups. CASG Extension Program has a Marine Debris Research Associate based in San Diego, CA who has the expertise and resources to work with, support, and connect the Marine Debris Extension Fellow to appropriate stakeholders.

Program Description

California Sea Grant and NOAA Marine Debris Program are soliciting applications for the NOAA Marine Debris Program - California Sea Grant Marine Debris Extension Fellow. The Marine Debris Extension Fellow will support the Marine Debris Program’s work in California and assist the Marine Debris Program and the California Ocean Protection Council (OPC) with the planning and implementation of the next iteration of the OLS. The Extension Fellow will be mentored by the Marine Debris Program’s California Regional Coordinator (80%) and the CASG Marine Debris Research Associate (20%). 

Growth in skills can be expected through workshop planning and facilitation, project management, coordination of multiple partners across various sectors, and exposure to both a small federal program mandated to lead the nation’s efforts to address marine debris and an applied research program that focuses on community engagement and co-production of knowledge to find solutions to coastal and ocean problems.

Length and Location of Assignment

The length of the assignment is 24 months (non-renewable) beginning March 2025. The fellowship will be a full-time hybrid position located in either Oakland or San Diego, California. Some tasks will be self-guided, others will be performed in close coordination with Marine Debris Program staff. The NOAA Marine Debris Program is headquartered in Silver Spring, Maryland but supports a cross-regional team in 11 field offices. The Fellow has the opportunity to be located with a small, close-knit team based in a dynamic office in downtown Oakland shared with representatives from other parts of NOAA. Alternatively, the fellow has the opportunity to be located with the California Sea Grant team based in La Jolla, CA on the Scripps Institution of Oceanography campus at the University of California, San Diego. 

Ameriprise Financial Grantmaking

At Ameriprise Financial, giving back is deeply rooted in our culture. We’ve initiated positive change in the communities where we live and work for more than 120 years. We believe our community involvement enables us to actively live our values. Through grant making, volunteerism and employee and financial advisor gift matching programs, we support a diverse group of over 6,000 nonprofits across the country.

Focus Areas

Awarding grant dollars to nonprofits is one way we strengthen our communities and help individuals on a path to financial independence. To ensure we're meeting the needs of our communities and making an even greater collective impact, we focus on three key giving areas when awarding grants.

Volunteer engagement is a priority across all focus areas:

The engagement of Ameriprise employees and financial advisors is a critical component of our philanthropy. Whether it’s serving on a nonprofit board, engaging friends, clients and community members in volunteering or providing skills-based support, our relationships with nonprofits go deep. For this reason, we give priority across all focus areas to applications where there is active volunteer engagement of Ameriprise advisors and employees. 

Meeting Basic Needs

At Ameriprise Financial, we help clients achieve financial security and peace of mind. That’s satisfying, meaningful work. We also help the people in our neighborhoods who struggle to meet basic needs such as where their next meal comes from, where they’ll sleep tonight or how they’ll find a higher wage job. We’re here to help them through the three platforms of our Meeting Basic Needs focus area.

Consideration is given to applications addressing the following: 

• Hunger
• Food banks, food shelves and food pantries, daily meal programs or meal services for the homebound
• Hunger-relief programs targeted to meet the special needs of children, ethnic populations or veterans
• Food programs run by nonprofits where hunger is not their sole focus, for example a youth meal program at the YWCA or a backpack program run by a Boys & Girls Club
• Shelter
• Emergency shelter, including youth homelessness
• Transitional housing, permanent supportive housing and efforts to end chronic homelessness
• Housing-first models (programs quickly providing housing and then addressing needed services)
• Achieving and maintaining home ownership, repair and maintenance efforts helping keep seniors, veterans and other populations in their homes 
• Adult Self-Sufficiency: Programs serving adults age 21 and older that help address the following areas:
• Basic hard and soft skills that help adults achieve economic and family stability
• Basic financial and budgeting skills
• Increase employability and wages, including work readiness and job transitions
• Employment of disabled adults

Supporting Community Vitality

We believe communities should be strong, healthy and resilient. We want livable places for all, where neighbors look out for one another, cultural events are well-attended and people pull together in times of crisis and joy. We work to create economic vitality and cultural enrichment through the following areas of focus.

