Oakland Promise (OP) Provides Cradle to College Savings, Scholarships & Support

Oakland Promise is available to young learners (from newborns to college students) and their families who reside in Oakland. OP offers every child the financial resources, educational programming, mentorship, and a supportive community to help them and their families, to seek out and thrive in higher education and the career of their choosing.

Our Vision

A thriving Oakland community without barriers to educational opportunity.

Our Mission

Engaging the Oakland community to advance equity and economic mobility through cradle to college and career achievement.

History & Nonprofit Status

In 2016, Oaklanders came together to make a promise to every child in our city, offering them the resources, support, coaching, and incentives they need from birth and throughout their school years to empower them to seek out and thrive in the higher education and career of their choosing. With equity as a focus, Oakland Promise works to give kids and their families the opportunity to make this promise a reality.

In 2019, Oakland Promise and East Bay College Fund (which has been supporting college students since 2003) merged into one unified organization named Oakland Promise. OP is a founding partner of the Northern California College Promise Coalition (NCCPC). A detailed independent report on OP’s work and effectiveness can be found here that was developed by the Center of Assets, Education and Inclusion (AEDI) at the University of Michigan.

Non-Profit Status

Oakland Promise is a 501c3 non-profit public benefit organization registered with the State of California’s Attorney General Department of Justice. Federal tax ID is #54-2103707 and is listed here with the IRS as a public charity and tax-exempt organization. OP’s 501c3 non-profit status is further verified and confirmed in this IRS letter. All contributions are tax deductible to the extent allowable by law. As a 501(c)(3) organization, OP does not directly or indirectly participate in, or intervene in, any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for elective public office.

To understand more about Oakland Promise’s history, merger and nonprofit work, please read this document (as of January 2022). Here is OP’s November 2022 Community Briefing Report and also our November 2021 Community Briefing Report.

Oakland Promise is a Platinum-Level GuideStar participant, with a seal demonstrating our commitment to transparency; Oakland Promise also has a Charity Navigator “Overall Score of 100 out of 100 in the Finance & Accountability” category in 2021 and rated as a “Four Star Charity”.

East Bay College Fund (EBCF) was Founded

EBCF’s mission was to help resilient public high school seniors, under-represented in higher education, go to college and expand their life opportunities.

Oakland Promise was Created

The vision was to have a community that would ensure every child in Oakland graduates high school with the expectations, resources and skills to complete college and be successful in the career of his or her choice.

OP and EBCF Merged

OP and EBCF had been partnering for a few years already and it was determined the overall leverage of a combined organization would create more effectiveness and efficiency in supporting young people in the continuum from birth to career.

Supporting Young People & Families

During this pandemic, we migrated many of our in-person programs and services to virtual venues while maintaining all our support for the Oakland community. We continue to innovate, partner and collaborate with organizations to support youth and families to become more resilient to achieve their dreams.

Our Work

Direct Service

We deliver direct service through our four programs where we support young learners (and their families) with financial, advisory and resource services to complete their post-secondary education.

Intermediary

We mobilize educators and partners to scale our impact throughout the Oakland community.

Policy Influence

We strive to influence policies and systems changes that advocate for young learners and their families. We accomplish this by providing thought leadership, recommendations and formation of key partnerships and coalitions.

Our Programs

Oakland Promise’s four programs reach and support young learners at each age.

Brilliant Baby

Approximately 2,200 babies are born into poverty in Oakland each year. We equip brilliant babies and their families with a great start through college savings accounts (CSAs), financial guidance and community.

Learn more

Kindergarten to College

Approximately 5,000 students start Kindergarten in Oakland public schools each year. Beginning in the Fall of 2016, we provide every Kindergartner enrolled in an Oakland district and charter school an Oakland Promise Scholarship (that can grow to $500) and school-based supports.

Learn more

College Access

Each year, 10,000 high school students in Oakland Public Schools have access to scholarships, college and career readiness programming and personalized support to set them on a path to college, career technical education and career success.

Learn more

College Completion

Each year, over 400 new high school graduates become OP college scholars. We equip our Scholars with scholarships, mentorship and persistence support to finish their college or career technical education (CTE) degrees.

Learn more

Where Our Money Goes

Budget Summary

Our FY 2023 Budget is Applied to Optimize Impact

64%

Programs services for kids, students, families or programs

21%

Direct payment to kids, students and families (includes scholarships and CSAs)

15%

General & Administrative

* Programs Services for kids, students families or programs: This category includes any expenditure spent directly on students, families or programs. Programs include staff dedicated fully or partially towards the advancement of a program effort that has a direct impact on students and/or families. More specifically this includes all of OP’s programs, data, communications and assigned portion of G&A labor FTE that work directly on programs.

