January 2022
About Oakland Promise
Oakland Promise is available to young learners and their families who reside in Oakland. We offer every childthe financial resources, support, mentorship, and incentives they need from birth and throughout their schoolyears, to empower them to seek out and thrive in higher education and a career of their choosing. Throughprograms targeted at each stage of a young person’s development, we offer College Savings Accounts,Oakland Promise Scholarships, guidance for students and parents, and other critical resources to encouragestudents to develop their college and vocational bound identity and persistence.
What are the Vision, Mission and Unity Principles of Oakland Promise? Our Vision:A thriving Oakland community without educational barriers to opportunity.
Our Mission:Engaging the Oakland community to advanceequity and economic mobility throughcradle-to-college and career achievement.
Unity Principles
Transparency:We will be open and honest about whatwe do, how we do it, and why we do it.
Accountability:We speak up when we make mistakesand constantly reflect on the impact of our work.
Equity:Our programs are inclusive and targeted tosupport and provide access to opportunities forstudents, families, partners, and community members that are historically underserved and marginalized.
Community:We exist to benefit the Oakland communityand our success depends on its trust andpartnership. We are intentional in listening and responding to community needs and expertise.
Joy:We recognize, honor, and celebrate the resilienceand brilliance of our students, families, andcommunity.
Integrity: We do right by our Oakland families andscholars, our educators and volunteer community, andour Promise. 1 What is the specific role of Oakland Promise?
To achieve our mission, we engage in1) direct action,2) serve as an intermediary, and 3) as a policyinfluencer. And here are our four areas Oakland Promiseintends to influence (also known as ‘throughlines’):
● College Affordability: We strive to make college andcareer technical education (CTE) affordable forfamilies through scholarships, college savings accounts, and higher education tuition policy andpartnerships. ● College-bound Identity and Persistence: We supportstudents to and through post-secondary educationby providing resources, mentoring, guidance, expectations, college-mindset culture and community. ● Families’ Engagement in Children’s Education: We shareinformation, expectations, resources, andfinancial guidance with parents and caregivers so that they feel confident in supporting their students tomake college or career technical education a reality. ● Financial Capability:We provide guidance and advisorysupport to help families plan for the financialcommitments needed for post-secondary education completion.
Oakland Promise includes among its program components, a set of strategies designed to help families buildand acquire financial resources over time to pay for college and Career Technical Education. Three primarygoals drive this element of the Oakland Promise programming:
1) To develop a college-bound identity among our students. Research shows that low- andmoderate-income children who have money set aside for their college education are more likely toattend and complete college. Having funds for college at an early age helps children think of themselvesas someone who will attend college, and may positively influence academic performance due tochanged expectations; 1 2) To provide scholarship money to help pay for college or career technical education (CTE). Whilemost low- and moderate-income students will securepublic financial aid, such as Cal Grants A, B or C,through their FAFSA or DreamAct application tohelpfund their education, college savings accounts, andscholarship funds are a critical part of every student’s funding package; and 3) To provide financial education for families and college-going programming for students, equippingthem with the resources needed to navigate post-secondary education and institutions, beginning at birth. 1 Elliott, Jung, and Friedline, (2010; 2011) 2
Other Roles of Oakland PromiseSince launching in 2016, Oakland Promise has proven its ability to inspire local, regional, and national efforts tomore effectively support students and families. ● Founding Member of the Northern California College Promise Coalition (NCCPC)● Founding Member of #OaklandUndivided● Founding Cohort of Harvard’s By All Means Initiative● Member of National League of Cities● Partnership with Blue Meridian Partners (Place Matters) and Harlem Children’s Zone (Covid-19 relief) How does Oakland Promise operate?
As a 501c3 nonprofit, Oakland Promise operates as a public private partnership with partners and manystakeholders including OUSD and charter schools, City of Oakland, corporations, community basedorganizations(CBOs), nonprofits, donors, studentsandfamiliestoprovideourprogramsandservices. Wehavefour mainprogramareasthat servedifferent agegroupsincludingbabieswiththeir parents/guardians(BrilliantBaby); elementary and middle school students (K2C); high school students (College Access); and collegestudents and college/CTE graduates (College Completion).
