CARES Act Archives - Oakland News Now Blog

Is Bank Of America Trying To Wreck The PPP Loan Program Under President Biden?

May 20, 2021March 11, 2021 by Zennie Abraham

This latest OaklandNewsNow.com post on the Bank of America PPP Loan Program was ignited by an email from San Diego lawyer JoEllen Plaskett, who’s story is recounted here. She opened the door for me to look at the larger picture of what Bank of America PPP Loan Program Second Draw customers are facing: delays, frustrations, … Read more

OUSD And Friends Of The Oakland Public School Libraries Create Digital Library

February 26, 2021 by Roger Robarts

OUSD and “Friends of the Oakland Public School Libraries” Create Digital Library for All Oakland Students Oakland – United For Success Academy 8th grader, Brenda C., uses Sora, an app for accessing the District’s new Digital Library, which has transformed her ability to read whenever she wants. “What I like about Sora is that you … Read more

City of Oakland Launches Free Employment Training Platform to Help Job Seekers Enhance Skills

February 22, 2021 by Roger Robarts

Oakland – The City of Oakland’s Workforce Development Board is launching a free, online skills training platform offered by Metrix Learning. Taking courses can help Oaklanders improve a wide variety of skills, earn industry certificates, launch into new careers or advance up the career ladder. Metrix Learning offers more than 5,000 courses leading to over … Read more

OUSD, Eat. Learn. Play. Foundation, Salesforce, Revolution Foods To Deliver Food Boxes This Morning

December 28, 2020 by Roger Robarts

OUSD Partners with Eat. Learn. Play. Foundation, Salesforce, and Revolution Foods to Deliver Holiday Food and Family Literacy Boxes to Students and their Families Oakland – December 28,2020: 1800 families across OUSD will receive a special delivery on Monday, December 28, as District staff has organized home delivery of produce boxes, adult meals and a … Read more

COVID-19 Stimulus Package Underwhelms Says League of Women Voters

December 22, 2020 by Zennie Abraham

COVID-19 Stimulus Package Underwhelms After Months of Negotiations The League of Women Voters applauds bipartisan support and urges Congress to consider more relief WASHINGTON – The League of Women Voters of the United States CEO Virginia Kase issued the following statement following passage of the new $900B coronavirus relief package under the CARES Act – … Read more

Congresswoman Barbara Lee Statement On Latest COVID-19 Relief Package and Omnibus Deal

December 22, 2020 by CongBarbaraLee

Washington – Congresswoman Barbara Lee (CA-13), senior member of the House Appropriations Committee, today released a statement on the latest COVID-19 relief package and omnibus bill passed in the House of Representatives and expected to pass the Senate later this evening. This deal comes eight months after the House and Senate agreed on the first … Read more

President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris Announce Additional Members of National Economic Council

December 21, 2020 by Zennie Abraham

President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris Announce Additional Members of National Economic Council Washington – – Today, President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris announced additional members of the National Economic Council (NEC). These qualified and talented individuals represent the incoming administration’s commitment to having a team of diverse experts ready to … Read more

Berkeley Councilmember Ben Bartlett Sworn In – Reimagining Public Safety

December 6, 2020December 5, 2020 by Ben Bartlett

Berkeley News from The Office of Councilmember Ben Bartlett The City of Berkeley is updating our COVID-19 Health Order to align with the State of California’s regional stay home order, effective 12:01am Monday, December 7. Under the New regional Stay at Home Order, California is split into 5 regions, with the Order being triggered if … Read more

COVID-19-Related Policies System Dynamics Model: PPP Program Caused 50% Unemployment Rate Drop

November 12, 2020 by Zennie Abraham

Karim Chichakly looks at the efficacy of two policies aimed at protecting both lives and the economy during COVID-19:

The video above is a presentation by Karim Chichakly, Co-President of ISEE Systems, the makers of system dynamics modeling software platforms STELLA and IThink, which are based on the DYNAMO programming language originally created by Massachusetts Institute of Technology Jay Forrester, and introduced in a book called Business Dynamics in 1956. In turn, Professor Forrester … Read more

A National Fund For Restaurants And Bars That Faced Pandemic-Related Damage And Loss Is Needed, Now

February 16, 2021November 9, 2020 by Zennie Abraham

Zennie Abraham with giant burrito at Oakland Connies Cantina On Grand Ave

Now that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are President-Elect and Vice President-Elect, we can focus on programs to get America’s economy back on its feet. The Payroll Protection Program was a good start, and while it helped, it missed the mark in many ways. What is missing are economic development programs specific to The Pandemic. … Read more

City Of Oakland, Youth Speaks Inc. Offer Digital Workshops For Oakland’s Cultural Community

October 26, 2020 by Roger Robarts

Oakland – The City of Oakland received $36.9 million in State of California CARES Act funding. Through the Oakland CARES Arts Technical Assistance Fund, $193,000 has been allocated to provide technical assistance to help Oakland-based arts organizations and artists develop a robust online digital presence.

From November 9 to December 10, Youth Speaks, in partnership with YR Media and Zoo Labs, two Oakland artists-centered organizations, will offer 14 free, virtual workshops to train participants on available tools for programming and production; producing content utilizing low-cost tools and technology; the aesthetic associated with virtual presentations; social media and marketing strategies; and strategies on how to monetize one’s presence. For details on the workshop offerings and registration, please visit lifeisliving.org

“The County’s Shelter-in-place Orders to keep Oaklanders safer have prevented many artists, performers and arts organizations from enriching our community through performances and exhibitions,” said… “These workshops will help our cultural practitioners make the leap to online performances to share their artistic expression and generate much needed income.”

“With our desire to navigate and cross several artistic fields (theatre, poetry, production, music, and beyond), we felt it was important to sculpt bold and precise experiments to help our organizations and partners to navigate this moment in time,” said Joan Osato, Producing Director at Youth Speaks. “We’re thrilled to be able to pass on what we’ve learned to our beloved community through this project.”

Youth Speaks & Life Is living Cohort Workshops

Session 1: Monday, November 9, 4-5:30 p.m.

Grounding Rituals – Facilitated by Hodari B. Davis, and Joan Osato (Life is Living Cohort) Coaching Session that aligns and codifies shared understanding, language and connection to mission, strategy and content. Identifying your audiences and engagement strategy.

Session 2: Monday, November 9, 6-7:30 p.m.

Seeds – Transferring skill sets to virtual engagement and production. How to utilize, train up your existing staff and artists for virtual programming; a 101 tutorial on pre-production, production and post-production, as well as how to budget for it. Training on online tools and platforms including pros and cons of each system, costs and skill sets that are transferable to online programming and production.

Session 3: Wednesday, November 11, 4-5:30 p.m.

Zoomlife – 101 Tutorial on everyday use/user friendly platforms. Zoom world practical applications, tricks and tips. Tech Guide in safety, connectivity, equipment. Producing content and media assets utilizing low-cost tools and technology. Britt White, Life is Living’s Production Manager takes you through the backstage into organizing and running your show. Tech guides included.

Session 4: Wednesday, November 11, 6-7:30 p.m.

Advanced Tutorial on everyday use/user friendly platforms. Bringing the aesthetics of your organization, artists and engagement priorities into the design of your program. Defining aesthetics, goals, participants and barriers and how to address them. Setting your stage, capture process in the time of COVID-19. Editing, and Rehearsal and Tech. This training involves aesthetics, and innovative practice in virtual presentations and programming. Includes examples of presentations, process and technology by which they were achieved.

Session 5: Monday, November 16, 4-5:30pm

Open Broadcasting Software (OBS) & Wirecast Introduction and tutorials. In this session we’ll introduce you to advanced programs that help you capture, produce and stream your content for broadcast. Maximiliano Urruzmendi, Life is Living’s Technical Director takes you through the basics of how the programs work. Handouts Included.

Session 6: Monday, November 16, 6-7:30pm

Principles of Streaming, Wirecast, YouTube, Twitch platforms continued. Now that you have the basic outline of how the platforms work and are in communication with each other, it’s time to plot out your workflow and take it into broadcast. Maximiliano takes you through various streaming services and platforms and the pros and cons of each. Handouts included.

