
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.
A thriving Oakland community without barriers to educational opportunity.
Engaging the Oakland community to advance equity and economic mobility through cradle to college and career achievement.
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.
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. All contributions are tax deductible to the extent allowable by law.
EBCF’s mission was to help resilient public high school seniors, under-represented in higher education, go to college and expand their life opportunities.
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 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.
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.
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.
We mobilize educators and partners to scale our impact throughout the Oakland community.
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 Budget is Applied to Optimize Impact
Programs* for Kids and Families
Kids and Families (includes scholarships, CSAs)
General & Administrative
Operating Reserve
* 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 portions of G&A labor FTE that work directly on programs.
To make a difference for Oakland’s young people, it takes collaboration with so many organizations that intersect with the educational ecosystem.
The alignment of all stakeholders leads to a likelihood of success for all our students and creates funding opportunities to make systemic change.
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.
Oakland Unified School District (OUSD), Destination College Advising Corp (DCAC), higher education institution partners (HBCUs, UCs, CSUs, Peralta Colleges, Mills) and many more.
Mayor’s Office, City of Oakland, #OaklandUndivided, Oakland Thrives, Northern California College Promise Coalition (NCCPC), Promise Net, OnePercent for Education and many more.
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, The Claremont Hotel on behalf of Richard C. Blum Family and Accor Hotels, Moyer Washington Fund, Hellman Foundation and more.
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, The Claremont Hotel on behalf of Richard C. Blum Family and Accor Hotels, Moyer Washington Fund, Hellman Foundation and more.
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.
Oakland Promise Parent Community Ambassador
College Student, University of California at Davis
East Bay College Fund Founder
East Bay College Fund Founder
East Bay Community Foundation, Board Chair
Mission Bay Development Group, Managing Principal
Remcho Johansen & Purcell, Partner
Kaiser Permanente East Bay, Director of Public Affairs
Board Member
PolicyLink, CEO, OP Board President
California State University East Bay, President (Retired)
All-Home, Founder/Chief Executive
Oakland Unified School District, Teacher, Elementary
Former East Bay College Fund Board Secretary
Mayor of Oakland
Oakland Mayor’s Office, Director of Education
SpencerStuart, Partner
Board Vice President*, Former EBCF Board President
Riaz Inc., Founder
Oakland Unified School District, Superintendent
Assemblymember, California State Assembly
CEO, First 5 Alameda County (Retired)
Supervisor, Alameda County
CEO, La Clinica De La Raza
District 7 Director, OUSD School Board
President & CEO, East Bay Community Foundation
President, NAACP Oakland
CEO, The Unity Council
Chancellor, Peralta District
President & CEO, Oakland Chamber Of Commerce
Fmr. President & CEO, UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland; Associate Dean for Children's Health
Superintendent of Schools, Alameda County
County Administrator, Alameda County
Chief Innovation Officer, Blue Shield of California
President, Paul Quinn College
Assemblymember, California State Assembly
Former Executive Director of Alumni And Constituent Affairs, UC Office Of The President
Dean of Students, UC Berkeley Goldman School
Chief Executive Officer
Director, Brilliant Baby
Executive Assistant to CEO
Operations & Outreach Coordinator, Brilliant Baby
Advising Coordinator, College Completion
Program Coordinator, College Access
Data and Evaluation Coordinator, Data
Communications and Volunteer Coordinator, Communications
Director, Data and Evaluation
Manager, Mentor Program
Advising Associate, College Completion
Program Associate, College Completion
Senior Manager, Mentor Program
Financial Coach, Brilliant Baby
Senior Manager, Brilliant Baby Financial Coaching
Senior Manager, Brilliant Baby
Mentor Program Coordinator, College Completion
Mentor Program Coordinator, College Completion
Advising Coordinator, College Completion
Senior Manager, College Access
Advising Associate, College Completion
Program Coordinator, College Access
Advising Coordinator, College Completion
Senior Advising Associate, College Completion
Finance Manager
Senior Financial Coach, Brilliant Baby
Program Associate, College Access
Director of Development
Senior Manager, College Completion
Associate, Development
Program Associate, Kindergarten to College (K2C)
Office Manager
Senior Director, Finance, Human Resources and Operations
Middle School Manager, Kindergarten to College (K2C)
Senior Manager, Development
Financial Coach, Brilliant Baby
Data and Evaluation Manager
Financial Coach Brilliant Baby
Accounting Associate
Chief of Staff to CEO
Director, College Access and College Completion
Financial Consultant, Brilliant Baby
Program Associate, Kindergarten to College (K2C)
Program Coordinator, Kindergarten to College (K2C)
Financial Coach, Brilliant Baby
Educational Partnership Manager
HR Coordinator, Human Resources
Director, Kindergarten to College (K2C)
Future Center/OUSD Liaison
Financial Coach, Brilliant Baby
Director of Communications
To achieve our bold vision, it is essential we partner with strong Oakland organizations.
Organizational Champions endorse the Oakland Promise and align to shared community outcomes.
I am impressed by the bold and comprehensive approach of the Oakland Promise which has pulled together best practices from around the country. As former US Secretary of Education, I've seen many initiatives across the country ---- Oakland Promise is one of the most strategic and effective and has the potential to be a national model... it leverages private philanthropy for public dollars and has already achieved outstanding results. OP changes the trajectory of our Oakland students from the time they are born, through the time they graduate from college and enter the workforce. Oakland Promise is truly a game changer for Oakland and its future generations.”
Former Secretary of Education under President Barack Obama (2009-2015)