OaklandPromiseisledbyaCEOandaManagementTeamofdepartmentdirectors. TheCEOisaccountabletoanindependent Boardof DirectorsledbyitsPresident Michael McAfee(CEOandPresidentatPolicyLink). TheBoard is composed of a diverse Executive Committee and other memberswhoareleadersintheir fieldsandprovide valuable guidance.
Oakland Promise is supported by public and private funding.
Board Members:Rosaura M. Altamirano, Oakland Promise Parent CommunityAmbassadorChuyi Fang, College Student, UC DavisBarb Fremder, East Bay College Fund, FounderMark Friedman, East Bay Community Foundation, BoardChairSeth Hamalian, Treasurer*, Mission Bay DevelopmentGroup, Managing PrincipalJames Harrison, Secretary*, Remcho Johansen & Purcell, PartnerColin Lacon, Kaiser Permanente East Bay, Directorof Public AffairsDr. Michael McAfee, President*, PolicyLink, CEO, BoardPresidentLeroy Morishita, California State University EastBay, President (Ret.)Tomiquia Moss*, All-Home, Founder/Chief ExecutiveMaria Pirner, Oakland Unified School District, Teacher, ElementarySusie Poncelet, Former East Bay College Fund BoardSecretaryRobert Stark, SpencerStuart, PartnerSusan Stutzman*, Board Vice President*, Former EBCF Board PresidentRiaz Taplin, Riaz Inc., Founder * Executive Board member
3 Ex-Officio non-voting board members:
Andy Fremder, East Bay College Fund, FounderJoel Mackey, Bay Area Community Resources, AssociateProfessional Clinical Counselor and Attorney atLaw in Private PracticeLibby Schaaf, City of Oakland, MayorDavid Silver, Oakland Mayor’s Office, Director ofEducationKyla Johnson Trammell, Oakland Unified School District, Superintendent What Are the Programs Providing Support in the Cradle to College and Career Continuum? Our programareas reach and serve every age group. Throughour cradle-to-collegeandcareer programsateach stage of a young person’s development, Oakland Promise (OP) offers seededcollegesavingsaccounts(529 CSAs), scholarships for the Oakland district and public charter school students, financial resources,college-going culture programming, mentorship and advising to support students to attain their college andcareer dreams. 4 Brilliant Baby
The Brilliant Baby program supports children’s early healthy development and school readiness.In Brilliant Baby, an income-eligible family can set up an OP College Savings Account for their baby before thechild’s first birthday, funded with $500 from Oakland Promise to start. Additionally, as part of the program, thebaby’s caregivers can receive:a) Financial coaching to help caregivers set and pursue their financial goals for their familyb) Family Leadership Group resources for early learning and child developmentc) Opportunities to build a community of support with other families IMPACT | Over 1,000 Brilliant Babies have enrolled in OP ● Early findings from a randomized control trial demonstrated that parents enrolled in Brilliant Baby hadincreased hope for the future, increased expectations for their child's’ educational attainment, loweredstress and increased family income.● Nearly 80% of parents participate in coaching and 86% say that “BB has positively influenced the way Ithink about my child’s future.”___ Kindergarten to College (K2C)
OP’s K2C helps each elementary and middle school student in Oakland think of themselves as a college boundindividual. From Kindergarten through the 8th grade in district and charter schools, the child and family receivesupport from our Kindergarten to College (K2C) program which provides:a) The Oakland Promise Scholarship, which allows students to gain up to $500 when they graduate andattend a college or career education program; all Oakland public school Kindergarteners are awardedthe first $100.b) An opportunity to also earn a one-time $75 incentive for opening a family owned College SavingsAccount for any TK-8th grade familyc) College and career workshops for families and studentsd) High school readiness programming with middle school students IMPACT | 30,000 Oakland Public school students have about $3M in an OP scholarship for college ● Oakland Promise Scholarship launched late July 2021 with more than 375 scholarship accounts activatedto-date ● Over 630 families have opened a family-owned college-savings account, in which Oakland Promise hasawarded $20K in initial deposits and families have collectively contributed more than $595K● 60+ Elementary and Middle Schools receive targeted support focused on creating a college-boundidentity within students, preparing students to be high school ready, and providing post-secondaryinformation to families ● About 7,000 educational enrichment kits distributed to Kindergartners across Oakland since March 2021 5 ____
College Access
Our vision is for all high school students in Oakland district and public charter schools to have access andsupport to set them apart on a path to college and career success. We want to dramatically increase thenumber of college graduates for Oakland public schools. When the student reaches high school, they willreceive support from our College Access team which provides:a) Application support for College application and financial aidb) Resources for financial aid and guidance on college and career readiness including 2-year, 4-year, andCareer Technical Education options.c) Opportunities for further funding from our Oakland Promise Scholarship. Scholarships range from $2,000to $4000 for those graduating in the Spring of 2022d) And additional higher value scholarships $8,000 - $16,000 are also possible through a competitiveprocess.
