Local leaders know what works. We’re here to back them.
At the McFadden Finch Foundation, we believe community leadership isn’t a title—it’s a commitment. It’s the parent organizing school meals, the neighbor advocating for safer streets, the youth who starts a mental health circle when no one else does.
Across Oakland and the greater Bay Area, we invest in grassroots leaders and community-based organizations that are building equity from the ground up.
Because systems don’t shift on their own—people shift them.
What We Fund
We support leaders and organizations rooted in community, culture, and lived experience.
We fund:
- BIPOC, immigrant, and first-time nonprofit leaders
- Youth-led and intergenerational leadership programs
- Community organizing, base-building, and civic engagement
- Leadership development for founders, staff, and volunteers
- Strategic planning, team growth, and succession planning
- Wellness, healing, and sustainability support for movement leaders
We prioritize groups working in education, housing, health, youth empowerment, arts, and economic justice—with an emphasis on local accountability and neighborhood ties.
Why It Matters
- Many of the most impactful leaders in Oakland are running under-resourced organizations.
- Traditional philanthropy often overlooks first-time founders or nontraditional leadership styles.
- Community power can’t grow without investment in the people doing the work.
- Equity starts with resourcing those closest to the issues—and most often left out of funding.
Leadership isn’t one-size-fits-all. We make space for new models and bold ideas.
Our Approach
We build long-term partnerships, not short-term projects. That means:
- Multi-year funding for emerging and established leaders
- Coaching, training, and peer support through the MFF Institute for Community Power
- Access to flexible capital through grants and capacity-building support
- Centering leadership as a practice rooted in care, culture, and community—not just credentials
Our goal is simple: make sure the people driving change have what they need to keep going.