Consideration is given to applications addressing the following: 

• Community Development
• Neighborhood revitalization
• Economic development
• Strengthening and supporting small businesses and nonprofits through technical expertise
• Cultural Enrichment
• Arts education
• Access for underserved populations
• Diverse artists and performances that spark topical community conversations 

Volunteer Driven Causes: Ameriprise employees and financial advisors are outstanding volunteers who serve in teams and also as individuals bringing personal skill-sets to nonprofits. Volunteering is part of the culture at Ameriprise and we are proud to support communities through contributions of both service and financial resources. 

Funding for Volunteer-Driven Causes is determined by current Ameriprise volunteerism. In general, funding is in proportion to the size of the Ameriprise volunteer team supporting a nonprofit. A team may include employees, financial advisors and/or staff or a combination of any Ameriprise volunteers. 

The Foundation is dedicated to providing financial assistance to organizations committed to improving our world. Solutions to the problems of today's world still lie in the values of innovation, practicality, hard work, and compassion.

The Foundation considers applications for grants in the following areas:

• Education
• Social Service
• Health care
• Civic and cultural
• Environmental

The categories above are not intended to limit the interest of the Foundation from considering other worthwhile projects. In general, the Foundation guidelines are broad to give us flexibility in providing grants.

The majority of our grants are made in the U.S. However, like Dr. Scholl, we recognize the need for a global outlook. Non-U.S. grants are given to organizations where directors have knowledge of the grantee.

Open Spaces Program

The Kenneth Rainin Foundation’s Open Spaces Program supports artist-driven temporary, place based public art projects that resonate with communities. This grantmaking program funds projects at different stages of development that feature generative collaboration between artists, communities and nonprofit organizations to realize ambitious, risk-taking projects.

The Open Spaces Program prioritizes:

• Visionary and timely projects that expand the boundaries of public art and support artists in advancing their practices.
• Collaborations across various disciplines, diverse media and technology.
• Projects that are relevant to and engage communities in Oakland and San Francisco.
• Projects that leverage civic and neighborhood resources and cultural assets, including outdoor and nontraditional sites accessible by public transportation.
• Compensating artists at a significant level.
• Mutually beneficial partnerships between artists and collaborators.
• Projects that are accessible to the widest possible audience, including historically underserved audiences.
• Projects that are temporary in nature but are publicly accessible for at least a month.
• Tracking outcomes and project evaluation.

Program Grant Tracks

Applicants can apply for one of two Open Spaces Program grant tracks:

• Development Support Grants:
  • $15,000-$20,000 to fund projects in their initial stages over a 24-month grant period.
    • In addition to the grant amount, grantees receive support to document their project and will be paired with an experienced public art advisor for the project’s duration.
  • Development Support Grants fund the research, design and planning phases of a large scale, temporary public art project.
    • Projects must feature a partnership and include community engagement activities to be competitive for funding.
• Production Support Grants:
  • $100,000-$175,000 to fund the implementation of late-stage projects over a 24 month grant period.
    • In addition to the grant amount, grantees also receive support to document their project and will be paired with an experienced public art advisor for the project’s duration.
  • Production Support Grants fund the production and premiere of a temporary public art project that has been thoroughly developed and planned.
    • Projects must feature strong, authentic partnerships as a vehicle for creating impactful temporary public art, include relevant community engagement activities and have a sustained public presence of at least a month to be considered for funding.

Criteria

Applications will be evaluated on the following:

• Evidence of strong, authentic partnerships as a vehicle for creating and premiering groundbreaking temporary public art;
• Timeliness and compelling nature of the project;
• A meaningful understanding of the unique context of place and relevance to communities it seeks to serve;
• Demonstration of a thoughtful approach to community engagement;
• Rigor of past work;
• The degree to which the project expands the boundaries of public art and supports artists in advancing their practice;
• Demonstrated ability to successfully execute a complex project of this nature, including evidence of technical and logistical know-how (i.e., the staff, consultants, fabricators and engineers that will be involved; the strategy for permits and regulatory approvals, et);
• Capacity to fulfill all grant requirements.