Session 7: Wednesday, November 18, 1-3 p.m.

Merchandising, Monetizing and Creating Earned Revenue Streams – Yavette Holts, founder of BAOBOB (Bay Area Organization of Black Owned Business, Life is Living Cohort) – high level overview of ecommerce platforms in order to support business owners and nonprofits who need help optimizing their online store(s) . We’ll take the participants through the platform WooCommerce.

Session 8: Wednesday, November 18, 6-7:30 p.m.

Pivoting your Organization and Practice (now what?) – We’ll facilitate a conversation about strategies and frameworks for a sustainable future for

organizations and artists and guide and support participants in visioning next steps. Breakout Sessions and Consulting on Scenarios will look at Social media and marketing strategies that apply to virtual programming, including Branding, Analytics and their use in fundraising and strategies for monetizing your platforms. Social Media Toolkit included.

YR Media Workshops

Tuesday, December 1 to Thursday, December 3, 6-7:30 p.m.

Social Circles: Building an Audience in Apocalypse (three-part series)

Now that your fans can’t experience you in a live venue, what do you do to retain and build an audience? How can artists create a personal brand? In this three-part conversation, YR Media’s social team and youth social contributors will show you how to start, and then nurture, an authentic social presence, with recommendations of which platform(s) to target depending on your demographic.

Zoo Labs Workshops (Recommended for Artists/Collectives working in music)

Session 1: Tuesday, December 8, 5-7 p.m.

Your Story Brand – Attendees will learn how to digitally tell a story that can sell and market their brand to their customers. Presented by Mashama Thompson of 510 Media.

Session 2: Wednesday, December 9, 5-7 p.m.

The Digital Roll Out Strategy – Attendees will learn how to strategically engage fans and create buzz around music, videos or other online content. Presented by Lance Coleman, Fuze the MC.

Session 3; Thursday, December 10, 5-7 p.m.

How to Get Paid and Follow the Trends – Attendees will learn how to collect money through their digital royalties and understand their data to know what is working in order to make future strategies. Presented by United Masters.

The workshops are for Oakland residents and reservations are required. Participation in the program is on a first come, first served basis.

This is the latest CARES Act-funded program launched by the City of Oakland. Previously, grant programs for small businesses, individual artists and arts nonprofits, home-based businesses, community-serving nonprofits, and low-income renters and homeowners were announced. Additionally, free legal advice webinars and consultations on lease negotiations are being supported by CARES Act funds. Learn more about the City of Oakland’s $36.9 million in CARES Act Funding at: oaklandca.gov/CaresAct

About Youth Speaks

Through the intersection of arts education and youth development practices, civic engagement strategies, and high-quality artistic presentation, Youth Speaks creates safe spaces that challenge young people to find, develop, publicly present, and apply their voices as creators of societal change. They are the producers of Life is Living is an eco-equity, interdisciplinary festival that centers historically underserved neighborhoods and communities with programming in public spaces that have been otherwise neglected. For the last 13 years, the Life is Living Festival has taken place at De Fremery Park in West Oakland

About YR Media

YR Media is a national network of young journalists and artists who collaborate with peers around the country and top media professionals to create content that matters. It is non-profit production company that builds critical skills in journalism, arts and media.

About Zoo Labs

Zoo Labs a not-for-profit accelerator that bridges art, entrepreneurship, and capital to conduct 3 high level workshops for musicians specifically around branding, music production and entrepreneurship.

Post based on press release from The City of Oakland to Zennie62Media.

Moms 4 Housing Now A Community & Land Trust-Owned Home – Oakland Councilmember Bas

October 17, 2020 by Nikki Fortunato Bas

Nikki Bas Oakland City Council District Two Councilmember

Oakland District Two Councilmember Nikki Bas’ Digitized Newsletter

Last week, I was so moved to see #MomsHouse on Magnolia Street finally become community-owned as permanently affordable, transitional housing for unsheltered mothers.

Congratulations to Dominique Walker, Tolani King, Misty Cross, Sameerah Karim and Carroll Fife for leading this movement to end corporate speculation and house more Oaklanders. I am proud to have stood with them over the last year to call attention to making housing a human right, together with Council President Rebecca Kaplan, Councilmember Dan Kalb and Assemblymember Rob Bonta.

Sustainable, Healthy Use of Lake Merritt – Lake Merritt Vending Pilot Program Update

Coming out of the second weekend of our Lake Merritt Vending Pilot Program, we were excited to be joined by Parks and Recreation Advisory Commissioner Dwayne Aikens, Cultural Affairs Commissioner Kev Choice, the Oakland Black Vendors Association and neighbors to:

• Promote health and safety during COVID-19,
• Support struggling small businesses and entrepreneurs in this difficult time, and
• Ensure sustainable, equitable and inclusive long-term use of the Lake.

This pilot program for merchandise vendors will take place through November 22nd on El Embarcadero and along Lakeshore to Beacon from 10am to 6pm on Saturdays and Sundays.
This weekend, Community Ready Corps (CRC) will be joining the pilot to promote public health during COVID. Volunteers will distribute COVID kits that have face masks, hand sanitizer and gloves to help promote compliance with the County Health Order.

My team is grateful for the collaboration of the Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission (PRAC), the Oakland Black Vendors Association, James “Old School” Copes, city departments, and the community to ensure access, safety and equity at the Lake for everyone in our city.

This is what an Oakland for all of us means to me — working with a coalition of diverse stakeholders to ensure the Lake, as our city’s pride, is an enjoyable public space that each of us can use.

TUESDAY 10/20: Oakland City Council Meeting Preview Homeless Encampment Management Policy and Community Safety

Tuesday, October 20th’s 1:30pm City Council meeting will include the following important agenda items:

Item 6: COVID-19 Emergency Response And The Creation Of Clean Air Buildings For Use Of The Community During The COVID-19 Shelter In Place Emergency.

Thanks to our awesome District 2 constituent and outgoing Cleveland Heights Neighborhood Council Co-Chair Rachel Broadwin for introducing us to Dr. Rupa Basu, Section Chief for the Air and Climate Epidemiology Section of the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment at CalEPA. At our September Council meeting, I expressed concern that our air quality and temperature triggers were too high to fully protect the health and safety of our most vulnerable residents. At my urging, our Fire Department staff met with Dr. Basu to discuss recommendations for activating extreme weather Emergency Respite Centers (ERC) in Oakland. As an outcome of the conversation and further discussions with internal stakeholders and community feedback, the activation triggers for the City of Oakland have been lowered to an Air Quality Index (AQI) of 200 – Very Unhealthy (versus what was previously 250) and temperatures forecasted to reach/exceed 95 degrees for 2 consecutive days or 100 degrees in one day. We are grateful for Dr. Basu and Rachel’s important expertise as we navigate these challenging times!

Item 7: Gun Violence Top Law Enforcement Priority resolution from President Kaplan to prioritize the decrease in illegal guns and gun violence by increasing gun tracing, improving response time to shooting notifications, and prioritizing response to gun crime.

Item 8: Homeless Encampment Management resolution, which proposes to designate priority areas for encampment management and outlines actions including the criteria for assessing what locations will be prioritized for enforcement or other homelessness interventions from the city.

Item 14: Adopt either the resolution proposed by the Oakland Police Commission or Oakland Police Department banning the carotid restraint and all forms of asphyxia.

Item 16: I’m co-sponsoring with President Kaplan, a resolution Terminating the Oakland Police Department’s Participation In The Joint Terror Task Force to ensure compliance with our local and state laws and focus on threats based on evidence, not bias or racial profiling.

See details to join the meeting and provide public comment. You can also share e-comments here.

TUESDAY 10/27: Community & Economic Development Meeting – Impact Fees, Economic Recovery Recommendations

On Tuesday October 27th at 1:30pm, the Community and Economic Development Committee will discuss two important items:

Item 2: Informational report on Impact Fees for Affordable Housing, Jobs/Housing, and Transportation and Capital Improvements, and
Item 3: Informational report on the Economic Recovery Council’s Draft Recommendations.

