Rise East, a collaboration between the 40x40 Council and Oakland Thrives, has announced a $50 million fundraising campaign in support of a 10-year, $100 million initiative to improve schools, boost economic opportunity, and improve health and well-being in East Oakland.

Oakland Thrives—a public-private partnership of civic leaders and social-sector organizations including Oakland-based Kaiser Permanente—aims to raise $50 million in local funding, which will be matched by the funding collaborative Blue Meridian Partners, for a total investment of $100 million. The 40x40 Council is a network of community-based organizations in East Oakland that includes the Black Cultural Zone, Brotherhood of Elders Network, East Oakland Youth Development Center, and Roots Community Health Center.

According to Rise East, half of Oakland's Black families in poverty live in East Oakland. Moreover, life expectancy of Black residents of East Oakland (70 years) significantly lags that of white residents of Oakland Hills (85 years).

The privately funded initiative will focus on the East Oakland community known as the 40x40, which is home to the largest concentration of Black residents in the Oakland flatlands, working to keep Black families in the area and encourage the return of community members displaced by the lack of economic opportunity and decades of systemic disinvestment. Beginning in 2024, the 10-year effort will include funding for an array of programs focused on children and youth, community and economic development, wealth generation, healthcare access, and community well-being.

“As young people raised in the area and now serving as leaders,” said Black Cultural Zone CEO Carolyn Johnson, “our vision is for a robust and vibrant renaissance in legacy Black communities; vibrant, thriving Black arts, cultural, and commercial areas in a thriving economy; and ecosystem powered by collective efforts that assures our inalienable human right to love, health, wellness, belonging, power, safety, and self-determination.”

(Photo credit: Getty Images/FG Trade)