Levitt Music Series Grants - VIBE

Levitt VIBE is a multi-year matching grant opportunity that brings the joy of free, live music to public spaces in city neighborhoods where access to arts experiences may be limited.

Geared to large cities with a population over 250,000, Levitt VIBE (Vibrant Inclusive Beats for Everyone) brings the free outdoor concerts to neighborhoods where there is limited access to arts programming and live music. Each Levitt VIBE concert series features a diverse lineup of acclaimed, emerging talent to seasoned, award-winning artists on the local, regional, and national circuits, ensuring access to high-caliber performances for people of all ages and backgrounds.

Levitt VIBE Music Series create a community destination, connecting people to each other and inspiring neighborhood pride of place. Levitt VIBE was launched as a two-year pilot program this past year with three city neighborhoods: the Belmont Cragin neighborhood of Chicago; the Near Southside neighborhood of Indianapolis; and the East Oakland neighborhood of Oakland, California. 

In addition to financial support, the Levitt Foundation provides grant recipients with valuable resources including best practices, program frameworks, toolkits, and trainings to deepen impact in their communities.

Funding

U.S.-based 501(c)(3) nonprofits are eligible to receive a three-year matching grant of up to $40K/year (up to $120K total) to bring 7-10 free concerts to your community each year!

Community Partnership Award

The Mutual of America Foundation Community Partnership Award recognizes outstanding nonprofit organizations in the United States that have shown exemplary leadership by facilitating partnerships with public, private or social sector leaders who are working together as equal partners, not as donors and recipients, to build a cohesive community that serves as a model for collaborating with others for the greater good.

Each year, the Mutual of America Foundation sponsors a national competition in which hundreds of organizations demonstrate the value of their partnership to the communities they serve, their ability to be replicated by others and their capacity to stimulate new approaches to addressing significant social issues.

Six organizations are selected by an independent committee to receive the Community Partnership Award.

• The Thomas J. Moran Award is given to the national award-winning program and includes $100,000 and a documentary video about the program.
• The Frances R. Hesselbein Award is given to a partnership that is addressing social challenges in more than one community, or which demonstrates the potential to be replicated in other communities. This recipient receives $75,000.
• Four other organizations are named Honorable Mention recipients for their programs, and each receives $50,000.

Since its inception in 1996, the Community Partnership Award has recognized 262 partnerships from cities and towns across America. Like so many of our clients working in the nonprofit community, Mutual of America is dedicated to having a direct, positive impact on society.

Zoo Labs

Zoo Labs was founded in West Oakland in 2013 with a vision to build startup entrepreneurship infrastructure in a space where it was largely absent. Over the last decade+ we helped pioneer a new artist-led ecosystem, continually evolving our programming to empower a strong and vibrant community of 1,000+ artists and mentors.

Our unique value comes from our founding vision of supporting the whole person – addressing healing, team dynamics, personal strengths, and wellbeing. We believe entrepreneurs thrive when they're happy at work and when they preserve their creative light rather than burning out. Today we support artists by removing barriers to access practical and affordable business training.

And with the launch of the Zoo Labs: FUND, we have moved downstream to support Bay Area culturally-rooted artist teams with a music business through focused mentorship and unrestricted grants, allowing awardees to self-determine their own economic priorities in building capacity with their creative small businesses. To date, we have awarded $910,000 to 53 culturally-rooted artist teams representing 160 individuals from across the Bay Area.

Zoo Labs: Fund

Zoo Labs: FUND is a grant and investment program designed to support Bay Area entrepreneurs who are building businesses that center music. By providing funding, mentorship, and educational resources, the FUND helps creative business owners in the Bay Area begin or scale their ventures in ways that contribute to cultural enrichment, economic empowerment, and community benefit.

The FUND prioritizes culturally-rooted artists (i.e., artists whose work is deeply influenced by their cultural heritage, traditions, and community experiences, and who draw upon the stories, symbols, practices, and values of their cultural background to inform their art) who face challenges or structural hurdles to accessing capital, and aims to create more opportunities in the local creative economy. Investing in these businesses fosters innovation, preserves cultural and artistic expression, and generates jobs. It also works against displacement by creating stable economic opportunities that enable individuals to thrive in the Bay Area. Through this support, Zoo Labs: FUND advances a fair and sustainable creative ecosystem for the public good.

