This past year brought a difficult backdrop for the sector and across the country, nonprofits faced growing challenges. Harmful narratives took hold in public discourse, questioning the integrity and value of nonprofit organizations and the people who lead them. These narratives erode trust, strain already under-resourced organizations, and make it harder for communities to solve problems together.
We want to say clearly: we see and value the people doing this work.
Every day, nonprofit leaders, staff, volunteers, artists, organizers, and community members, including young people, show up out of genuine commitment to others. They help families weather hardship, strengthen neighborhoods, foster civic participation, build connections across differences, and create opportunities for people to thrive. The people who make up nonprofits are often present on people’s hardest days and among the first to respond when communities face uncertainty. They are the connective tissue of our communities, and our communities are stronger because of them.
Over the past several years, we have come to understand that community well-being depends on relationships of trust and belonging, and that those relationships are often stewarded by nonprofit organizations whose people also need the support and conditions necessary to thrive. Healthy communities depend on healthy nonprofits.
This belief shaped much of our work in 2025.
The board approved the WE Initiative, a new grantmaking strategy dedicated to activating and sustaining belonging in Oakland and San Francisco. We increasingly see belonging not as a luxury, but as essential community infrastructure. When people feel connected, valued, and invested in one another, communities are better able to address challenges, navigate differences, and create opportunities for everyone. The WE Initiative reflects our commitment to strengthening those connections.
We also completed the evolution of the Creative Work Fund into the Creative Power Awards (CPA), which joined the Endeavor Fund and the WE Initiative as one of the Fund’s three anchor strategies. CPA reflects our commitment to trust and shared power through artist nominators, community panelists, unrestricted grants, and a model that allows artists to direct funding to community organizations that matter deeply to them.
This year, we published Nonprofits Don’t Win Alone, a learning report drawing on the first three years of the Endeavor Fund, our trust-based, multi-year strategy supporting seven Bay Area organizations working to close the race and gender wealth gap. The report’s central finding was straightforward but powerful: when funders listen deeply, remain flexible, and support nonprofits’ agency, grantees are better positioned to do their best work.
One of the clearest lessons involved nonprofit worker well-being, a core element of the Endeavor Fund’s design. All grantee organizations raised wages, expanded benefits, and strengthened organizational culture. These outcomes were made possible because organizations had the flexibility to invest in their people. We share this report not only as an account of our grantees’ accomplishments, but also as an honest reflection on how this work has changed us as funders, making us more responsive, more relational, and more aligned with the communities we seek to serve.
We also mark a leadership transition with deep appreciation. Bradley Haas completed three years of thoughtful and committed service as board chair. His leadership helped guide the Fund through one of the most significant strategic refreshes in its history and shepherd many of the milestones reflected in this report. We are grateful for his stewardship and pleased to welcome Alejandro Foung as incoming board chair.
As we look ahead, we remain hopeful.
At a time when division and distrust can feel overwhelming, we continue to believe that people want to belong, contribute, and build something larger than themselves. Nonprofits help make that possible every day. Philanthropy has a responsibility to support that work, not only through grants, but by standing up for the value of community, civic participation, and collective care.
We are proud to stand alongside the organizations, leaders, artists, and residents working to strengthen the Bay Area. Together, we can build communities where all people have the opportunity to reach their fullest potential and live with a sense of purpose, dignity, and joy.
With gratitude,
Bradley Haas, Board Chair
Jamie Allison, Executive Director
