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The first thing that often occurs to us is a charitable gift in memory of your mother.  Many of us do not have mothers still alive, and the idea of a charitable gift can honor a living or deceased mother, especially if you find a local cause here in the East Bay that is or was near and dear to her heart.

Perhaps a gift to her alma mater, to her place of worship, to help find a cure for a disease from which she suffered.  Perhaps she loved animals or a park.

There is one cause in particular – a focus of the East Bay Community Foundation — that finds great support among many mothers: ensuring success of young children in the education system.

Eight of our “Partners for Progress,” which we support with financial and technical assistance, have brilliant programs in early childhood success.

You can contribute to any of them separately.  Or you can make an unrestricted contribution to the East Bay Community Foundation, which supports our work with all of them making them stronger and more effective.

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Sarah E. Lehman is Managing Director of Development & Marketing at the Foundation. She is responsible for managing efforts to attract new financial support and new clients to the Foundation and for managing relationships with current clients and supporters.

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Sue Bennett
Grants Manager

Sue Bennett is Grants Manager at the Foundation, responsible for guiding the grants administration process, including vetting grants for compliance, reporting and other issues.

Prior to joining the Foundation, she was Project Director at CompassPoint Nonprofit Services in a variety of positions including faculty, IT administrator, and training director.  Prior to that, she was an Information Technology Specialist at Cleveland Scholarship Programs, Inc. and was Director of the Lesbian Health Project at Planned Parenthood of Greater Cleveland.

She is the author of “The Accidental Techie: Supporting, Managing and Maximizing Your Nonprofit’s Technology.”

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You want your meeting or conference to be a success. So do we.

Our conference and meeting center in downtown Oakland provides high-quality, convenient, and comfortable conference and meeting spaces for large and small groups. We’re just steps from BART’s 12th Street/City Center station and close to three major freeways and downtown’s major hotels.

Non-profit, business, and government organizations alike have found these facilities – which feature up-to-date audio, video, and internet access, as well as catering capabilities – to be ideal for groups ranging from six to 120 people. Whether your need is daytime or evening, weekday or weekend.

It’s our conference center with a conscience. When you book space at our affordable conference and meeting center, you’re automatically giving back to the East Bay. All proceeds from the center underwrite the philanthropic activities of the East Bay Community Foundation, serving the 2.4 million people of Alameda and Contra Costa counties.

For a detailed description of the facilities, rental rates, and how to book space, please click here.

For a video tour of the facilities please click here.

For directions to our conference and meeting center, please click here.

Conference Center Newsletter

Spring 2013
Satisfy All Age Groups, Games People Play

Fall 2012
Satisfy All Senses

Summer 2012
Book A Speaker In Tune With The Times

Winter 2012
New Meeting Trends, Team Building

Fall 2011
Agenda, Presentation Skills, End on High Note

Spring-Summer 2011
Planning for Success, Avoiding Bad PowerPoints, the Social Dimension

James Irvine Foundation Conference Center at
the East Bay Community Foundation:

Get great space. Do good. All in one easy package.

Oakland Meeting Space, Non Profit Meeting Space, Downtown Oakland Meeting Space, Meeting Space for non profits, Oakland Non Profit Meeting Space, Oakland Conference Room Space, Meeting Space Oakland Ca, Oakland Board Room Rental, Downtown Oakland Board room rentals, Meeting facilities Oakland, Event space Bay Area, Conference center Oakland, Banquet room Oakland

To reserve the center, please call (510) 208-0805 or send an e-mail to reservations@eastbaycf.org.

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More than 300 educators, childcare providers, and early learning specialists turned out to the Contra Costa Childcare Council’s 19th Annual Early Learning Conference recently for a day full of sessions and the opportunity to hear Gopnik, the internationally recognized expert on the minds of young children.

The conference was co-sponsored by the East Bay Community Foundation, as part of our focus on ensuring young children are successful in the education system so they have economic opportunity as adults.

