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
Upcoming Events
March 20 @ 8:30 am - 4:30 pm PDT : 2025 Bay Area Conference — California Philanthropy: A Roadmap for Repair
Guest-curated by Liberation Ventures, California Philanthropy: A Roadmap for Repair will explore how a culture of repair can inspire new models of philanthropy. Join 140 … REGISTER
CLICK HERE for more information and resources from our past events.
Steering Committee
Chan Zuckerberg Initiative
eBay Foundation
The Sobrato Family Foundation
The California Wellness Foundation
Y & H Soda Foundation
San Francisco Foundation
East Bay Community Foundation
Bay Area AFN is grateful for financial support from the following sponsoring and contributing member foundations:
Asian Pacific Fund
Bank of America
Blue Shield of California Foundation
Chan Zuckerberg Initiative
East Bay Community Foundation
eBay Foundation
Excite Credit Union
Heising-Simons Foundation
Hellman Foundation
JP Morgan Chase & Co.
Kaiser Permanente
Magic Cabinet
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
Wells Fargo
Y&H Soda Foundation
Chapter Highlights
The Promise of Worker Cooperatives to Build Economic Security for Immigrant Communities
A February 13, 2025 webinar held by Bay Area AFN and Democracy at Work Institute, showcased the successes and lessons learned from the worker centers and cooperative development nonprofits that participated in California’s SEED program, and their continued collaboration to strengthen the co-op ecosystem. Learn more
Public Banking in California: A Pathway to Community Wealth Building and Inclusive Local Economies
On November 19, 2024, Bay Area AFN held a webinar discussion about the benefits of public banking and its potential to build community wealth and meet local needs, the roadmap to establishing a public banking system throughout California, and catalytic philanthropic investment opportunities to make public banking a reality in California. Learn more
Bay Area Small Business Funders Networking Event
BA AFN held a meeting and networking event for funders dedicated to supporting the small business ecosystem in the Bay Area. It was a unique opportunity to connect with peers, share insights, and explore collaborative strategies that can amplify philanthropy’s collective impact on small business ownership in our region. Hosted by the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, the meeting was designed to foster relationships among small business grantmakers, build a supportive community where funders can learn from each other’s investment strategies, and explore shared priorities in supporting thriving small businesses and an inclusive local economy.
All Guaranteed Income is Narrative Change:
How Grantmakers Can Better Understand, Practice, and Support Narrative Change Efforts
Anne Price and Jhumpa Bhattacharya of The Maven Collaborative led this two-part training for grantmakers to learn the narrative change basics, exchange philanthropic practices, and explore actionable opportunities to support narrative change. Part one, held on September 5, 2024, was open to all funders in AFN’s network and grantmakers were left with a solid foundation of what narrative change is and is not, the impact of narratives on economic security policy change, and how to know whether your narrative change funding is advancing progress. Part two was an in-person workshop held October 24 in Oakland, California for funders making grants benefiting the East Bay.
California Guaranteed Income Pooled Fund Launch Briefing
On July 29, 2024, Bay Area AFN in partnership with The Office of the Governor and California Department of Social Service (CDSS), Economic Security Project, Mayors for a Guaranteed Income, and Social Finance, invited funders to learn about the exciting progress of the Guaranteed Income Pooled Fund. Attendees heard CDSS Director Kim Johnson share reflections on this milestone. GI Pooled Fund partners also shared their perspectives on the current state of the GI field and early learnings from the pilots.
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, held a three-part virtual learning series in 2024 for California funders. The series focused on improving economic security, wealth-building opportunities, and equity for low-income Californians through the tax code. This series was informed by a recent scan of the CA tax credit ecosystem and responded to California charitable foundations’ interested in learning about and addressing the challenges faced by low-income Californians at tax time and the potential to use tax systems to improve equity. Learn More
California’s Philanthropic Leaders Stand United Against Hate & Division
Bay Area AFN members East Bay Community Foundation, The James Irvine Foundation, San Francisco Foundation, and The California Wellness Foundation, joined fellow leading philanthropic organizations to issue a joint statement.
“As California’s philanthropic leaders, we stand committed to advancing the resilience, renewal, and unity of the communities we serve. Forces may try to terrorize, divide, and demonize us — but we will not let them define us or our story…” LEARN MORE
East Bay Community Foundation (EBCF) launches the Oakland Small Business Resiliency Fund
The Oakland Small Business Resiliency Fund is a grant fund supporting diverse small businesses with a physical presence in Oakland. The Fund will provide a one-time infusion of grant capital to Oakland small businesses to boost their resiliency and ability to withstand and recover from the economic and community safety challenges they face or to build their capacity and readiness to take on other forms of capital and investments.
The grants (ranging from $5,000 to $25,000) are dedicated to helping businesses thrive and address challenges that limit their growth and threaten their survival, including hiring shortages, lack of affordable commercial space, and barriers to accessing low-cost capital. LEARN MORE
Unity and Progress: California Leaders Pledge Bold Action in Defense of the Golden State’s Values and the American Dream
Five Bay Area AFN members, The California Wellness Foundation, East Bay Community Foundation, The James Irvine Foundation, San Francisco Foundation, and the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, joined a coalition of California’s Leading Philanthropic Organizations to issue a joint statement underlining their commitment to investing in communities and protecting progress. LEARN MORE
San Francisco Foundation Doubles Down on Commitment to Social Justice and Racial Equity
Coming out of the 2024 election cycle, San Francisco Foundation chooses to forge ahead with renewed determination. Read CEO, Fred Blackwell’s statement where he shares: “We choose to double down on our commitment to social justice and racial equity, to embrace a vision of a Bay Area – and a nation – where everyone, regardless of background or identity, can thrive.” LEARN MORE
eBay Foundation Awards $3M to Help Drive Inclusive Entrepreneurship
With the aim of unleashing the power of entrepreneurship and building economically vibrant and thriving communities, the eBay Foundation is proud to announce our 2024 Global Give grantees, with a total award of nearly $3 million to 31 grantees across the globe.
The program is an extension of eBay Foundation’s grantmaking, enabling us to partner with nonprofit organizations around the world that are addressing and removing barriers to entrepreneurship for people who identify with historically excluded groups. LEARN MORE
Kaiser Permanente Helps Small, Diverse Oakland Businesses Grow
Kaiser Permanente is investing $15 million in grants over three years that support small and diverse businesses through access to low-interest loans, grants, technical assistance, training, and networking opportunities.
The grants, made through a Kaiser Permanente fund at the East Bay Community Foundation, support Kaiser Permanente’s long-term commitment to improve health and vitality in the city of Oakland, home to their national headquarters. LEARN MORE
Sobrato Philanthropies Awards $3.5M to Support a Strong Multiracial Democracy
These organizations, all regrantors led by people of color, are supporting community-led grassroots organizations in Silicon Valley, California, and across the nation to protect the integrity of our election system and the rights of all Americans. They are focused on organizing, advocacy, and civic engagement to ensure equitable participation, voice, and power for communities most impacted by injustice. LEARN MORE
All Guaranteed Income is Narrative Change: How Grantmakers Can Better Understand, Practice, and Support Narrative Change Efforts — AFN Members can watch Part 1 of this training series to gain a solid foundation of what narrative change is and is not, the impact of narratives on economic security policy change, and how to know whether your narrative change funding is advancing progress. This recording is offered only to AFN members inside our member portal. Register or login to view.
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.
View resources from past years’ convenings.
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.
Bay Area AFN Strategic Priorities
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.
