Supporting Organizations Right in Our Hometown
by Nathan Shiferaw, Analyst, NewSchools Venture Fund
Oakland, California. It’s where we live, work, and play. But most importantly, it’s NewSchools’ homebase and we love it.
If this is the first time you’ve heard about us, allow me to introduce our organization to you! We are a venture philanthropy that invests in early-stage innovators who want to make a difference in the world by reimagining education. And, although we make investments across the country, we think it’s just as important to invest right in our backyard. That’s why we’re excited to partner with organizations focused on supporting Oakland public school students through our Hometown Fund.
Early this year, before we had any idea a pandemic was brewing, we were given an opportunity to invest $250,000 into nonprofit organizations that support Oakland public school students through approaches beyond our three investment areas.
Due to the urgent need created by the pandemic, our first round of investments went to The Oakland REACH and Oakland Public Education Fund. Both organizations received grants to provide rapid relief funding to help Oakland public school families provide care to their students at the beginning of the pandemic. While these efforts are still very much needed, there are many local organizations doing important work for students in a range of areas, including mental health support, violence prevention/intervention and the arts.
We are excited to announce investments in three more Oakland-based organizations:
- The Destiny Arts Center (DAC) was founded in Oakland, California, by Black and Queer dance and martial artists. DAC uses movement-based arts learning to uplift youth voice and support pathways for their expression, civic engagement, and social advocacy.
- Youth ALIVE! was founded by Oakland students and adult community members who were being impacted by crime and violence in the city. The organization combats this violence through a three-pronged programmatic approach that aims to prevent violent acts, intervenes when there is likelihood of violence, and provides healing for those impacted by the violence.
- Youth UpRising (YU) works closely with Oakland Unified School District to provide students a wide array of support services. As a “community transformation” hub, YU employs a multi-pronged, wraparound approach through four core areas: Career & Education, Health & Wellness, Arts & Expression, and Social Enterprise.
You can learn more about each organization below, including opportunities to join us in supporting their work:
