FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 17, 2026
Contact:
Anthem Salgado
Strategist for Communications
[email protected]
NEWS RELEASE
Walter & Elise Haas Fund Invests in 24 Organizations Advancing Belonging Across the Bay Area
$12 Million Commitment Empowers Nonprofits to Deepen Social Cohesion and Bridge-Building
SAN FRANCISCO, CA — 24 organizations leading transformative work in social cohesion and belonging have been named as inaugural grantees of the WE Initiative. The Walter & Elise Haas Fund (W&EHF) is committing $12 million to fuel ongoing efforts to strengthen community bonds and foster connection across the Bay Area.
Collectively, the work of these 24 organizations reaches the lives of approximately 300,000 people. Each grantee brings a history of service and a clear commitment to human dignity and meaningful connection. Several shared themes emerged across this diverse group of awardees: bridge-building, civic engagement and organizing, the creation of community hubs, and a belief that diversity is a source of strength. Together, these organizations advance immigrant and refugee justice, and efforts to confront othering and bigotry; they uplift arts and culture, support Indigenous land return, expand access to healthy food, and foster healing in communities, all work grounded in equity and focused on lasting, systemic change.
Jamie Allison, Executive Director of the Walter & Elise Haas Fund, notes, “Community well-being is built together. These organizations strengthen the ties that connect people to one another, to place, and to shared purpose. By investing in local organizations that uplift culture, identity, and collective action, we’re supporting the conditions for community flourishing.”
W&EHF’s trust-based approach honors the organizations’ expertise and allows them to focus entirely on what they do best. With unrestricted funding of $100,000 per year over five years, each grantee can deepen and expand this vital work without the burden of constant reapplication or traditional reporting requirements.
Melissa Nop, Relationship Manager at W&EHF, adds, “In the Bay Area, social well-being is both a source of strength and a pressing need. Our region’s creativity and diversity are unparalleled, yet so are its inequities and fractures. Strengthening social well-being here means investing in what holds us together: belonging, empathy, creativity, celebration, working toward shared goals, and the ability to bridge divides across race, class, culture, and faith, where people look out for one another and where every community has a stake in shaping a more just and vibrant future for all.”
The Inaugural WE Initiative Cohort
Asian Prisoner Support Committee
Belonging Resident Company
Black Organizing Project
Center for Empowering Refugees and Immigrants
Eastside Arts Alliance, Inc.
Faith In Action Bay Area
Freedom Community Clinic
Fresh Meat Productions
Galería de la Raza
Glide Memorial Church
Jews of Color Initiative
The Marigold Project, Inc.
Ninth Street Media Consortium, Inc.
Oakland Asian Cultural Center
Planting Justice
POOR Magazine
Restore Oakland, Inc.
Sins Invalid
Sogorea Te’ Land Trust
Sustainable Economies Law Center
Town Nights
Urban Adamah
Vital Arts
Yerba Buena Gardens Festival
Community Readers
The Letter of Inquiry stage of the WE Initiative’s open-call process benefited from a panel of community readers composed of Bay Area-based practitioners whose participation brought lived experience and community knowledge to the grantmaking evaluation process, strengthening W&EHF’s commitment to community-informed decision-making.
Maddy Clifford, Creative Media Strategist, Debt Collective
Tyrone Fleurizard, Science Program Manager, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative
Iris Garcia, Program Officer, Kataly Foundation
Tim Kim, Consultant, former Executive Director of Korean American Community Foundation
Julie Kuwabara, Program Manager, The Center for Cultural Power
Paul Ocampo, Writer and former Director of Development, Asian Law Caucus
Claudia Paredes, Managing Director of Civic Leadership, Coro Northern California
About the Walter & Elise Haas Fund
The Walter & Elise Haas Fund is a leading voice in trust-based philanthropy. Established in 1952 by Walter A. Haas, Sr. and Elise Stern Haas, W&EHF is a testament to its founders’ appreciation for the San Francisco Bay Area and their commitment to providing opportunity and access for all.
W&EHF’s vision is a Bay Area where all people can reach their fullest potential and live with a sense of purpose, dignity, and joy. The organization’s values center around Family, Shared Responsibility, Belonging, and Possibility.
Media Resources
LINK: Select images from WE Initiative grantees
For additional media assets or to schedule an interview with staff, please contact Anthem Salgado at [email protected].
Image Credit: Planting Justice