Awards will range from $5,000 to $50,000. Selected teams will also receive focused mentorship and community support.

THE 2025 FUND

The Zoo Labs: FUND celebrates its fifth year of grantmaking in 2025! The application process and funding distribution will be administered in partnership with Center for Cultural Innovation (CCI), a trusted nonprofit intermediary focused on the financial well-being of artists, arts workers, culture bearers, and creative entrepreneurs. In 2025, Zoo Labs: FUND will make available $230,000 in unrestricted grants to Bay Area culturally-rooted artist teams with a music business.

Pacific Gas and Electric Company

Pacific Gas and Electric Company, incorporated in California in 1905, is one of the largest utility companies in the United States. Based in Oakland, the company is part of PG&E Corporation. There are approximately 23,000 employees who carry out Pacific Gas and Electric Company's primary business—the transmission and delivery of energy. The company provides natural gas and electric service to approximately 16 million people throughout a 70,000-square-mile service area in northern and central California.

PG&E Corporation Foundation (Giving Locally)

We are dedicated to building safer and more resilient communities. Through our charitable giving program, we invest in:

• Emergency preparedness; safety and resiliency; food insecurity; and justice and inclusion
• Climate resiliency; environmental stewardship; and land, air and water quality
• STEM education, workforce development and support for small business

In 2024, we made nearly 1,000 grants to nonprofit organizations and schools, totaling more than $36 million. Our coworkers volunteered over 43,000 hours while donating nearly $3 million themselves to organizations in their communities.

Better Together Nature Positive Innovation Grant program

PG&E will begin accepting applications for their 2025 Better Together Nature Positive Innovation Grant program on May 21, 2025. For the fourth year, the PG&E Corporation Foundation will award $100,000 to a project in each of PG&E's five regions. Grant proposals should address one of the following environmental focus areas:

• Land stewardship
• Air quality
• Water stewardship

Priority will be given to projects that address the needs of disadvantaged and/or vulnerable communities. Strategies and solutions resulting from the grants will be made available to the public.

One grantee will be selected from each region. Grants can cover any stage of a project, including but not limited to planning, construction, design, education, and coordination. 

About The Kenneth Rainin Foundation

Kenneth Rainin Foundation is a family foundation that collaborates with creative thinkers in the Arts, Education, and Health. We believe in taking smart risks to achieve breakthroughs. In 2024, the Foundation is celebrating 15 years of formal grantmaking that supports visionary artists in the Bay Area, creates opportunities for Oakland’s youngest learners, and funds researchers on the forefront of scientific discoveries. Since 2009, the Foundation has awarded over $46 million in funding to support evidence-based practices to help children become confident, capable, and joyful learners. Learn more about the Rainin Foundation’s grantmaking.

Grant Opportunity For Early Language & Literacy Development

The Kenneth Rainin Foundation announces the launch of Early Care Spaces. This new program will provide grants of up to $100,000 to support organizations promoting early language and literacy development for Oakland children from birth to five years old.

Research suggests that the opportunity to help children grow and improve literacy is greatest from early care through second grade. The Rainin Foundation supports equitable approaches to literacy during these early years. Early Care Spaces commemorates our 15th anniversary of formal grantmaking and honors our vision of a world where all Oakland children read at or above grade level by third grade. This will be an annual program that aims to advance work that focuses on:

• Supporting children to expand their vocabulary and comprehension skills and increase confidence in listening and speaking.
• Opportunities that recognize parents and caregivers as leaders in their children’s education and increase their capacity to support early literacy.
• Career advancement and upskilling for Black early care providers to lead language-rich, developmentally appropriate and culturally affirming care.  

Social Well-being Program

One of the greatest challenges our region faces is that alongside economic instability and injustice, too many people do not feel they are included in the Bay Area’s brighter future. We are living within a crisis of belonging. The newly announced Social Well-being program joins the profound legacies of the Fund’s Arts, Jewish Life, and Racial Justice grantmaking to address community fragmentation. The program recognizes that while the racial and gender wealth gap is often framed as an economic problem, its implications extend deeply into social cohesion.

