Bay Area AFN is a regional chapter of grantmakers who advance equitable wealth building and economic mobility. Members include private, public, corporate, and community foundations, public-sector funders, and financial institutions who want to help residents of the Bay Area (San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose) secure economic stability, for now and for years to come. Bay Area AFN connects 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.
Bay Area funders joined national funders in 2006 to launch the national AFN. The Bay Area funders then evolved into a regional affinity group and became the first regional affiliate of national AFN in 2010. 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. Bay Area AFN members meet quarterly and host events to share ideas. Bay Area grantmakers should contact Mona Masri if interested in joining this chapter.
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.
View the BA AFN 2021 Annual Report
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
Contact
Are you a Bay Area grantmaker interested in joining this chapter? Contact us to learn more.
Mona Masri, mona@assetfunders.org
Steering Committee
San Francisco Foundation
Blue Shield of California Foundation
First 5 Alameda County
The Sobrato Family Foundation
Kaiser Permanente
Y & H Soda 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
Citi Community Development
East Bay Community Foundation
eBay Foundation
Excite Credit Union
First 5 Alameda County
First Republic Bank
Friedman Family Foundation
JP Morgan Chase & Co.
Kaiser Permanente
RCF Connects (Richmond Community Foundation)
Silicon Valley Community Foundation
The California Wellness Foundation
The James Irvine Foundation
The San Francisco Foundation
The Wells Fargo Foundation
U.S. Bank
United Way of the Bay Area
Walter and Elise Haas Fund
Y&H Soda Foundation
Chapter Highlights
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.
Guaranteed Income – Moving from Pilots to Policy
On October 14, 2021 Bay Area AFN held a funder convening to hear from key thought leaders working on guaranteed basic income to better understand the broader vision for guaranteed basic income, public policy considerations & promising paths forward, and how philanthropy can support moving the work from pilots to policy solutions.
Watch the webinar now to learn about the opportunity for philanthropy to invest in strategies that will ultimately build systemic support for guaranteed basic income for those who most need it.
Occupational Segregation and Wealth Stripping – Two Sides of the Same Coin
On September 15, 2021, Bay Area AFN hosted a webinar conversation to better understand the current context around occupational segregation why it is an important framework to incorporate in our drive for economic justice. The funder conversation discussed the connection between occupational segregation and wealth disparities and where funders and economic justice advocates should focus their efforts to address key drivers and support solutions. LEARN MORE AND WATCH THE WEBINAR
Child Care is in Crisis and it’s not a Woman’s Issue — It’s an Economic One
On March 24th, 2021, Bay Area AFN hosted a webinar to hear perspectives from national and local policy advocates, practitioners and philanthropy about the interrelated issues surrounding the child care sector and how funders can play a role in addressing the structural and systemic issues which have impacted this critical sector. LEARN MORE