Oakland Workers, Know Your Rights! COVID-19 Emergency Paid Sick Leave

Thank you to East Bay Alliance for a Sustainable Economy (EBASE) for creating Know Your Rights materials on the emergency protections for Oakland workers passed by Council earlier this summer, which I was proud to co-sponsor.

The City’s Emergency Paid Sick Leave policy requires certain employers to provide leave to workers who test positive for COVID-19, present symptoms, are caring for family members who were exposed or present symptoms, or are at high risk from an infection. Check out and share the flyers in English and Spanish so that Oakland workers are aware of their rights!

City of Oakland; District 2 News and Resources
County Reopening Updates, Small Biz Legal Support, Grants for Home-Based Business

New County Health Orders Allow Additional Business Operations: Effective October 9, Alameda County now allows: hotels & lodging for tourism with their fitness centers and indoor pools restricted; museums, zoos & aquariums indoors at < 25% capacity; personal care services indoors with modification (services requiring removal of face covering still prohibited); gyms and fitness centers indoors at < 10% capacity with restrictions on aerobic exercise and classes. While the update allows partial reopening of libraries, Oakland Public LIbrary will remain closed for indoor services until plans are in place for safely reopening the buildings.

Beginning Friday, October 16, Alameda County will permit additional outdoor activities, including playgrounds, that follow the State’s guidance. Additionally, Alameda County is preparing to update the local Health Officer Orders to permit additional activities during the week of October 26. These activities will include: indoor dining up to 25% capacity or less than 100 people, whichever is less; indoor worship services up to 25% capacity or less than 100 people, whichever is less; indoor theaters up to 25% capacity or less than 100 people, whichever is less; expansion of indoor retail and malls at up to 50% of capacity and permitting limited food courts.

County Guidance on Safe Halloween Practices: Bay Area health officials recently released guidance on how to celebrate Halloween and Dia de los Muertos safely. Gatherings, celebrations, events or parties with non-household members are not permitted unless conducted in compliance with local and state health orders. Please avoid participating in traditional trick-or-treating where treats are handed to children who go door to door and do not have trunk-or-treat where treats are handed from car trunks lined up in large parking lots.

Many traditional Halloween celebrations, such as parties and door-to-door trick-or-treating, pose a high risk of spreading COVID-19 and are strongly discouraged by CDPH
Not only do traditional celebrations pose a spread risk, they would also result in great difficulty in conducting appropriate contact tracing
Local Health Departments may have additional, more stringent restrictions
CDPH recommends that families begin planning for safer alternatives.

Legal Help for Oakland Small Businesses with Lease Negotiations: Oakland has allocated $150,000 of California CARES funding to the nonprofit Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the SF Bay Area to provide legal advice and assistance on lease negotiations to small businesses that have suffered revenue losses due to COVID-19. Business owners can access these free, multilingual legal services here, such as commercial leasing webinars through mid-December, 1:1 one-hour consultations and longer-term assistance which may include lease negotiation, pre-litigation and settlement negotiations or representation in a court proceeding.

$2-4K Grants for Home-Based Businesses: Income from a home-based business is often a big source of household income for our city’s entrepreneurs. The Oakland CARES Act Home-Based Business Grant program will distribute $500,000 to home-based, for-profit businesses. Apply here by 11:59pm on Monday, November 2 in 4 languages. Priority will be given to businesses representing a broad geographic diversity in Oakland, especially those located in low-income areas or otherwise historically vulnerable communities; those who have received $4,000 or less in funding from the Paycheck Protection Program; and those with annual gross business revenue under $150,000.

Several Grants Extended:

The Oakland CARES Act Small Business Grant Program will accept applications until 5 p.m. on Friday, October 23. This program will provide $10,000 grants to qualifying Oakland small businesses that have been negatively impacted by COVID-19 and have gross revenues under $2 million. Online applications and eligibility requirements in four languages are available at: mainstreetlaunch.org/oakland-cares-act-grant/
The application deadline for the Oakland CARES Nonprofit Grant Fund has been extended to 5 p.m. on Wednesday, October 28. This program will award grants of up to $25,000 to qualifying community-serving nonprofits with annual budgets of less than $1 million that address the impact of COVID-19 and the needs of low-income residents and businesses in the following areas: Health & Human Services; Economic & Workforce Development; Legal Support; Food Security; Homeless and Renter Support Services; and Education. Online applications and eligibility requirements are available at: communityvisionca.org/oaklandcares/

The application deadline for the Oakland CARES Fund for Artists and Arts Nonprofits impacted by COVID-19 has been extended to 1pm Friday, October 23. The program will distribute awards of up to $20,000 to arts nonprofits with annual budgets of less than $2.5M, while supporting individual artists with grants of up to $3,000 each. Learn more here.

Oakland Parks & Recreation Foundation’s 1st Citywide Parks Workshop: Whether you’re an experienced community leader or a new volunteer, join this free workshop taking place on Saturday, November 14, from 9:00am to 1:00pm to collaborate and learn about strategies and tools to improve Oakland parks. Learn more and register here.

East Bay Community Energy’s Resilient Home Program: Oakland has partnered with nonprofit public electricity provider East Bay Community Energy to launch a solar + battery backup program for homeowners. EBCE has partnered with Sunrun to provide no-cost / obligation-free consultations and will provide a proposal for your consideration. If you decide to move forward, there is a $1,250 incentive to homeowners that enroll their battery in the program and share power with EBCE during peak times when there isn’t a power outage. Since launch in August, nearly 700 homeowners countywide have registered for consultations. Sign up for your consultation and learn more at upcoming webinars.
Voting Reminders
Vote Early!

Given the pandemic and the threats to our democracy, please vote early. All registered voters will be sent an absentee ballot automatically to limit COVID exposure. You must register to vote to receive an absentee ballot!

You can vote in person or drop off your ballot at the Alameda County Registrar of Voters: 1225 Fallon Street, Room G1, Oakland, or put it into one of the official, free 24-hour drop boxes anytime by November 3rd 8pm. If you use a USPS mailbox, postage is free, and it’s critical to vote early!

You can also sign up to track your ballot.

October 19th is the last day for regular online voter registration.
October 20th – November 3rd, you can do same day voter registration.

On November 3rd, you can vote in person or drop your ballot off at your polling place by 8pm.

With many measures on the ballot, my go-to guides are Oakland Rising’s Voter Guide and the CA AAPI Voting Guide in seven AAPI languages.

With Oakland Love,

Nikki Fortunato Bas
Councilmember, City of Oakland, District 2

City Of Oakland, Working Solutions, Launch Home-Based Business Grant Program

October 13, 2020 by Roger Robarts

Oakland – The City of Oakland received $36.9 million in State of California CARES Act funding. Of that amount, the Oakland CARES Act Home-Based Business Grant Program will distribute $500,000 in grants of $2,000 to $4,000 to home-based, for-profit businesses in Oakland. Working Solutions, a Bay Area nonprofit, is administering the application and grant-making process. The grant application period closes at 11:59 p.m. on Monday, November 2. Online applications in four languages are available at: https://www.workingsolutions.org/oakland-home-based-grants.

“We recognize that revenue from a home-based business is often a major source of household income for our entrepreneurs, and losses due to the pandemic are pushing vulnerable populations to the brink of economic and housing insecurity,” said Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf. “This grant program supports Oakland’s entrepreneurial spirit reflected in the wide variety of home-based businesses found in The Town.”

Priority will be given to home-based businesses representing a broad geographic diversity in Oakland, especially those located in low-income areas or otherwise historically vulnerable communities; those who have received $4,000 or less in funding from the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP); and those with annual gross business revenue under $150,000. The grant amounts of $2,000 to $4,000 will be based on gross revenue of the home-based business.

“Working Solutions is proud to partner with the City of Oakland to make grants to home-based small business owners in Oakland who are struggling due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Sara Razavi, CEO of Working Solutions. “This grant program will provide immediate relief to local home-based business owners, who face their own unique challenges during this crisis, and is an important follow-up to our work with the City this spring and summer through the Oakland Small Business Emergency Grant Program.”