The Social Well-being program aims to cultivate and sustain belonging by fostering connection, creativity, and culture. The program recognizes that we need each other to imagine and build a better future together.

Our hope is that investments in the Social Well-being program will address the roots of social disrepair, uplift cultural identity and stories, and support collaborative and community-led action for our collective joy.WE Initiative

The WE Initiative is a new grantmaking strategy under the Walter & Elise Haas Fund’s recently launched Social Well-being program that focuses on activating and sustaining a sense of belonging among Bay Area residents. It builds upon our purpose to support community well-being in Oakland and San Francisco so that all people can reach their fullest potential with dignity and joy.

We-Making, a term coined by culturalist Carole Bebelle, states that “we have known in our gut for decades and decades that arts and culture are fabulous and magnetic ways to unite people.”

This grantmaking strategy will support organizations that celebrate culture and bring people together in solidarity to work towards positive community-led change. The WE Initiative imagines a future where Oakland and San Francisco pulse with vitality, where communities are deeply interconnected across generations, identities, and issue areas, and hope and possibility feel close. This vision restores a true sense of belonging, creating a Bay Area where every person sees themselves reflected and celebrated.

What We Are Looking For

We seek nonprofit organizations and fiscally sponsored projects committed to collaboration and community-building, as WE Initiative grantees will participate in a cohort experience — a learning and relationship-building journey designed to deepen exchange, expand networks of care, and spark collective impact with each other over the funding period. Organizations will commit to a series of meetings in the first year, with the intention of co-designing proceeding years with grantee-informed feedback in an iterative process that supports grantee insights.

Pathways

We seek nonprofit organizations and fiscally sponsored projects committed to collaboration and community-building, as WE Initiative grantees will participate in a cohort experience — a learning and relationship-building journey designed to deepen exchange, expand networks of care, and spark collective impact with each other over the funding period. Organizations will commit to a series of meetings in the first year, with the intention of co-designing proceeding years with grantee-informed feedback in an iterative process that supports grantee insights.

Pathway 1. Cultural Identity, Visibility, & Celebration

• Cultivate opportunities and spaces where joy, healing, and culture may thrive.
• Uplift stories that proactively and boldly take up space in the face of othering, bigotry, and polarization.

Cultural identity is a powerful force for justice and inclusion. We are looking for organizations and fiscally sponsored projects that use creative, joyful, and artistic approaches to promote community, cultural inclusion, and representation in the Bay Area. Ideal applicants foster a sense of belonging, particularly in response to challenges posed by such forces as racism, xenophobia, antisemitism, and all forms of bigotry and polarization. We seek organizations and fiscally sponsored projects whose work celebrates shared dignity and helps diverse communities feel a sense of belonging. By investing in cultural celebration, the Walter & Elise Haas Fund recognizes that joy, healing, and shared experiences are essential to social well-being.

Pathway 2. Collective Action and Solidarity

• Actively power-build to identify and enact community-led solutions.
• Bring people together across issues, identities, and communities to build solidarity, foster healing, and create shared belonging.

This pathway supports diverse groups working together. We are seeking organizations and fiscally sponsored projects that build meaningful connections across lines of difference (including but not restricted to race, faith, disability, sexual orientation, class, or immigration status), and utilize collaborative approaches to address community-identified challenges happening at the intersections. True belonging is realized through shared ownership of community-driven solutions. We aim to fund organizations and fiscally sponsored projects that build solidarity, empower people to work together to change systems and shape their future, and create positive, lasting, community-led transformation.

We recognize that organizations may work in both pathways and we do not expect anyone to discount or downplay the ways in which your organization may uplift both. However, we encourage you to think of which pathway best speaks to your organization’s mission, values, and programming and apply under one.

These two pathways recognize and build upon the Bay Area’s legacy of creativity, mutual aid, and collective leadership. They reflect our belief that true progress is made not through isolated efforts, but through the power of people collaborating, honoring histories, and imagining new possibilities together.

Funding

Twenty-five organizations will be selected to receive $100,000 annually as general operating funds over a five-year period, totaling $500,000 each. Grantees will not need to reapply during the five-year period to continue receiving funds.