IMPACT | A record 750 Oakland students applied for Oakland Promise scholarships from the HS Class of 2021. ● Over $2.2 million in 2-year, 4-year and Career Technical Education scholarships were awarded to 514graduating students compared to 398 scholarships granted in 2020.● Over 67% and 83% of all scholarship recipients were Black / Latinx and first-generation college studentsrespectively.____ College Completion
Lastly when in college, OP scholars will receive support from the College Completion team which provides:a) Scholarship distributionb) Guidance and mentorship for the student to persevere through a postsecondary programc) Resources, events, internships and workshops to help students plan for their postsecondary plans.
IMPACT | Oakland Promise students are persisting and completing postsecondary education at rates higherthan comparable peers. ● College Persistence rates in the US (72.4%-73.9%), in California (68.9%-72.5%) have not changed muchbetween 2012 and 2017. Oakland Promise scholars from the 2016-2018 cohorts persist at 88%, which ishigher than Oakland-wide, state and national trends. ● 79% of the first cohort of 300 (Class of 2016) have either completed their degree or are still pursuingtheir degree in their sixth year since entering a postsecondary program.
Comparison: For the Class of 2013, national completionrates for high minority/low income students was28%.____ 6 What is the Progress to Date?
Since 2016, nearly $17 million have been awarded to 2,100 students who have receivedscholarships and postsecondary supports. 7 What is OP’s Generation Fund?
The Generation Fund is a $50M quasi-endowment that supports financial awards directly to Oakland studentsand families for the next 25 years.
In 2019, Oakland Promise launched the Generation Fund, a quasi-endowment with the purpose of providingscholarships to over 25 years to graduating Oakland high school students for their post-secondary educationalpursuits. The Generation Fund enables Oakland Promise to provide scholarships to three generations ofOakland scholars, leveraging public funding students are eligible for such as the Pell and Cal Grants for theireducation with the Oakland Promise scholarships they receive. While we serve all students in Oakland, weinvest more dollars in students historically excluded from postsecondary education. As of January 2022, about$49.3 million have been raised towards the goal of $50 million. ● Every Medi-Cal eligible baby born in Oakland (~2,000) will be eligible to receive a 529 college savingsaccount seeded with $500.● All students attending Oakland Public schools “earn” money in an Oakland Promise college scholarshipstarting in Kindergarten that will be added to and can appreciate over time - resulting in a maximumscholarship of up to $4,000 paired with persistence support in college. 8 APPENDIX
When did Oakland Promise become a 501c3 nonprofit?
● 2003: “East Bay College Fund” (EBCF) was founded as an independent 501c3 nonprofit with themission of serving high school and college students in Oakland. ● 2016: “The Oakland Promise” was launched in the Mayor’s Office as a fiscally-sponsored project of theOakland Public Education Fund (a 501c3 nonprofit). The Oakland PromiseInitiative worked with manypartner organizations and entities during this time, including the EBCF. ● 2019: The Oakland Promise initiative and EBCF decide to formally join efforts, with the name “OaklandPromise”. (The “The” is dropped.) EBCF amended its Articles of Incorporation to change its name to“Oakland Promise” and expand its mission while keepingits Federal EIN number (for the IRS). TheOakland Promise initiative exited the fiscal sponsorship of Oakland Public Education Fund. This wasthe “merger” and the newly-merged entity, titled “Oakland Promise” continued to be an independent501c3 nonprofit organization.