In order to be eligible for this grant program, the business must:

Be verified as a for-profit, home-based business in Oakland;
Have a valid Oakland business license;
Have been in operation prior to March 1, 2019;
Be able to demonstrate negative impacts to the business from the COVID-19 pandemic;
Certify that the home-based business income represents the majority (>50%) of the applicant’s total individual income; and
Be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident (due to restrictions associated with federal CARES Act funding sources).

Business owners who previously received a grant from the Oakland Small Business Emergency Grant Program (between April and July 2020) are eligible to apply for this grant program.

Grant funds may be used for COVID-19-related costs and losses, such as payroll; rent or mortgage payments; utilities or other operating expenses; or fixtures, supplies, and other non-construction site modifications needed to satisfy COVID-19 distancing and mitigation requirements. Funds may not be used for new construction or building improvements.

Other Grant and Support Programs Available

This is the latest CARES Act-funded program launched by the City of Oakland. Grant programs for small businesses, individual artists and arts nonprofits,

community-serving nonprofits and low-income renters and homeowners were announced in September. Additionally, free legal advice webinars and consultations on lease negotiations for small businesses were announced last week. Businesses may only receive a grant from one CARES Act-funded program. Learn more about the $36.9 million in CARES Act Funding at: oaklandca.gov/CaresAct

About Working Solutions

Working Solutions is a nonprofit microlender and the First to Believe in start-up and early-stage businesses. As a U.S. Treasury-certified Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), Working Solutions provides diverse entrepreneurs with affordable capital, customized business consulting, and community connections to increase economic opportunity in the San Francisco Bay Area. To date, Working Solutions has made over $27 million in microloans and grants to more than 1,300 local businesses and provided over 14,000 consulting hours.

This post based on a press release from the City of Oakland to Zennie62Media.

Oakland School District OUSD Reports Grab And Go Food Boxes Contained Unexpected Letter From Trump

October 5, 2020October 5, 2020 by Zennie Abraham

Oakland School District OUSD Reports Grab And Go Food Boxes Contained Unexpected Letter From Trump

ONN – Oakland School District OUSD Reports Grab And Go Food Boxes Contained Unexpected Letter From Trump

Oakland School District OUSD Reports Grab And Go Food Boxes Contained Unexpected Letter From Trump

This was in a press release from the Oakland Unified School District:

Hello Oakland Unified Community,

Under the CARES act, we have been distributing produce and dairy boxes to our community through our grab and go meal service. Last Thursday, those boxes contained a letter from President Donald Trump, which was distributed nationwide. It has been criticized because it arrived just weeks before the presidential election.

The CARES Act, which had to pass Congress before being signed into law by the president, had the support of all of our local representatives including Oakland Congresswoman Barbara Lee, U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein, and U.S. Senator and Vice Presidential candidate Kamala Harris.

Our nutrition services team has distributed the produce and dairy boxes from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and other philanthropic partners during much of the pandemic. We will continue to distribute these food boxes, which come to us through the Alameda County Community Food Bank (ACCFB), as they supplement the meals we provide for students during distance learning. It is possible future boxes will contain the same or a similar letter from the president.

As a reminder to our community, OUSD is a sanctuary district, inside a sanctuary city, inside a sanctuary state, which means we support ALL of our students, families and staff no matter where they came from or how they got here. We provide food every Monday and Thursday at 22 sites across the city, and will do so with or without a message from the government.

For more information about our grab and go program, visit our website www.ousd.org/nutrition. And please remember to wear a mask or other face covering anytime you go outside.

In community,

Preston Thomas
Chief Systems and Services Officer

Stay tuned.

Note from Zennie62Media and Oakland News Now: this video-blog post demonstrates the full and live operation of the latest updated version of an experimental Zennie62Media , Inc. mobile media video-blogging system network that was launched June 2018. This is a major part of Zennie62Media , Inc.’s new and innovative approach to the production of news media. What we call “The Third Wave of Media”. The uploaded video is from a vlogger with the Zennie62 on YouTube Partner Channel, then uploaded to and formatted automatically at the Oakland News Now site and Zennie62-created and owned social media pages. The overall objective is smartphone-enabled, real-time, on the scene reporting of news, interviews, observations, and happenings anywhere in the World and within seconds and not hours. Now, news is reported with a smartphone: no heavy and expensive cameras or even a laptop are necessary. The secondary objective is faster, and very inexpensive media content news production and distribution. We have found there is a disconnect between post length and time to product and revenue generated. With this, the problem is far less, though by no means solved. Zennie62Media is constantly working to improve the system network coding and seeks interested content and media technology partners.

via IFTTT
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2020 Election: Re-Elect Oakland City Councilmember Lynette Gibson McElhaney For District Three

November 24, 2020October 5, 2020 by Zennie Abraham

Oakland Councilmember Lynette Gibson Mcelhaney

Oakland City Councilmember Lynette Gibson McElhaney has served the residents of perhaps the most complicated Oakland City Council District in our city very well. Understand that while District Three is commonly thought of as being only West Oakland, in reality it’s also Downtown Oakland, Uptown Oakland, and Adams Point / Lake Merritt, where I live.

So, Lynette has a big job, and on balance has served all of the residents well. She deserves to be re-elected, and particularly at a time where Oakland, Alameda County, California, America, and The World is in the clutches of The Pandemic. Changing horses in the middle of the stream is never a good idea, so why do it now? Besides, the reasons I’m hearing why some are not voting for Lynette are such that I’ll bet no one else will fair better.

The specific reasons are these:

1) Lynette is not accessible, and her aide responds rather than her – As one who represented Oakland Mayor Elihu Harris from 1995 to 1999, I find that aides to elected officials get treated like crap by Oakland residents far too often. The job of the aide is to represent the, in this case, Oakland City Councilmember. And Lynette’s aides have done that very well. News-flash: she can’t be everywhere, and her representatives help her.

2) She wasn’t present for Moms4Housing – As Lynette told me during our interview of 10 days ago now, the Moms4Housing Representatives did not approach her ahead of time with their plans, even though the entire matter happened in her council district. The full interview:

The ultimate sign of disrespect is for someone to launch a campaign around the issue of housing that focuses on a property in an Oakland City Council Member’s district and not consult them. The reasons can’t be good ones, because, by design, they are assumptive. How does anyone know she would not have been receptive to their objectives of a type of taking of property, and tried to help so that they would not be framed as criminals?

Lynette believed that, because they did not approach her, to then show up at their events uninvited would cause her to be seen as trying to steal their message. My take on Moms4Housing was that their effort pointed to a giant problem, but did nothing to solve it: the market failure that’s still with us in super-high-housing-costs and illegal evictions of black Oakland residents that a sustained California Redevelopment Law would have thwarted.

Instead, Oakland Mayor Jean Quan allowed former Mayor of Oakland Jerry Brown to get rid of California Redevelopment Law, and now Oakland’s once formidable affordable housing construction budget of over $100 million annually was cut off in 2011, never to return and at the time of SF Bay Area Tech Boom II, from 2012 to 2019.

In the middle of this, Moms4Housing tried to pick sides prematurely. For example, from my perspective, it’s minders failed to respond to my request to run their press releases or interview them, so I had to end-run them many times using tech. Their idea seemed be to try and paint me as against them, when my thoughts were the opposite. That said, I did run press releases from their opponents, and because they sent them. It’s called news. Moreover, I’ve never been a fan of what’s called a “taking without just compensation” (and the U.S. Constitution doesn’t allow it either), and that, in effect, is what Moms4Housing tried to do.

Their assumptions amounted to a type of picking of fights that are not there, and their words, more often than not, were hurtful. And, on top of that, we’re talking about a black-on-black affair, where folks like Lynette and myself were the focus of wrongheaded derision, and by some other folks of the same skin color. And on top of that, many of the folks are ones I really like, just to be real here. In my view, anyone white was treated better, for the most part – even those who openly opposed them.