Held at Diablo Valley College’s campus in Pleasant Hill, the conference was kicked off by welcoming remarks from College President Peter Garcia, a member of the Foundation’s Board of Directors — and Gopnik was introduced by Foundation President & CEO Nicole Taylor.

If you missed it, no worries. Gopnik, professor of psychology and affiliate professor of philosophy at University of California, Berkeley, is the author of more than 100 journal articles and three readily available books, including:

• “Words, Thoughts, and Theories” (co-written with Andrew Meltzoff);
• “The Scientist in the Crib,” (co-written with Meltzoff and Patricia Kuhl); and
• “The Philosophical Baby: What children’s minds tell us about love, truth, and the meaning of life.”

All photos by Amy Sullivan.

Keynote Speaker Alison Gopnik.

Peter Garcia, East Bay Community Foundation Board Member & Diablo Valley College President, welcomes attendees.

(l. to r.) East Bay Community Foundation Chief Operating Officer Janet Y. Spears, Director of Community Investment Diane Sanchez, and Managing Director of Development & Marketing Sarah Lehman chat with keynote speaker Alison Gopnik.

Kate Ertz-Berger, Executive Director of the Contra Costa Childcare Council.

East Bay Community Foundation President & CEO Nicole Taylor introduces early learning expert Alison Gopnik.

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First Place for Youth helps foster youth build the skills they need to make a successful transition to self-sufficiency and responsible adulthood.

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Stride Center empowers adults facing barriers to employment to achieve economic self-sufficiency through a comprehensive career development program that includes job skills training, credentials, career coaching, work experience, and job placement assistance

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Nearly 60 board members and chief executives of nonprofit organizations turned out recently at the East Bay Community Foundation  conference center to hear tips on strategic planning from three consultants: Michael Allison of Michael Allison Consulting, Shannon Ellis of CompassPoint, and Luis Vergara of La Piana Consulting.

The session (see other photos below) was co-sponsored by The Clorox Company Foundation and by The East Bay Community Foundation.

If you were there, you would have come away with seven things you need to know before you start strategic planning:

Panelist Luis Vergara, Senior Manager, La Piana Consulting

Panelist Shannon Ellis, Project Director, CompassPoint

Panelist Michael Allison, Principal, Michael Allison Consulting

Panel Moderator David Pontecorvo, Senior Program Officer, East Bay Community Foundation

Nichelle Rachal, Community Relations Specialist, The Clorox Company, welcomes attendees.

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Standing room only for women’s event at Sequoyah Country Club in Oakland

More than 75 women – and, yes, a few brave men – recently attended a reception and panel discussion on women doing good co-sponsored by Alameda County Administrator Susan Muranishi and East Bay Community Foundation President & CEO Nicole Taylor.

Honored for their work at the event were East Bay philanthropist Lois De Domenico, Clorox VP of Global Government Affairs & Community  Relations Victoria Jones, and Kaiser Permanente VP of External & Community Affairs in Northern California Yvette Radford.

Introduced by Taylor as her mentor, De Domenico aptly summarized the spirit of the event at the Sequoyah County Club in Oakland when she said: “There are so many ways to help others.  A million ways.  And it all comes back to you in the end.”

See how the East Bay Community Foundation assists women with their charitable giving.

(l. to r.) Alameda County  Administrator Susan Muranishi, Kaiser Permanente VP of External & Community Affairs Yvette Radford, Clorox VP of Global Government Affairs & Community Relations Victoria Jones, philanthropist Lois De Domenico, and East Bay Community  Foundation President & CEO Nicole Taylor.

Honoree Yvette Radford is the object of affection and appreciation.

Honoree Lois De Domenico (with lei) and admirers.

Honoree Victoria Jones.

(l. to r.) Honorees Yvette Radford, Victoria Jones, Lois De Domenico and moderator Nicole Taylor, President & CEO of the East Bay Community Foundation.

Alameda County Administrator Susan Muranishi welcoming attendees.

East Bay Community Foundation President & CEO Nicole Taylor introducing honorees.

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