What is the composition of overall funds a student can receive for college and what is thepart that Oakland Promise contributes? Besides providing scholarships and 529 College Savings Accounts, OP also provides support to families andstudents to help them access external opportunities including State and Federal Financial Aid, OtherScholarships, and Family-Owned College Savings Accounts (CSAs).
OaklandPromisehelpsstudentsandfamiliesbuildaportfolioof fundsfromavarietyofsourcestohelppayforcollege. Belowisagraphicillustrationof thisportfolioapproach. It isimportant tonotethat OaklandPromiseScholarshipsand529CollegeSavingsPlansarejust twostrategiesamongmanyforpayingforpost-secondaryeducation. 9 What do those categories on the pie chart mean?
● Oakland Promise Scholarships:Need-based and merit-basedOP scholarships, including OPScholarships for Oakland public school kindergartners seeded with $100 from City Council (formerlyknown as the Early College Scholarship Funds). ● OP Brilliant Baby College Savings Accounts (CSAs): OP Brilliant Baby Scholarship 529 Plan seededwith $500 for income-eligible infants in Oakland Promise Brilliant Baby Program. ● Family-Owned College Savings Accounts (CSAs): Family-Owned529 College Savings Accountsopened through the BB or K2C* Programs (*K2C Families receive $75 in savings incentives). ● State and Federal Financial Aid: Includes FAFSA, Pell Grants, Dream Act App, EOPS, and others. ● Work Study: Federal programs providing part-time jobsfor students to help pay for their education. ● Loans: Loans are typically through federal or privatelenders, only as needed. ● Other Scholarships: Merit-based OP “Great Expectations”, other private scholarships, or institutionalscholarships. ● EFC:Expected Family Contribution (EFC) is any formof financial support from a parent or guardian.
What isthebackgroundofOaklandPromiseandEastBayCollegeFund(EBCF)merger,andOakland Promise’s nonprofit status? The Oakland Promise Initiative, developed and incubated in the Mayor’s office, was launched as afiscally-sponsoredproject of theOaklandPublicEducationFund, a501c3nonprofit. Sinceitsinception, OaklandPromisehasworkedinpartnershipwithseveral organizationsinpursuingitsmission. ThisincludedtheEastBayCollege Fund (a 501c3 nonprofit organization founded in 2003) which offered scholarships and collegepersistence services to Oakland students.
In 2019, the East Bay College Fund and The Oakland Promise initiative decided to fully combine forces andformalize the long-standing partnership by “merging” into asingleorganization. Thiswasnot amerger of twononprofits and therefore did not require a Certificate of Merger. The specifics of this are as follows:
● East Bay College Fund, as a 501(c)(3), underwent a name conversion to Oakland Promise, viaamendment to its Articles of Incorporation filed and approved by the California Secretary of State onJune 27, 2019, and subsequently acknowledged by the Internal Revenue Service and the CA StateRegistry of Charitable Trusts. ● Oakland Promise formally exited asafiscally-sponsoredproject of theOaklandPublicEducationFund.All of theassetsof that entityweretransferredtothere-named501(c)(3). OaklandPublicEdFund, attherequest of theproject, completedanindependentauditoftheproject, withnofindingsreported, andtheentitywasfullyexitedandeffectivelytransferredtoEast BayCollegeFund, newlyrenamedasOaklandPromise. 10 ● Thus, whenEast BayCollegeFundandOaklandPromisejoinedforcestobecomeasingleorganizationunder thename“OaklandPromise”therewasonlyone, alreadyexisting, 501(c)(3) nonprofitandonlyoneFederal TaxID(#54-2103707), thatoftheformerEastBayCollegeFund, nowunderthenameofOaklandPromise. Astherewasnocreationofanew501(c)(3), therewasnoneedfortheIRStoissueatax-exemptdetermination letter. ● As is common practice when organizations complete a name change, East Bay College Fund filed aD.B.Aor “doingbusinessas” (alsoknownasafictitiousbusinessnamestatement) withAlamedaCountyClerk. During this name-changetransition, OaklandPromisewassometimeslisted, andofficiallyonourCityof OaklandBusinessTaxCertificate, as“East BayCollegeFunddbaOaklandPromise,”or, “OaklandPromise formerly known as East Bay College Fund” for easeof understandingtothoseunfamiliar withthe joining of forces between the entities. ● Now, twoyearsafterourjoiningofforces, weareknownsimplyasOaklandPromise, a501(c)(3) nonprofitpublicbenefit corporationregisteredwiththeCAStateRegistryofCharitableTrustingoodstandingwithboth the Federal IRS and the California Department of Justice.