The fact is that in Oakland, we as black folks are far too willing to assume something negative about someone else who’s black, but not in what’s perceived as that person’s group. It’s a horrible crab-barrel social problem that has plagued Oakland for decades, and with no end in sight. Moms4Housing spotlighted that problem that the white media missed, even as it was in their face.

What Lynette Did Was Spot Light The Violence Problems Black Women Face In Oakland

What Lynette does not get credit for is spotlighting the problem of violence against black women. That was the focus of her push to establish the Oakland Office Of Violence Prevention. And while I remain assertive that the real problem is lack of good jobs and an economic development effort that’s dead, I have seen the advantage of the Oakland Office Of Violence Prevention: it gives a much-needed place in Oakland government for people, and again in particular black women, to go for real, comprehensive help. That this is forgotten that Lynette created the Oakland Office Of Violence Prevention is one more example of the many actions that, collectively, caused a performer like Megan Thee Stallion to get on Saturday Night Live and point to the consistent disrespect and disregard black women receive in America, and that includes Oakland.

It’s worse when other blacks in Oakland don’t give Lynette that credit. That’s got to stop.

Lynette Makes Her Case For Re-Election And It’s Worth Reading

In her most recent campaign newsletter, Lynette made her case for re-election. It’s worth a read, even though she left out the Office Of Violence Prevention. But, overall, one has to ask, what does she have to do? It’s as if some people want to find some reason to oppose her.

For example, some will mention the Oakland Public Ethics Commission’s recent investigation not of her, but mentions alleged laundered money given to her campaign in the past, as well as that of Oakland councilmembers Sheng Thao and Dan Kalb. Well, I challenge any candidate to prove that they know anything about who gives them money, why, and where they got it from to give. Moreover, why would the Oakland Public Ethics Commission choose an election period to release news about a lawsuit and investigation that’s not primarily focused on Oakland councilmembers, but names some? That action, alone, is illegal in several states – it looks like the Oakland Public Ethics Commission and the Oakland City Attorney are trying to influence voters. Not a cool look.

What does Lynette have to do? Well, she’s done this, from her newsletter:

Partnered with our County Supervisor Keith Carson to pioneer the Compassionate Communities initiative
Co-authored Measure JJ – expanding Just Cause Eviction and Rent Increase protections
Secured 10s of millions of dollars in new homelessness funding by pushing to include $150 Million for Affordable Housing in the Infrastructure Bond (Measure KK) and the Parks Measure (Measure Q) – offering amendments that guaranteed set asides for no and extremely low income housing
Engaged Congresswoman Barbara Lee and led the effort to turn back draconian reductions in Section 8 vouchers
Pushed to protect single room occupancy transient hotels – housing of last resort that does not discriminate for credit worthiness or for lack of substantial deposits
Demanded increased coordination to respond to encampments and improve service delivery to the unhoused.

As your representative on the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) I have:

Helped pass AB1487 (2019) the bill that established the Bay Area Housing Finance Authority (BAHFA). BAHFA, and the expanded regional housing portfolio, is rooted in the “3Ps” framework that comprehensively addresses the housing crisis through a combination of production, preservation and protection. Specifically:
Production of rental housing for lower-income households (at or below 80% of the area median income or AMI)
Preservation of affordable housing for low-or moderate-income households (up to 120% of AMI)
Protecting tenants from displacement and preventing homelessness
Stopped an effort to impose a regressive sales tax on Oakland households, demanding that large employers pay their fair share to fund housing and relieve transportation stress caused by job growth

I am currently working with OUSD on a plan to house all homeless students and their families and this year I was selected by ABAG President Jesse Arreguin to serve on the newly established Regional Housing Committee. In this capacity I make sure Oakland’s needs are at the center of identifying regional solutions. And now, after five years of persistent advocacy, the Council is now positioned to take action on many of the efforts I have championed.

COVID19 lays bare the dire needs for housing security and hunger – two issues that have begged for attention amongst the organized campaigns for many good causes. By partnering with my Council colleagues that represent Oakland’s flatlands, I was able to direct nearly $30 million of CARES ACT funds to addressing these critical needs in the flatlands, allowing the City to purchase hotels and an abandoned dormitory to house more of our houseless constituents.

If the challengers think they can match her, I would offer that we as Oaklanders would have to sit and wait for that person to learn the Oakland legislative ropes before they could be effective, whereas the saying “been there, done that” applies to Councilmember McElhaney.

Re-elect Councilmember McElhaney for District Three.

Bank Of America Should Stop Twisting SBA PPP Rules To Collect Money To Offset Losses

October 2, 2020 by Zennie Abraham

Bank Of America is not being a good actor in the Payroll Protection Program. In the case of Zennie62Media and its rare-for-a-black-owned-firm-because-Bank-Of-America-wasn’t-trying-to-go-and recruit us PPP Loan of a mere $23,750 (compared to the average PPP loan size of $113,000), the bank, after months of elapsed time starting May 4, 2020, is now claiming that my firm received a completed Economic Injury Disaster Loan of $10,000, before the PPP program loan.

Complete bullcrap.

While the EIDL was applied for twice, the SBA never confirmed the loan, let alone completed the process to register it. I even called SBA about the matter, only to be faced with a constantly clogged phone system, and a computer website who’s webpage literally reset itself due to what appears to be some malfunctioning JavaScript code, thus dumping the info I inputed. And that this was happening during the initial panic surrounding The Pandemic made the entire process painful, even though I was determined to come away with what my firm needed: a PPP Loan sized to our needs.

The way the Bank of America / SBA PPP Application was written, one could mark that they were eligible to receive an EIDL. Indeed, the rule language back then during the late part of the month of March 2020 was that the EIDL was also for the Coronavirus problem. So, merging both was both logical and it seemed expected by the Small Business Administration.

Now, Bank of America said I had to have Zennie62Media pay back the $10,000 portion because the bank believes, and with zero proof because there is none, that I already got the $10,000. No.

If this is confusing to you, that is part of the problem. My take is that Bank of America and the Small Business Administration were literally trying to figure it out as they went along. A very bad move. It’s no wonder Forbes observed that “the regulations around both the PPP loan program and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program have been changing constantly since the CARES Act was passed and will likely continue to do so.”

That is certainly the case, and Forbes should not be congratulating either lenders like Bank of America or the SBA – it should call for the problem to be fixed. Simple fix in my case is to just forgive the PPP Loan Zennie62Media received and spent within legal boundaries, not try and shake down my firm for $10,000. It is clear to be this is part of such a strategy.

I assert that because Bank of America Chief Financial Officer Paul M. Donofrio (who cleared $12,413,073 in 2019), told the New York Times he did not expect much profit (from the PPP Loan Program), “if any.”

Now, it’s clear that Bank of America itself needs a PPP Loan because it’s profit has been “halved” because of the same situation that gave rise to the need for the PPP Loan Program: The Coronavirus. So, since the matter of how the EIDL portion of my PPP Loan was handled by Bank of America in the form of a request to raid my Zennie62Media bank account, it is clear Bank of America decided that it was going to make loopholes to use against customers and demand money from them (us) using them!

Bank of America must stop this. It should not be trying to treat its business account holders (specifically my firm but there are certainly others) this way. Forgive the loans, or how about having Paul M. Donofrio cover Bank of America’s losses. I’m only kidding, but look, he makes $12,413,073, so why not at least suggest the idea?

Stay tuned.

Loren Taylor, Oakland District 6 Councilmember, Sends Updates On State And Local Policy

September 29, 2020 by Zennie Abraham

Oakland Councilmember Loren Taylor District Six

In his newsletter Oakland District 6 Councilmember Loren Taylor shared a series of news updates related to homelessness and tenant and landlord protection. Here they are:

City Of Oakland Homeless Encampment Management Policy

When the pandemic hit the city council moved quickly into shelter in place in March, pausing the sunshine ordinance to allow city business to continue remotely. Now in September, more informed and better prepared, council has reinstated 10-day noticing for all items to be heard at council and regular rules committee hearings for transparent scheduling.

