Since 2011, Bay Area AFN has been connecting funders and their peers in the nonprofit, public, and private sectors. Together they share promising programs and smart strategies, gather knowledge to make their grantmaking more effective, and work to increase investments in asset building.
Membership is open to funders (including invited intermediaries) who invest in a range of initiatives that build assets for Bay Area residents, from early childhood education, college access, or workforce development to health, financial education, or micro-enterprise. Contact Rebeca Rangel for membership opportunities or join now.
Regional Focus Areas
- Closing the racial and gender wealth gaps
- Care Economy
- Guaranteed Income with an Equity Lens
- Community Wealth Building through Entrepreneurship & Employee Ownership
- Employment & Quality jobs and benefit
Supporting the Economic Security of Undocumented Immigrants
A new primer by AFN and California Immigrant Policy Center (CIPC) providing an overview of the intersectional issues impacting economic security for undocumented immigrants in California. It is designed to provide funders, policymakers, advocates, and practitioners with strategies and solutions to support economic mobility and justice for undocumented immigrant communities, and ultimately build a more equitable and resilient California for all.
Upcoming Events
June 12 @ 1:00 pm - 2:30 pm PDT : Funder Series Part 3: Improving Economic Security, Wealth-Building Opportunities and Equity for Low-Income Californians through the Tax Code
Bay Area AFN along with Tax Equity Funders Network, Northern California Grantmakers, and the League of California Community Foundations, invite you to the third in … REGISTER
CLICK HERE for more information and resources from our past events.
Bay Area AFN Strategic Priorities
Steering Committee
Bay Area AFN Co-Chair
eBay Foundation
The Sobrato Family Foundation
Kaiser Permanente
San Francisco Foundation
East Bay Community Foundation
Bay Area AFN is grateful for financial support from the following sponsoring and contributing member foundations:
Bank of America Foundation
Blue Shield of California Foundation
Chan Zuckerberg Initiative
Citi Foundation
East Bay Community Foundation
eBay Foundation
Excite Credit Union
First 5 Alameda County
Heising-Simons Foundation
JP Morgan Chase & Co.
Kaiser Permanente
Marin Community Foundation
Rising Communities
Silicon Valley Community Foundation
Sobrato Family Foundation
The California Wellness Foundation
The James Irvine Foundation
The San Francisco Foundation
U.S. Bank
United Way of the Bay Area
Y&H Soda Foundation
Chapter Highlights
Moving Beyond the Moment: Pathways Towards Economic Justice
On November 8, 2023, Bay Area AFN hosted its conference, Beyond the Moment: Pathways towards Economic Justice, where over 140 philanthropy and nonprofit leaders gathered to learn together how funders, policy makers, advocates and practitioners can be a part of the movement for economic justice. The dynamic sessions highlighted intersectional issues around economic justice and how we can collectively move towards a more just future in which all Californians can thrive. Learn more
Driving Equitable Outcomes Through the Community Economic Resilience Fund
A Community-Centered Approach
On July 12, Bay Area AFN and SPUR presented the second installment of our series to discuss the state’s Community Economic Resilience Fund (CERF) as well as tools and strategies for how funders, CBOs, and community members can help allocate resources to promote equity. Learn more and watch the recording.
Centering Community Voices in Policy Advocacy and Design
Central to many guaranteed income pilots are narrative change and policy advocacy efforts. On June 13, 2023, Bay Area AFN held a webinar to discuss how policy advocacy and narrative change are informing GI policy design, the local East Bay policy advocacy efforts advancing GI efforts, how best to engage the impacted community in the narrative change framing, and the role funders can play to support these types of efforts. Learn more and watch the recording.
Public Banking: Whose Bank? Our Bank!
On May 25, Bay Area AFN held an in-person convening to gain a better understanding of the benefits and impact of public banking on communities. Attendees learned about the roadmap to establishing a public bank in the East Bay, elevated the role multiple sectors can play in advancing public banking, and developed an understanding of opportunities for philanthropic investment to make public banking a reality in California. Learn more and watch the recording.
