Rooted and Rising: A Funder Convening on East Bay Small Business Resiliency and Regional Scale

Small businesses are the economic backbone of East Bay communities — and many of the businesses that anchor their neighborhoods most deeply have been in their location for decades. Over half of the businesses supported by East Bay Community Foundation’s Oakland Small Business Resiliency Fund have operated in Oakland for 10 or more years, serving communities in Downtown Oakland, East Oakland, Fruitvale, and West Oakland — neighborhoods that have historically faced disinvestment and barriers to capital.

Yet the gap between need and available resources is enormous. When EBCF and Kaiser Permanente launched the Oakland Small Business Resiliency Fund, nearly 500 businesses applied — requesting over $11 million in funding. Only $2.2 million was available, and only 170 businesses could be served.

In this in-person convening, we invite philanthropic and financial institutions to explore the next chapter: a redesigned, regional fund expanding to the full East Bay — Alameda and Contra Costa counties — to serve communities that meet CRA definitions of underserved and distressed communities, and where local partnerships are ready to move. Learn how this fund was built — co-designed with a Community Advisory Committee and neighborhood-level data from the City of Oakland — who it served, and what it will take to scale.

Whether you come as a philanthropic funder or a financial institution with CRA obligations, you’ll leave with a clear picture of the opportunity and concrete ways to engage. EBCF has already built the infrastructure to administer grants to for-profit small businesses in documented LMI geographies — co-designed with community, proven in practice, and ready to scale with your investment.

Join us on Thursday, May 21, 11:00 AM–1:00 PM in Oakland. Location details will be shared upon registration.

Speakers

Brandi Howard, President & CEO, East Bay Community Foundation
Yvette Radford, Regional Vice President for External and Community Affairs, Kaiser Permanente
Yanira Cortez, Urban Planning Analyst, Economic and Workforce Development Department, City of Oakland
Small business speaker TBD
Resources
Oakland Small Business Resiliency Fund | East Bay Community Foundation

Program

11:00 AM      Arrival & Fellowship

11:30 AM     Welcome & Opening Remarks — Brandi Howard, President & CEO, East Bay Community Foundation and Yvette Radford, Regional Vice President, Kaiser Permanente

11:45 AM      The Oakland Small Business Resiliency Fund: Presentation and Panel Discussion

12:15 PM      Funder Conversation: Regional Expansion

12:45 PM      Fellowship
                        Lunch served throughout program