Our Impact since Inception in 2016: Oakland Promise's Impact is Enhanced through our Initiatives and Partnerships with about 100 Organizations.

To make a difference for Oakland’s young people, it takes collaboration with so many organizations that intersect with the educational ecosystem.

Our Partnership Philosophy (from an African Proverb): "If You Want to Go Fast, Go Alone. If You Want to Go Far, Go Together".

The alignment of all stakeholders leads to a likelihood of success for all our students and creates funding opportunities to make systemic change.

Community Partnerships

Harlem Children’s Zone, Oakland NAACP, Oakland Children’s Hospital, Latino Men and Boys, African American Male Achievement (AAMA), African American Female Excellence (AAFE) Sage Financial Solutions and many more.

Educational Partnerships

Oakland Unified School District (OUSD), Destination College Advising Corp (DCAC), higher education institution partners (HBCUs, UCs, CSUs, Peralta Colleges, Mills) and many more.

City, Regional and National Partnerships

Mayor’s Office, City of Oakland, #OaklandUndivided, Oakland Thrives, Northern California College Promise Coalition (NCCPC), Promise Net, OnePercent for Education and many more.

Corporate Partnerships

PG&E, City of Oakland, OUSD, San Francisco Foundation, Michael Moritz and Harriet Heyman/Crankstart Foundation, Koshland Family Foundation, Arthur Rock and Toni Rembe Rock, Marc and Lynne Benioff, Moyer Washington Fund, Hellman Foundation and more.

Funding Partnerships

City of Oakland, OUSD, San Francisco Foundation, Michael Moritz and Harriet Heyman/Crankstart Foundation, Koshland Family Foundation, Arthur Rock and Toni Rembe Rock, Marc and Lynne Benioff, Moyer Washington Fund, Hellman Foundation and more.

Who We Are

We have a team that works with our board, advisory board, partners and volunteers across a network to create a movement that helps young people achieve their potential.

Barbara Fremder

East Bay College Fund Founder

Carl Washington

Strategic Partnerships Executive, Business Development Leader

Colin Lacon

Kaiser Permanente East Bay, Director of Public Affairs

James Harrison *

Olson Remcho, LLP, Partner, OP Board Secretary

Joel Mackey

Bay Area Community Resources (BACR), Associate Professional Clinical Counselor, Attorney at Law in Private Practice

Kim Thompson

CEO Action for Racial Equity Fellow and Principal at PwC

Kyla Johnson Trammell

Oakland Unified School District, Superintendent

Maria Pirner

Oakland Unified School District, Teacher, Elementary

Dr. Michael McAfee *

PolicyLink, CEO, OP Board President

Riaz Taplin

Riaz Inc., Founder

Robert Stark*

SpencerStuart, Partner

Rosaura M. Altamirano

Oakland Promise Parent Community Ambassador

Seth Hamalian *

Mission Bay Development Group, Managing Principal, OP Board Treasurer

Susie Poncelet

Former East Bay College Fund Board Secretary

Susan Stutzman *

Board Vice President*, Former EBCF Board President

Tomiquia Moss

All-Home, Founder/Chief Executive

Annie Campbell Washington

Dean of Students, UC Berkeley Goldman School

Barbara Leslie

President & CEO, Oakland Chamber Of Commerce

Bert Lubin (Deceased)

Fmr. President & CEO, UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland; Associate Dean for Children's Health

Chris Iglesias

CEO, The Unity Council

George Holland

President, NAACP Oakland

James Harris

District 7 Director, OUSD School Board

James Head

President & CEO, East Bay Community Foundation

Jane Garcia

CEO, La Clinica De La Raza

Janis Burger

CEO, First 5 Alameda County (Retired)

Jeff Semenchuk

Chief Innovation Officer, Blue Shield of California

John Valva

Former Executive Director of Alumni And Constituent Affairs, UC Office Of The President

Jowel C. Laguerre

Chancellor, Peralta District

Karen Monroe

Superintendent of Schools, Alameda County

Michael Sorrell

President, Paul Quinn College

Susan Muranishi

County Administrator, Alameda County

Tony Thurmond

Assemblymember, California State Assembly

Wilma Chan (deceased)

Supervisor, Alameda County

Abieyuwa Oghogho

Program Coordinator, Kindergarten to College (K2C)