We would like to mention that there is no legal requirement for a “letter of merger” asthat isonlynecessarywhentwo501(c)(3) organizationsmergeintoasingle501(c)(3) organization. Asstatedabove, EastBayCollegeFund wasanonprofit, andOaklandPromisewasafiscally-sponsoredproject of theOaklandPublicEdFund(anonprofit). However, there is documentation of Oakland Promise exiting the fiscal sponsorship of OaklandPublicEdFund, aswell asanamendedArticlesof Incorporationfor East BayCollegeFundthatstatesEastBayCollege Fund expanded its mission and changed its name to Oakland Promise.
What have been the results of financial audits?
Oakland Promise has completed four audits over the past 2 years out of an abundance of commitment to ensureaccurate, transparent, and proper financial reporting to assure the public of the appropriate management andstewardship of the donated funds from public and philanthropic resources received:
● Oakland Public Education Fund & Oakland Promise Agreed-Upon Procedures completed upon exit andtermination of fiscal sponsorship (audit performedindependently by Moss Adams) linkedhereand alsoincluded in the Appendix. ○ Report of Independent Accountants on Applying Agreed-Upon Procedures for the Periods of July1, 2016 through June 30, 2017, July 1, 2017 through June 30, 2018, and July 1, 2018 through June30, 2019 ● East Bay College Fund Financial Statement Audit linkedhere.○ (Audit performed independently by Novogradac & CompanyLLP)○ Financial Statements with Independent Auditor’s Report for the year ended December 31, 2018and six month shortened fiscal year ended June 30, 2019 ● Oakland Promise Correspondence Audit performed by the Office of the Attorney General in August2020 with no request for additional information and no additional action taken. 11 ● Oakland Promise Financial Statement Audit (currentlyin process)○ (Audit performed independently by Novogradac & CompanyLLP)○ Financial Statements with Independent Auditor’s Report for the year ended June 30, 2020 What is the management of City of Oakland funds for students’ future college expenses inthe Oakland Promise Scholarships (formerly known as the Early College Scholarship)? Between 2016 and 2021, Oakland Promise wasawarded$2.15millionfromtheCityof Oaklanddesignatedasinitial $100depositsintokindergartener’sOaklandPromiseScholarshipaccounts. TheCityofOaklandrecentlyrenewed their commitment to support $100 deposits into Oakland public school kindergartener’s OaklandPromiseScholarshipaccountsfor 2021 and2022. Assuch, theGoverningBoardoftheOaklandPromiseholdslegal fiduciaryresponsibilityfor theseandall other fundsgrantedtotheorganization. IntheunlikelyeventthatOakland Promise as an organization should cease to exist before these college funds are spent on eligiblestudent’s post-secondary educations, a successor organization would be identified by the Oakland PromiseGoverning Board to which the assets and responsibility would be transferred to complete this payout process.
One hundred percent of City of Oakland funds designated for Oakland Promise Scholarships will be paid out tostudents for post secondary educational expenses. Unclaimed scholarship funds will be re-allocated to otherOakland public school students. The City of Oakland funds are committed to Kindergarten cohorts beginning in2017-2018 and Oakland Promise will continue to administer these scholarships for kindergarteners on behalf ofthe City of Oakland with each grant distribution, in order to provide for future kindergarten cohorts.
Please note that all funds were held in the San Francisco Foundation (SFF) which is an agency fund that OaklandPromise opened to manage our assets. Funds in that account accumulated capital appreciation and interestincome over a period of time and as such, those gains will also be distributed to the Oakland PromiseScholarship accounts. 12