Oakland, CA
Walking Watersheds
Par Elizabeth Dougherty February 2021
Women Who Ride, Short Documentary Film
Par Jessica Jones January 2021
Pay It Forward
Par Diana Wu December 2020
Keep Kids Learning
Par Sia Magadan December 2020
Open E.A.R.S. For Change
Par Terri Le November 2020
AFROKIN Film Festival
Par Jeffrey Yip October 2020
creAItivity
Par Stella Chen September 2020
The Queer Choir
Par Phoebe Sanders August 2020
Covid-Affected Period Poverty Initiative Team
Par Ethan Ye July 2020
Achieve Academy Summer Literacy Programming
Par Eloise Schrier June 2020
Bay Area Mask Making and Distribution Project
Par Rachel Sadd May 2020
COVID-19 Response in the Black Community
Par Tur Ha Ak April 2020
Sick and Disabled Zine and Craft Fair (SAD)
Par Charles Manzano March 2020
Round Weather
Par Chris Kerr March 2020
Arsola's Census Hard-to-Count Outreach Project
Par Laura McCoy February 2020
Homeless Shadows
Par Suzi Garner January 2020
Stop Gap Rescue for Black Students
Par Tasha Keeble December 2019
Bay Area Queer Zine Fest
Par Maira M McDermott November 2019
Freewheel! A Bike Club for Girls and GNC Youth
Par Nora Dye October 2019
East Bay Creeks' Walk and Chalk
Par Dr. Elizabeth Dougherty September 2019
Two Fall Exhibitions by CTRL+SHFT Collective
Par Sophia Schultz August 2019
Dignity Bags
Par Tyler Bevington July 2019Homeless First community screenings
Par Anna Karewicz June 2019Nyamdu-Dro Mentorship Program
Par Tenzing Dolma and Nawang Chokyi May 2019
Hoover Elementary: Writer to Author
Par Jessica Blair April 2019
United Streets of Flowers
Par Kiera Jaffin February 2019
Oaktown Ballers
Par Tony Beaman January 2019
Sketchbook Connection
Par Sonia Wallach (with William James Association) December 2018
Planting Justice: Grow Food, Grow Jobs, Grow Commu
Par Gavin Raders November 2018
Access-Centered Movement
Par Jess Dene Schlesinger October 2018
The 10th Annual Oscar Grant Vigil
Par Oscar Grant Foundation September 2018
Creating Freedom Movements: more justice, more joy
Par Cecilia Lucas August 2018
The Pan African Festival (PAF)
Par Travis Watts July 2018
Good Grief Zine
Par Nicole M Wisler June 2018
Ballet for Black & Brown Bodies
Par Alyah Baker May 2018
Graffiti Camp for Girls
Par Nina Wright April 2018
Roots and Wings
Par Emma Brown and Mara Lea Brown March 2018
Visiting Artists Program for Howard Elementary
Par Margaret Fransee February 2018Contagious Spirit
Par Maddy Clifford January 2018
Music for the Masses
Par Meghan Dibble December 2017
Haircuts with Heart
Par Rebecca Beardsley November 2017
All That I Aspire To Be
Par Jamila Harris October 2017
Kick Ass Mural: 26th & West
Par Renata Foucré September 2017
Social Justice Sewing Academy
Par Sara Trail August 2017
Non-Fiction High Engagement Texts!
Par Kelsi Kane July 2017Lightning Bolt Community Safety Trainings
Par Katie Loncke June 2017
FIGMENT Oakland
Par Rick Abruzzo May 2017
Four Headed Records
Par Michael Hale April 2017
Anti Lab: A Creative Resistance Resource Center
Par Sarah Burke March 2017
Resistance is Love in Action
Par Angie Wilson February 2017
Punks with Lunch — West Oakland
Par Alejandra Del Pinal, Grant Gleason, Marlo Habeeb January 2017
Frailty Myths Workshop Tool Sets
Par Erinn Carter November 2016
Free Annual Halloween Marionette Show
Par Larry Schmidt October 2016
7TH ANNUAL EAST BAY ALTERNATIVE BOOK AND ZINE FEST
Par ARA CHRISTINA JO September 2016
Fleet Farming Oakland Expansion
Par Justin Vandenbroeck August 2016
Through The Walls
Par Jennie-Sue Nuccio July 2016
Legal Clinic Day - Advanced Directives for All
Par Kristina Dolgin June 2016
The How Spirit Moves Us Project:
Par Lisa Evans May 2016
A Propos
We will not be funding any projects that entail public gathering during the COVID-19 crisis. We look forward to seeing your projects when our community is safer. Thank you for your patience
We are the Oakland Chapter,
We want to fund projects that bring about art, performance, social change and help shape a better Oakland community.
Before you apply, please review this winning proposal from Red Light Legal to help craft your application, you can view it here
Proposals MUST have a clearly-defined problem for the community or intended audience and outline how your project provides a solution. Defining the community or audience is should be a significant part of the discussion of your project, especially how many people you expect to serve.
We have a few guidelines we encourage you to review to help make your proposal a winner:
• We only fund projects, ideas and events based in or supporting Oakland and the surrounding communities.
• Tell us what you plan to spend the money on, and how much those items or services will cost. In the form field titled 'How I will use the money', include a budget with your expenses listed out as individual line items. Do not upload an image of your budget, or your spreadsheet.
• We are more inclined to fund a proposal if the grant is a significant factor in the project becoming a reality.
• The grant is a significant part of the budget as opposed to a small contribution to a large scale/budget project.
• The project serves a large community, especially if that community is historically undeserved.
• The project is aimed an informing, educating or entertaining the community or has a community involvement as part of its execution.
• A community project should always include how many people you hope to serve and a clear and concise outreach plan for reaching you intended audience. 'FB ads' or 'social media' alone is not an acceptable approach.
We give out up to twelve grants per year and generally $1,000 per month.
Proposals are due the last Wednesday of each month. We meet the 1st Wednesday of the month to review the applications and the recipient is announced shortly after. If you are a winner, please note we only can send grants via Paypal or Venmo.
While a lot of your projects are awesome, not all submissions are a good fit for the trustees. Many times we will reach out to discuss why a certain project was getting traction and we are always happy to help review your proposals before you submit to give feedback and suggestions. Contact us well before the deadline at oakland@awesomefoundation.org with your inquiries.
Also consider applying to the SF and SJ chapter if we do not fund you, as they might fund an idea that isn't a fit for us, conceptually or geographically.
Thank you for your awesome passion!