We’re thrilled to announce the third round of funding from Belonging in Oakland: A Just City Cultural Fund is now open!
In collaboration with East Bay Community Foundation (EBCF) and the City of Oakland’s Cultural Affairs Division, this funding cycle will award three (3) three-year grants of $100,000 per year to collaborations between Oakland-based cultural and social change organizations led by Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC). The grant awards will also include a $12,000 annual stipend for the “life sustaining expenses” of the artists and cultural practitioners, and a $25,000 allocation for documenting the collaboration.
We are grateful to Oakland’s artists and cultural creators for gifting us with their vision of what belonging means in a community rooted in justice, healing, and liberation,”
By providing resources to BIPOC-led collaborations that blend artistic innovation with social change, the Fund encourages the reimagining of power relations and the challenging of oppressive policies. Its ultimate goal is to inspire a broader sense of belonging and equity in Oakland, demonstrating the pivotal role of the arts in achieving racial justice and systemic change.
“We are grateful to Oakland’s artists and cultural creators for gifting us with their vision of what belonging means in a community rooted in justice, healing, and liberation,” said Raymond Colmenar, president of Akonadi Foundation. “Through their eyes, a just Oakland is not only possible, it is within our reach.”
Funding for Belonging in Oakland: A Just City Cultural Fund is provided by major contributions from the Surdna Foundation’s Thriving Cultures program, alongside additional support from Akonadi Foundation and East Bay Community Foundation. The Surdna Foundation’s program, Radical Imagination for Racial Justice, is a national regranting initiative aimed at enabling BIPOC artists in partnership with communities to reimagine policies and practices to advance justice for those most impacted by systemic racism.