As we kick off our fall legislative session look out for these items to be scheduled soon. The Life Enrichment committee (Chaired by Councilmember Taylor) will be considering changes to the Homeless Encampment Management Policy. The meeting is schedule for Monday, September 21st visit City of Oakland website of meeting information.

Email us at [email protected] if interested in more information.

State Of California Tenant and Landlord Protection Legislation

September 1st the Assembly and Senate both approved AB 3088, which is designed to protect tenants from eviction, and property owners from foreclosure, due to the economic impacts of COVID-19.

The measure was signed into law by Governor Newsom and the details are as follows:

The protections in AB 3088 apply to tenants who declare an inability to pay all or part of their rent due to a COVID-19-related reason.
Under the legislation, no tenant can be evicted before February 1, 2021 as a result of rent owed due to a COVID-19-related hardship accrued between March 4th and August 31st, if the tenant provides a declaration of hardship.
For COVID-19 related hardships that accrue between September 1, 2020 and January 31, 2021, tenants must also pay at least 25% of the rent due to avoid eviction.
Tenants are still responsible for paying unpaid amounts to landlords, but those unpaid amounts cannot be the basis for an eviction.
Landlords may begin to recover this debt on March 1, 2021, and small claims court jurisdiction is temporarily expanded to allow landlords to recover these amounts.
AB 3088 extends anti-foreclosure protections in the Homeowner Bill of Rights to small landlords, provides new accountability and transparency provisions to protect small landlord borrowers who request CARES Act-compliant forbearance, and provides the borrower who is harmed by a material violation with a cause of action.
Existing local ordinances can generally remain in place until they expire and future local action cannot undermine the framework of AB 3088.
Several members of the Legislature, including the author, noted that AB 3088 should be viewed as a short-term solution and that additional legislation would be necessary to further address this issue when the Legislature returns to session in January 2021.

Stay tuned.

City of Oakland Grants For Small Biz, Artists, Nonprofits, Violence Prevention Projects – Nikki Fortunato Bas

September 25, 2020 by Nikki Fortunato Bas

From the Nikki Fortunato Bas Councilmember, City of Oakland, District 2 Community Email comes this compendium of City of Oakland grant programs for business.

$10K Grants for Essential Businesses: California State Compensation Insurance Fund is offering up to $10K to State Fund policyholders to help reimburse the costs of COVID-19 safety expenses such as the purchase of goggles, masks, gloves, cleaning supples, and worksite modifications. Grants are available until September 30.

$10K Grants for Small Businesses: The City of Oakland received $36.9 million in State of California CARES Act funding. More than $4 million of those funds will go to the Oakland CARES Act Small Business Grant Program to support Oakland small businesses that have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The program anticipates distributing $10,000 grants to 402 Oakland small businesses. Grants may be used to cover day-to-day operating costs, such as worker payroll, rent and fixed debts. The application period for the small business grants opened Tuesday, September 22 at 1 p.m., and ends at 5 p.m. on Monday, October 12, 2020. Online applications in four languages are available at: https://mainstreetlaunch.org/oakland-cares-act-grant/.

$20-25K Grants for Oakland Nonprofits: Of the funds Oakland has received from California’s CARES Act, $850K are going to support nonprofits impacted by COVID-19. The grant program will support about 34 nonprofits with grants of $20-$25K each, for organizations with an annual budget of less than $1 million that are currently providing programs and services that address the impact of COVID-19 and the needs of low-income residents and businesses in the following areas: Health & Human Services; Economic & Workforce Development; Legal Support; Food Security; Homeless and Renter Support Services; and Education. Learn more and apply here by 5pm on Wednesday, October 14.

$3K Grants for Individual Artists, $20K for Arts Nonprofits: $1.425 million of the City’s funds from California’s CARES Act will go to support individual artists and arts nonprofit organizations that have been impacted by COVID-19. The Oakland CARES Arts Organizational Grant will award grants of up to $20,000 to arts nonprofits, while the Oakland CARES Individual Artist Grant seeks to support individual artists with grants of up to $3,000 each. Apply here by 1pm on Friday, October 9, 2020.

$5-10K Mini-Grants for Violence Prevention and Community Healing: The Department of Violence Prevention, in partnership with Restorative Justice for Oakland Youth (RJOY), Urban Peace Movement (UPM), Communities United for Restorative Youth Justice (CURYJ), Building Opportunities for Self-Sufficiency (BOSS), and Roots Community Health Center (Roots) will provide approximately $400K through grants of up to $10K for small nonprofit organizations (with an annual budget of less than $500K) and up to $5K for individuals (with an identified fiscal sponsor). Learn more, attend information sessions and apply here by 11:59pm on October 18th.

City of Oakland, Community Vision, Launch Oakland Nonprofit Organization Grant Program

September 23, 2020 by Roger Robarts

Oakland – The City of Oakland received $36.9 million in State of California CARES Act funding. Of that, approximately $850,000 will go to grants to support Oakland-based nonprofit organizations that have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The grant program will support about 34 nonprofits with grants of $20,000 to $25,000 each.

The grants are available to Oakland nonprofits with an annual budget of less than $1 million that are currently providing programs and services that address the impact of COVID-19 and the needs of low-income residents and businesses in the following areas: Health & Human Services; Economic & Workforce Development; Legal Support; Food Security; Homeless and Renter Support Services; and Education. The application period opened today (Wednesday, September 23) at 9 a.m., and closes at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, October 14, 2020. Online applications are available at: communityvisionca.org/oaklandcares

“These grants are a step in preserving Oakland’s nonprofit ecosystem that helps feed, clothe, shelter and counsel our most vulnerable residents,” said Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf. “While the needs of our community have increased during the pandemic, many of these nonprofits have seen their funding dry up, putting both the organizations and those they serve at greater risk.”

The following general eligibility criteria will be used:

Nonprofits must provide proof of 501(c)3 status or fiscal sponsorship agreement.

Nonprofits must have a total annual budget and actual expenses of less than $1 million for the applicant’s current and previous fiscal year. If an organization is fiscally sponsored, this limit is related to the organization’s expenses, not the total expenses of the fiscal sponsor.

Nonprofits must be located in Oakland and be currently providing programs and services that address the impact of COVID-19 and the needs of low-income residents and businesses in Oakland.
Nonprofits must currently provide services to disinvested populations (including Black; immigrant; aged; children; homeless; low and very low-income) in the following areas: Health & Human Services; Economic & Workforce Development; Legal Support; Food Security; Homeless and renter support services; and Education. Applicants will be required to provide a brief narrative overview of their. (Nonprofits in the arts community should apply for grants through the previously announced arts nonprofit grant program.)
Nonprofits must have been in business in Oakland for at least three years, with appropriate documentation of this fact (such as 990s, audited financial statement, or business license, etc.).
Applicants will be required to identify the programmatic need or loss of organization income due to COVID-19 business interruption such as:

Lack of program funding, contract funding, or grant agreements that were impacted because of the applicant’s inability to deliver services
Reduction in payroll, jobs, furloughs, or other significant costs
Programs that had to be suspended due to COVID-19
Preference will be given to nonprofit organizations located in, and serving census tracts deemed eligible for the federal Opportunity Zone program.
Preference will be given to nonprofit organizations that can demonstrate deep community roots, trust in the community, and those who base their work on the stated needs/wants of the community they serve.

The grants will help preserve nonprofit services to some of Oakland’s most disinvested populations and help prevent nonprofit displacement. Distribution of the CARES Act grants for Oakland nonprofits is through a partnership between the Economic & Workforce Development Department and Community Vision. Community Vision, formerly the Northern California Community Loan Fund, is a trusted intermediary that will administer the fund.

“COVID-19 has further emphasized the vast inequities present in our society and the reality that our economic system does not prioritize communities of color and low-income communities,” said Catherine Howard, Community Vision’s senior vice president of programs. “We’re pleased to partner with the City of Oakland to provide support to nonprofits working to meet the most vital needs across the city.”

