East Bay Community Foundation partners with donors, social movements, and the community to eliminate structural barriers, advance racial equity, and transform political, social, and economic outcomes for all in the East Bay. It aims to transform the region’s power structures to promote equity, striving for an inclusive, fair, and just East Bay through justice, grounded in community-informed principles and anti-oppression practices.
The East Bay Fund for Artists at the East Bay Community Foundation, since its inception in 2003, has focused on commissioning new work by local artists, having partnered with over 9,500 donors and 200 nonprofit organizations, effectively directing almost $3.1 million in financial support for the arts in the East Bay. In 2019, the program refined its focus to support individual artists and arts organizations within low-income communities of color and other disadvantaged groups to create new work promoting racial justice and social equity. Recognizing the economic challenges faced by individual artists, funds are specifically allocated to commissioned artists across various disciplines. The fund is dedicated to encouraging diverse artistic practices and enabling BIPOC communities to engage with art that resonates with their cultural experiences, while also enhancing their capacity for self-sustainability through developing individual donor networks.