Guaranteed Income: A Roadmap to Policy Solutions for California
On April 26, 2023, Bay Area AFN held a webinar to discuss the future of the Guaranteed Income movement in California and Nationally. We highlighted what we hope to learn through research & evaluation, elevated a local cash support pilot addressing safety net reform in CA, and shared opportunities for philanthropy and the public sector to catalyze ongoing efforts to move from pilots to policy solutions. WATCH THE RECORDING
Building Towards an Equitable Recovery: Activating Federal Funds for BIPOC Owned-Businesses
On February 23, 2023 the Bay Area AFN and SPUR hosted a webinar discussing how Federal funding can be used to achieve a truly equitable recovery for BIPOC communities. We explored the ecosystems and supports that currently exist for small businesses, and those needed to reach and support BIPOC-owned businesses as well as learned how philanthropy, in partnership with communities, can help drive an equitable recovery and ensure government spending gets to the people who need it most. LEARN MORE
Workplace Equity: A Framework for Building Economic Mobility
On May 11, 2022 the Bay Area AFN hosted a webinar to better understand both the root causes of economic inequity and the associated solutions of it’s historic challenges. READ MORE
Empower 2022: Policy Pathways Toward Guaranteed Income in California
To ensure economic security for Californians, our public safety net needs to evolve, and that means getting serious about unrestricted cash support at the state level. On March 16, 2022 Bay Area AFN co-hosted the EMPOWER 2022 Webinar with California Budget & Policy Center and hosted a funder-only session following the webinar. READ MORE
From Recovery to Reimagining:
Solutions Supporting Long-term Recovery and Resilience for POC Small Businesses
On January 27, 2022 Bay Area AFN held a convening to release first of-their-kind interactive maps highlighting the vulnerability of POC-led business owners in the nine-county Bay Area. The panel discussed policy solutions which address structural and historic barriers and support the longer-term economic viability of POC-owned businesses as well as shared strategic investments funders can make in solutions that help businesses recover and systems be reimagined, addressing the root causes of inequities and helping POC-owned businesses thrive. LEARN MORE
Small Business Vulnerability Map: View interactive maps highlighting the vulnerability of POC-led business owners in the nine-county Bay Area.
Bay Area AFN in the news: CLICK HERE for a collection of resources and news on BA AFN and our partners.
Supporting the Economic Security of Undocumented Immigrants
A primer by AFN and California Immigrant Policy Center (CIPC) providing an overview of the intersectional issues impacting economic security for undocumented immigrants in California. It is designed to provide funders, policymakers, advocates, and practitioners with strategies and solutions to support economic mobility and justice for undocumented immigrant communities, and ultimately build a more equitable and resilient California for all.
Guaranteed Income: A Primer for Funders
This primer was developed to educate foundations, individual donors, and other funders about the ways in which guaranteed income and related cash-based policies not only strengthen low and moderate income communities and communities of color, but also build a healthy and more resilient economy for us all.
California Guaranteed Income Pooled Fund
In December 2022 Governor Gavin Newsom announced the launch of the Guaranteed Income Pooled Fund, a philanthropic endeavor to help organizations fund their Guaranteed Income Pilot Programs by helping pilot projects unlock more than $25 million in grants from the state. The Pooled Fund contributors include the Bay Area AFN members Silicon Valley Community Foundation, California Wellness Foundation, and Blue Shield of California Foundation. Read the press release and learn more in recent news.
How We Work
- Connect: Bay Area AFN members support peer-to-peer learning and cross-sector collaboration. Members identify and leverage replicable and scalable high-impact strategies and innovative approaches to connect and inform influential funders of actionable investments. Members provide an insightful voice to inform both regional and national conversations.
- Build: Bay Area AFN works to increase the number of grantmakers and resources focused on strategies that help low and moderate income people build and protect assets. Members leverage one another’s interests and investments and actively look for additional funders willing to co-invest in Bay Area.
- Inform: Bay Area AFN members learn from one another and other stakeholders as they seek solutions to local challenges. The chapter hosts issue-based programming and calls- to-action that reflect research and philanthropic thought leadership that highlights actionable roles for philanthropy. While focusing on a variety of topics, the chapter gathers local leaders and national experts together to share data and ideas, promote innovative approaches, and help establish common language to build collaboration.
- Influence: Bay Area AFN is working to raise the visibility of asset-building strategies within the broader community of foundations, public-sector funders, and financial institutions. Members seek opportunities to accelerate economic prosperity, especially for low-income individuals and communities while also reducing racial, ethnic, and gender wealth gaps by addressing structural and systemic changes which have created barriers to individuals ability to build and preserve their wealth.
Bay Area AFN Archives
View resources from past years’ convenings.