To assist applicants, helpful FAQs have been posted at: communityvisionca.org/oaklandcares/FAQ. Webinars for nonprofits interested in applying for a grant will be hosted on: Wednesday, September 30, in both English (at 11 a.m.) and Spanish (at 1 p.m.). Interested applicants can also schedule consultation calls with Community Vision staff by visiting communityvisionca.org/oaklandcares. Materials will be available in Spanish at communityvisionca.org/oaklandcares/spanish.

In addition to administering the grant program, Community Vision will host virtual technical assistance workshops and one-on-one counseling. The schedule will be announced shortly at communityvisionca.org/oaklandcares

This is the latest CARES Act-funded grant program launched by the City of Oakland. Grant programs for small businesses, individual artists and arts nonprofits, and low-income renters and homeowners as well as an RFQ to fund support for low- and moderate-income renters and homeowners were announced earlier this month. Learn more about the $36.9 million in CARES Act Funding at: oaklandca.gov/topics/coronavirus-aid-relief-and-economic-security-cares-act-funding

This post based on press release from The City of Oakland to Zennie62Media.

City Of Oakland, Main Street Launch Open Grant Program For Oakland Small Businesses

September 22, 2020 by Roger Robarts

Oakland – The City of Oakland received $36.9 million in State of California CARES Act funding. More than $4 million of those funds will go to the Oakland CARES Act Small Business Grant Program to support Oakland small businesses that have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The program anticipates distributing $10,000 grants to 402 Oakland small businesses.

Grants may be used to cover day-to-day operating costs, such as worker payroll, rent and fixed debts. The application period for the small business grants opened today (Tuesday, September 22) at 1 p.m., and ends at 5 p.m. on Monday, October 12, 2020. Online applications in four languages are available at: https://mainstreetlaunch.org/oakland-cares-act-grant/

“Many Oakland small businesses that employ our residents and provide vital goods and services for us all have suffered greatly during the closures to combat the spread of COVID-19,” said Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf. “These CARES Act-funded grants are meant to help sustain the local, independent merchants that add so much to our community as they pivot to new business models for the pandemic and post-pandemic economies.”

Eligibility requirements:

· Be an existing for-profit business since March 1, 2019 with a commercial location in Oakland

· Be able to demonstrate adverse business impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic

· Have gross revenues under $2,000,000 in 2019

· Have a current City of Oakland business license

· Have no City of Oakland life safety code violations

· Be in compliance with all County Health Orders and State Regulations

· Have not received a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan of more than $10,000

· Have not received a grant from the Oakland CARES Fund for Artists and Arts Non-profits

· Have at least one, but no more than 50 full-time equivalent employees, including the business owner(s)

The following businesses are not eligible for funding through this grant program: Nonprofits, passive income real estate businesses, cannabis-related businesses, adult entertainment businesses, franchises, any business involved in bankruptcy proceedings or religious organizations (See FAQs for complete list).

Disbursement of grants funds to the selected recipients is anticipated to be completed by Friday, October 30, 2020.

The grants will help prevent displacement and closures of small businesses that contribute to the City’s diversity, vibrancy and character. Distribution of the CARES Act grants for small businesses is through a partnership between the City of Oakland’s Economic & Workforce Development Department and Main Street Launch. A trusted intermediary focused on equitable economic development, Main Street Launch is administering the Oakland CARES Act Small Business Grant Program.

“Main Street is looking forward to helping Oakland’s small businesses at this critical moment in the city’s recovery from the pandemic,” said Jacob Singer, CEO of Main Street Launch. “By helping the City provide these grants to support Oakland’s dynamic small business community, we collectively envision a time when we will all be able to gather together again in support of the businesses that make Oakland a unique and lively place to work and live.”

To assist applicants, answers to frequently asked questions have been posted at: https://mainstreetlaunch.org/oakland-cares-act-grant/ Support for technical questions is also available by emailing [email protected].

To align with the Oakland City Council’s direction and equity goals, the funds will be allocated to prioritize both geographic diversity throughout Oakland, and districts containing vulnerable communities, as represented by the Opportunity Zone-qualified and Opportunity Zone-designated census tracts. $2 million of grants have been specifically earmarked for businesses located in Opportunity Zone-designated census tracts. These historically vulnerable communities were selected based on aggregated demographic characteristics of each tract’s resident population as reported by the U.S. Census.

This is the latest CARES Act-funded grant program launched by the City of Oakland. Grant programs for low-income renter and homeowner relief and artists and arts nonprofits as well as an RFQ to fund support for low- and moderate-income renters and homeowners were announced earlier this month. Learn more about the $36.9 million in CARES Act Funding at: https://www.oaklandca.gov/topics/coronavirus-aid-relief-and-economic-security-cares-act-funding

City Of Oakland, Center For Cultural Innovation Launch Grant Programs For Artists, Nonprofits

September 21, 2020 by Roger Robarts

Oakland, CA – The City of Oakland received $36.9 million in State of California CARES Act funding. Through the Oakland CARES Fund for Artists and Arts Nonprofits, $1.425 million of those funds will go to support individual artists and arts nonprofit organizations that have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Oakland CARES Arts Organizational Grant will award grants of up to $20,000 to arts nonprofits, while the Oakland CARES Individual Artist Grant seeks to support individual artists with grants of up to $3,000 each. The application period for both grants opened today (Monday, September 21) at 9 a.m., and ends at 1 p.m. on Friday, October 9, 2020. Online applications in four languages are available at: cciarts.org/Oakland_CARES_Fund.html

“Our vibrant arts and culture community is a vital part of our community and contributes immensely to our collective sense of belonging, which is what makes Oakland a unique and special place,” said Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf. “We know Oakland artists and arts nonprofits are struggling, and these CARES Act-funded grants offer financial help as we collectively work to help them survive this crisis.”

Individual Artist Grants

Current, full-time Oakland residents who make their primary income as freelancers or employees in the arts sector may apply. Applicants must make the majority (50%+) of their individual income from the arts sector through any combination of sales of art, freelance work, and/or employment. This includes fine artists, including literary, visual, and performing artists; musicians; teaching artists; culture bearers; artist members of collective-based or cooperative creative social enterprises; and specialized artist workers (e.g., lighting or sound designers, fabricators, and the like). Grants of up to $3,000 will be awarded to approximately 160 individuals.

Nonprofit Organizational Grants

Oakland-based 501(c)3 arts nonprofits; fiscally sponsored arts organizations; or 501(c)3 incorporated cultural land trusts with a primary function of arts and/or culture activities and services may apply. Eligible organizations must have a yearly budget under $2.5 million based on the most recently completed fiscal year that ended before March 1, 2020.

Grant amounts will be based on nonprofit’s actual budget size of the most recently completed fiscal year using the following tiers:

For budgets up to $999,999, grants will be up to $10,000
For budgets of $1 million-$1,499,999, grants will be up to $15,000
For budgets of $1.5-$2.5 million, grants will be up to $20,000

The arts nonprofit must not have received more than $20,000 through the SBA’s Paycheck Protection Program or received a National Endowment for the Arts (CARES) award. Additionally, applicants, and employees or board members of applicant organizations, who have a conflict of interest (family or financial relationships) with the boards, staff, or directors of CCI or of City of Oakland’s elected officials and their employees are ineligible.

Both Grant Programs

Applicants for both grants will be asked to provide a detailed explanation of financial losses or incurred expenses due to COVID-19. Notifications to grant recipients are anticipated on Friday, October 30, 2020.

The grants will help prevent displacement among artists and closures of arts nonprofits. Artists and public-benefiting arts organizations are the backbone of the City’s diversity and vibrancy of cultural identity and expression. Distribution of the CARES Act grants for the arts is through a partnership between the Economic & Workforce Development Department’s Cultural Affairs Division and the Center for Cultural Innovation (CCI), a trusted intermediary focused on the economic security of people in the arts.

“Artists, culture workers, and arts nonprofits need our support but are all too often overlooked. We are delighted to partner with the City of Oakland, with the knowledge that they understand how important the arts are to the civic life of communities,” said Laura Poppiti, Center for Cultural Innovation’s Grants Program Director.