Aiyani Scott

Program Coordinator, Brilliant Baby

Alitta Boyd

Senior Program Manager, College Access

Amani Abou Harb

Senior Manager, Impact & Evaluation

Arbour Decker

Chief Development Officer

Barbara Lenssen

Director of Human Resources

Danica Dabic

Accounting Associate

Daniel Russell-Cheung

Associate Program Manager, College Completion

Deprece Bonilla

Program Associate, Brilliant Baby

Diana Hoang

CREWS Program Coordinator

Diego Pinto

Senior Program Manager, Brilliant Baby

Ebony Boyd

HR Coordinator, Human Resources

Eliana Coria

Manager, Grants & Accounting

Giselle Hendrie

Director, College Access

Greg Bailey

Director, Kindergarten to College (K2C)

Harmela Beyene

Program Manager, College Completion

Ivan Chavez

Program Coordinator, College Access

Jamie So

Associate Manager of Matriculation and Persistence

Jazmin Contreras

Development Coordinator

Jazz Broughton

Program Manager, College Access

Jessica Vazquez

Mentor Program Manager

Jocelyn Bustillos Verdugo

Operations & Accounting Coordinator

Joci Kelleher

Director, Brilliant Baby

Jonathan Coelho

Program Associate, College Completion

Katya Kirian

Senior Manager, Finances and Reporting

Lauren Reed

Director, Impact and Evaluation

Lia Mezzio

Associate Manager of Institutional Giving, Development

Linda Nguyen

Senior Partnerships Manager

Lucina Parada

Associate Manager of Workforce and Alumni Support

Luis Galvan

Program Coordinator, College Completion

Marcelo Duran Avalos

Director, College Completion

Maribel Cervantes

Program Associate, Kindergarten to College (K2C)

Melissa Elizalde

Program Coordinator, College Completion

Monique Recoder

Senior Program Manager, College Completion

Nahom Beyene

Program Associate, Brilliant Baby

Pete Haviland-Eduah

Director of Communications and External Affairs

Rachelle Cardona

Program Coordinator, College Completion

Reequanza McBride

Program Manager, Kindergarten to College (K2C)

Sam Tesoro

Financial Analyst

Sandra Ernst

CEO, Oakland Promise

Shukri Abdullahi

Program Coordinator, College Access

Tiana Corona

Senior Manager, Corporate & Community Relations

Tonya Chapman

Manager, Human Resources & Operations

Veena Pawloski

Chief Program Officer

Vinh Trinh

College and Career Center / OUSD Liaison

Yabnely Lara

Program Coordinator, Brilliant Baby

Yadira Hernandez-Figueroa

Mentor Program Coordinator, College Completion

Zenni Duong

Senior Program Manager

Oakland Promise Partners

To achieve our bold vision, it is essential we partner with strong Oakland organizations.

College scholarships & completion/college partners

African American Male Achievement
Alameda County Office of Education
Allen University
Berkeley City College
Beyond 12
California State University East Bay
Cheyney University
CodeEd Academy
College of Alameda
College Track
David E Glover Center
East Bay College Fund
East Oakland Youth Development Center (EOYDC)
EPICC
Florida Memorial University
Full Circle Fund
Future of Tech Partners
Gameheads
Hack the Hood
Harris-Stowe University
Holy Names University
Intel
Kentucky State University
Laney College
Level Playing Field Institute
Masons
Merritt College
Mills College
NAACP
Notre Dame de Namur University
Oakland Rotary
Oral Lee Brown
Paul Quinn College
Peralta College Office of the Chancellor
Qeyno Labs
San Francisco State University
Student Program for Academic and Athletic Transitioning (SPAAT)
TechHire
Texas College
The Hidden Genius Project
University of California Berkeley
University of California Davis
University of California Office of the President
University of San Francisco
University of Santa Clara
Virginia University of Lynchburg
YesWeCode
Youth Radio

Organizational Champions

Organizational Champions endorse the Oakland Promise and align to shared community outcomes.

