At East Bay Community Foundation (EBCF), we believe that everyone should have the economic freedom to dream, heal, and belong. That belief doesn’t just shape our grantmaking and community partnerships; it guides how we invest every dollar under our care.
While many know us as a community-based organization, there is also a financial component to our work. We manage more than $500 million in assets on behalf of over 600 donor, nonprofit, and corporate funds. Stewarding this capital responsibly and with intention is one of our most powerful levers to build the East Bay we all want to see.
Our investment strategy is designed to pursue four goals – what we call the EBCF Quadruple Bottom Line:
- Deliver competitive market returns so that philanthropic capital continues to grow.
- Partner with values-aligned firms and strategies of all types, including diverse, and women-owned investment firms, creating opportunities for those historically excluded from the finance industry.
- Invest in alpha-seeking, socially responsible, mission-aligned sectors — especially in ways that help address California’s biggest challenges.
- Use our investment returns to fund grantmaking around workforce development, housing, and healthy environments in Alameda and Contra Costa counties.
This approach allows us to align our investment practices with our values while working effectively in the philanthropic sector. It also offers an alternative approach to more traditional corporate financial models.
We offer a range of investment pools designed to match donors’ risk and return objectives — ranging from highly liquid, low-risk cash and fixed-income options to longer-term strategies higher on the risk/reward spectrum, with greater exposure to equities and alternatives. Across all our investment options, we remain guided by one central question: How can we best leverage our investments to both perform and uplift the communities we serve?
“We don’t believe there’s a tradeoff between mission and returns. When we move our money, we’re living out our purpose and showing what philanthropy rooted in values can look like.”
Supporting Local Banks
One simple but powerful way we support local communities is through the Certificate of Deposit Account Registry Service (CDARS). Through CDARS, we distribute deposits across multiple smaller, regional banks while maintaining complete FDIC insurance coverage. These local institutions then use these funds to provide financing within their communities—funding home mortgages, small business loans, and other vital credit needs. This approach creates an immediate, tangible impact on community members’ lives while supporting regional economic development and financial stability.
With a lending ratio of up to $10-to-$1, a $50 million investment in CDARS could support up to $500 million in community investment. Putting financial resources into the hands of community members who need it most not only provides a return on our invested capital, but can lead to real, everyday life improvements like secure housing, access to healthcare, and opportunities to build generational wealth.
Investing in Municipal Bonds
With a higher rate of return and higher risk profile than cash, municipal and state bonds are a key component of our investment strategy. Bonds allow us to target investment in California, and when feasible, in Alameda and Contra Costa Counties. For example, one of our investment managers recently purchased taxable municipal bonds that specifically fund housing projects in the East Bay — targeting low income communities. That capital has an immediate impact on peoples’ lives directly in our East Bay neighborhoods.
Screening Out Stocks That Don’t Match Our Values
We also pay close attention to what we don’t invest in. Within our equity strategies, Index Funds make up a significant percentage of our portfolio, giving us important, broad market exposure. EBCF has worked with specialists to implement custom screens that reflect our values.
For example, in our custom index strategies, we intentionally do not invest in companies that:
- Make military weapons
- Build for-profit prisons
- Have no women or people of color on their boards
We invest our dollars for the kind of world we want to see, focused on performance and impact.
Living Our Values Through Investment
As Brandi Howard, our President and CEO, says, “We don’t believe there’s a tradeoff between mission and returns. When we move our money, we’re living out our purpose and showing what philanthropy rooted in values can look like.”
At EBCF, we’re proud to be stewards of not just dollars, but of hope, possibility, and community transformation. Through every investment, we’re helping to build a future where everyone has the freedom to dream and the resources to thrive.