Belonging in Oakland: A Just City Cultural Fund Grant

The Belonging in Oakland: A Just City Cultural Fund Grant supports Oakland-based, BIPOC-led collaborations aimed at transforming power dynamics through cultural policy. This fund offers $100,000 annually for three years, along with stipends for artists and project documentation. The initiative seeks to empower communities impacted by systemic racism and promote innovative approaches to social justice. Collaborative partnerships are encouraged to redefine problems and solutions, fostering a more equitable Oakland.

NOTE: The next cycle won't open until 2026 or 2027. About the Fund
Belonging in Oakland: A Just City Cultural Fund (the Fund) is committed to providing three-year grants to Oakland-based, BIPOC-led collaborations between cultural and social change organizations. Eligible organizations must either have nonprofit status or be fiscally sponsored by a nonprofit. They should also have a proven record of shaping racial and social justice-oriented policies or practices in sectors such as community development, economic justice, educational equity, environmental justice, sustainability, climate change, food justice, health & well-being, and housing rights, immigrant & refugee rights, land use & spatial justice, participation in the civic realm, public safety, and workers’ rights. The Fund seeks such organizations to form or continue collaborations with civically-engaged, Oakland BIPOC artists/cultural practitioners who are deeply rooted in communities that have borne the brunt of systemic racism and social and economic inequality.
In the 2023-2026 funding round, the Fund will support collaborations working together with communities to radically imagine how to transform power relations through a culturally-informed policy lens. Collaborations may seek to redefine the framing of a problem or solution, engage in cross-sector partnerships, reclaim traditional ways, invigorate community assets, or explore other promising approaches to achieving racial justice.
The Fund will award no more than three community-centered collaborations with grants of $100,000 per year for three years, in addition to a $12,000 stipend each year toward life sustaining expenses of the artists/cultural practitioners (for example, to pay down student debt, healthcare or childcare expenses, etc.) and a stipend of up to $25,000 for project-related research/documentation. The program also includes networking and peer learning support for awardees.
Being based and rooted in Oakland is an important concept for the Fund. A community may be geographically, ethnically, or culturally defined. It may also be a community of identity based on, for example, age, faith, sexual orientation, gender identity, or immigration status.
Funded collaborations are expected to produce a policy change-oriented prototype or example that can be shared as a demonstration project to inspire others locally, regionally, or nationally. We want to be respectful of applicant’s time, so we encourage you to read the guidelines below carefully to make sure your policy change-oriented collaboration aligns with the Fund’s intent and expectations.
Award Amount
Three-year grants of $100,000 per year will be awarded to no more than three collaborative partnerships. In addition, each partnership will also receive:
an annual stipend of $12,000 (12% of the grant amount) for life sustaining expenses of the participating artist(s)/cultural practitioner(s)—for example, to cover healthcare, childcare, student debt, restorative time or activities, or other such expenses) and an annual stipend of up to $25,000 will be available for the purpose of documenting the learning and outcomes resulting from the collaboration, the amount to be negotiated with each collaboration based on the scope of their plans and their capacity/desire to carry them out.
What We Will Fund
Beyond critiques of injustice, the Fund seeks visionary collaborations with the purposes of:
Generating radical imaginings that counter oppressive racialized policies with transformative approaches and/or practices for building a more just and equitable city;Supporting self-determined and deeply culturally-informed action by those most impacted by systemic racism; and
Lifting up lifeways and value systems that cultivate greater belonging in Oakland.The Fund seeks creative, mutually-beneficial, and equitable collaborations working to build pathways to a more just Oakland. Oakland’s BIPOC, civic-facing cultural workers and artists must be critical partners in funded collaborations to help break down old racialized tropes and envision and test new narratives, social agreements, structures, and systems that lay the groundwork for freedom and liberation for Oakland communities.
There is no funding match requirement for this grant.
Please refer to FAQ for additional informations.

Eligibility

Organizational collaborations applying for funding must designate a lead applicant who will submit an application on behalf of the collaboration. The lead applicant should be the organization that has the responsibility for managing the grant for the collaborative partnership, not the applicant’s fiscal sponsor.Below is a preview of the eligibility survey. You must answer YES the following questions to be eligible to apply:Are you an Oakland-based* BIPOC-led organization with 501(c)(3) status or 501(c)(4)** status, or with a 501(c)(3) fiscal sponsor that is in good standing with the IRS?Being based and rooted in Oakland is an important concept for the Fund. A community may be geographically, ethnically, or culturally defined. It may also be a community of identity based on, for example, age, faith, sexual orientation, gender identity, or immigration status. Grant funds to 501c4 organizations can be used for direct or grassroots lobbying activities. Are you a social change organization OR a cultural organization that works with civically-oriented artist(s)/cultural practitioner(s)?If you are a cultural organization that works with civically-oriented artist(s)/cultural practitioner(s), are you collaborating with a social change organization? OR, if you are a social change organization, are you collaborating with a cultural organization that works with civically-oriented BIPOC artist(s)/cultural practitioner(s)?Do you have an operating budget of $500,000 or more?

Ineligibility

Grant funds cannot be used for anything that qualifies as a reportable campaign contribution.We are unable to fund activities intended to influence the outcome of any specific election for candidates to public office.What We Will Not FundThe Fund values and recognizes the many roles artistic and cultural work play to create a healthy and just community. However, this program, because of legal requirements and limited resources, will not fund collaborations with an aim to:Influence the outcome of elections for candidates for public officeSupport capital campaigns for building maintenance, construction, or purchase, or endowmentsCreate artistic works with the principal purpose of putting them before an audienceSupport training activities with the sole purpose of helping individuals develop artistic skills