Acts Full Gospel Church
African American Male Achievement Initiative
Aim High
Alameda County Community Asset Network
Alameda County Public Health Department
Alameda County Office of Education
Alameda Health System
Alternatives in Action
Art Media Entertainment – California Department of Education
Asian Health Services Community Health Center
Aspire Public Schools
Asset Funders Network
Baptist Ministers Union of Oakland
Bay Area Teen Science
Bay Area Urban Debate League
Bay Community Fellowship
Be a Mentor, Inc.
Book Trust
Boys & Girls Clubs of Oakland
Boys Hope Girls Hope San Francisco Bay Area
Braven
Bridge the Chasm
Brighter Beginnings
BUILD
California Charter Schools Association
Campaign for Black Male Achievement
Campaign for Free College Tuition
Center for Elders Independence
Centro Legal de la Raza
Chabot Space & Science Center
Chapter 510
Children’s Defense Fund
Citizen Schools
City of Oakland/City Administrator
City of Oakland/Community Action Program
City of Oakland/Head Start Program
City of Oakland/Human Services Agency
City of Oakland/Treasurer
Civic Nation
Clear Channel Outdoor
Coliseum College Prep Academy
College Bound
Community Engagement, OUSD
Community Financial Resources
Community Technology Network
Convergence Covenant Church
Devry University
EARN
East Bay Asian Youth Center
East Bay College Fund
East Bay Community Foundation
East Bay Consortium
East Bay Spanish Speaking Citizens Foundation
East Oakland Boxing Association
Educate78
Education Redesign Lab, Harvard Graduate School of Education
Educational Coalition for Hispanics in Oakland
Enroll Oakland Characters
Ethol
Faith Network of the East Bay
Family Independence Initiative
Family Paths, Inc.
Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco
First 5 Alameda County
First Place for Youth
Footsteps 2 Brilliance
Fred Finch Youth Center
Friedman Family Foundation
Full Court Press Communications
Game Theory Academy
Generation Citizen
GO Public Schools Oakland
Golden State Warriors Community Foundation
Great School Choices
Hack the Hood
Harbor House Ministries
Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Alameda County
Holy Names University
Holy Names University Upward Bound Project
iMentor
InPlay
Inside Track
Irene S. Scully Family Foundation
Jostens
Juma Ventures
Junior Achievement of Northern California
Lao Family Community Development
Latino Education Network
Leadership Public Schools
Lend A Hand Foundation
Life Academy of Health and Bioscience
LifeLaunchr, Inc.
Lighthouse Community Charter School
Lincoln
LRNG
MarketingVUE
Menlo College
Merritt College
Mills College TRIO Programs
Museum of Jazz & Art
My Brother’s Keeper
National Equity Project
New Covenant Tabernacle Church
New Door Ventures
New Hope Covenant Church
New Leaders
Oakland African-American Chamber of Commerce
Oakland Chamber of Commerce
Oakland Community Organization
Oakland Empowerment Scholarship, Mentoring & Sports Program for Girls
Oakland High School
Oakland Housing Authority
Oakland Leaf
Oakland NAACP
Oakland Natives Give Back
Oakland Parents Together
Oakland Public Library
Oakland Rotary Club
Oakland Technology Exchange West
Oakland Temple Visitors Center
Oakland Turkey Trot
Oakland Unified School District
Oakland Workforce Development Board
Oakland Worship Center
Opportunity Fund
Partners in School Innovation
Partnership for Children and Youth
Peer Health Exchange
Peralta Community College District
Playworks
Points of Light
PolicyLink
Project Peace East Bay
Promise Neighborhoods Institute at PolicyLink
PUEBLO
Quest Foundation
Quest Therapeutic Camps
Rainbow PUSH Coalition
Reading Partners
Ready Nation
Redwood Heights School
Regeneration
Rex Consulting
Rogers Family Foundation
S and D Girl Talk
Sage Financial Solutions
San Francisco Foundation
Scholar’s Youth Sorority
ScholarShare, State of California Treasurer’s Office
Science is Elementary
Science, Engineering and Mathematics Link, Inc.
Sharks Ice
Shiloh Church
Spotlight Education
Springboard Collaborative
St. Augustine’s Episcopal Church
St. John’s Episcopal Church
Stuart Foundation
StudentReach
Summer Search
Sungevity
Super Stars Literacy
Tandem, Partners in Early Learning
Teach for America
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
The College Promise Campaign
The Education Trust-West
The New West Oakland Movement
The Oral Lee Brown Foundation
The Zorgos Project
uAspire
UC Berkeley
UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital
UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital, Center for Community Health and Engagement
United Negro College Fund
United Way Bay Area
Urban Strategies Council
West Oakland Job Resource Center
West Side MBC
Williams Chapel Baptist Church
World Impact, Inc.
WriterCoach Connection
Young Sparks Foundation
Youth ALIVE!
Youth Radio
Youth Transportation Organization
Youth UpRising