To assist applicants, FAQs have been posted at: cciarts.org/Oakland_CARES_Fund.html Support for technical questions is also available. English-speaking applicants are asked to email [email protected] with the subject line “Oakland CARES Fund Tech Support” and provide your full name and telephone number for assistance. For those completing applications in Spanish, Chinese (Traditional), or Vietnamese, please email [email protected] or call (510) 238-4949.

The Oakland CARES Fund for Artists and Arts Nonprofits will distribute support to reflect the cultural and geographic diversity of the city of Oakland – including those in historically underserved communities that are especially vulnerable financially due to this economic crisis.

Although not factors in grant decisions, we strongly encourage the following with financial needs to apply: individual applicants of, or organizations that primarily serve, historically marginalized communities, which may include, but are not limited to, African and African American, Arab, Asian and Asian American, Latinx, Middle Eastern, Native American and Indigenous, Pacific Islander; Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Queer, Transgender, and Gender-Variant people; people with disabilities; women; and those who are low-income, have high debts, have difficulty obtaining or retaining sources of income, or live in immigrant and refugee communities.

This is the latest CARES Act-funded grant program launched by the City of Oakland. Grant programs for low-income renter and homeowner relief and an RFQ to fund support for low- and moderate-income renters and homeowners were announced earlier this month. Learn more about the $36.9 million in CARES Act Funding at: https://www.oaklandca.gov/topics/coronavirus-aid-relief-and-economic-security-cares-act-funding

Post based on a press release from City of Oakland to Zennie62Media.

City of Oakland Gets $4.5M In CARES Act Money For Low-and-Moderate-Income Renters And Homeowners

September 17, 2020 by Roger Robarts

City of Oakland Awarded $4.5M in CARES Act Funding to Support Low- and Moderate-Income Renters and Homeowners Affected by COVID-19

Oakland –– The City of Oakland was awarded $4,532,841 in Community Development Block Grant CARES Act (CDBG-CV) funding by the United States Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD). The funds will provide housing service support to prepare for, prevent, and respond to the impacts that the Coronavirus pandemic have had and continue to have on low- to moderate-income renters and homeowners of Oakland.

CDBG is a division of the City’s Housing & Community Development Department that works to support decent housing, suitable living environments, and economic opportunities, principally for community low – and moderate-income individuals. CDBG-CV housing service categories for this award are:

Housing Stabilization & Protection
Affordable Housing Operations Support
Production and Preservation

“The focus of our department’s efforts is on the preservation, protection, and production of housing solutions”, said Shola Olatoye, Director of Housing & Community Development. “This latest CARES Act funding award will help support these efforts and move us closer to this goal.”

The City recently released this Request for Qualifications (RFQ) to attract partnering agencies who will process applications and award financial assistance to renters and homeowners in compliance with CDBG-CV regulations. The CDBG division will monitor the overall process working closely with each agency to ensure compliance and targeted outcomes.

Agencies must have a registered account with the City of Oakland’s iSupplier online system to view and respond to this RFQ.

Apply:

More application information and support:

Program information: Gregory Garrett, CDBG Manager,

[email protected]

General RFQ information: Paula Peav, Contract Analyst, [email protected]

This is the latest CARES Act-funded grant program launched by the City of Oakland. Grant programs for low-income renter and homeowner relief launched earlier this month. Learn more about the programs supported by the City’s $36.9 million in CARES Act Funding:
https://www.oaklandca.gov/topics/coronavirus-aid-relief-and-economic-security-cares-act-funding

Post based on press release from City of Oakland to Zennie62Media.

Oakland Schools OUSD Successfully Argues To Keep Education Funding In Federal Lawsuit

September 16, 2020 by Roger Robarts

Oakland – An effort by the U.S. Department of Education to take public education dollars away from Oakland Unified School District and countless other Districts and give it to private schools in Oakland and elsewhere has failed, and leadership from OUSD had a role in defeating it.

U.S. Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos, had created a rule that directed districts to give private schools a larger share of federal coronavirus aid – money that would otherwise have gone to public schools such as here in OUSD. If the rule had gone forward, OUSD would have been forced to distribute $1.8 million to local private schools through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act Private School Program. That would have been more than 10% of the $14 million in federal funding sent to OUSD. All told, it was DeVos’ plan to send $2 billion in federal education dollars to private schools.

According to the Washington Post, “Lawmakers from both parties said that most of the Cares Act’s K-12 education funding was intended to be distributed to public and private elementary and secondary schools using a long-employed formula based on how many poor children they serve. But DeVos said she wanted money sent to private schools based on the total number of students in the school, not how many students from low-income families attended. That would have sent hundreds of millions of dollars more to private schools than Congress had intended.”

California and other states sued the federal government to reverse the rule, and OUSD was a party to the lawsuit. Johanna Hoffmann, the District’s Middle School and Private School specialist in Strategic Resource Planning, submitted a declaration in support of the lawsuit. Included in the declaration was this powerful argument that OUSD deserved as much money as possible to support its students. “The transition to distance learning has been particularly challenging for OUSD’s lower income students and, because of the high percentage of low-income students within our district, OUSD is significantly impacted by these challenges. Low-income students lack technology access, which prevents them from accessing remote learning materials. OUSD serves a large number of students that lack access to devices and high-speed internet at home, leaving the students unable to learn remotely. From what we have seen, private school students are more likely to live in homes with good internet access and computers.”

After receiving a collection of information, a federal judge ruled that the move by DeVos violated the law, relying in part on the information included in Hoffman’s declaration. DeVos then dropped the rule. That means OUSD gets to keep most of the $1.8 million for District students, plus the rest of the $14 million.

“What a relief it is that the federal judge saw the DeVos rule for what it was, a way to take money from public school students who need it, and give it to schools that serve primarily students of great privilege,” said Superintendent Kyla Johnson-Trammell. “When it comes to food insecurity, the need for technology in the home, and many other metrics, our students deserve all the support they can get from the federal government. I thank the State of California for leading the legal fight and I applaud Johanna Hoffmann in Strategic Resource Planning for the outstanding work she put in to help convince the court to rule on the side of our nation’s public school students.”

About the Oakland Unified School District

In California’s most diverse city, Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) is dedicated to creating a learning environment where “Every Student Thrives!” More than half of our students speak a non-English language at home. And each of our 81 schools is staffed with talented individuals uniting around a common set of values: Students First, Equity, Excellence, Integrity, Cultural Responsiveness and Joy. We are committed to preparing all students for college, career and community success.

To learn more about OUSD’s Full Service Community District focused on academic achievement while serving the whole child in safe schools, please visit OUSD.org and follow us @OUSDnews.

This post based on a press release from the Oakland OUSD to Zennie62Media.

City Of Oakland Gets $37M In CARES Act Funding With $5M For Renters, Homeowners

September 1, 2020 by Roger Robarts

City of Oakland Receives Nearly $37M in CARES Act Funding – $5M for Renters & Homeowners

Oakland – The City of Oakland received $36.9 million in State of California CARES Act funding. Five million dollars of those funds were allocated for renter and homeowner relief through the Keep Oakland Housed (KOH) partnership of KOH nonprofit partners and other nonprofit organizations. This funding will provide one-time financial assistance to low-income renters and homeowners impacted by COVID-19. The application period opens today, September 1, 2020.

The City’s Housing & Community Development (HCD) Department is the lead manager of the program. The KOH partnership will disperse funds to eligible applicants, with each nonprofit leading the application process for their organization.

Renter applicants may contact:

Bay Area Community Services (BACS) | www.bayareacs.org

(510) 899-9289 (call) | (510) 759-4877 (text)

Catholic Charities East Bay | www.cceb.org | (510) 768-3100
Centro Legal de la Raza | www.centrolegal.org | (510) 422-5669

Homeowner applicants may contact:

Housing and Economic Rights Advocates (HERA) | www.heraca.org | (510) 271-8443 x300

Applicants must be current Oakland residents, a low-income individual or household, and at risk of losing their home.

Funding is extremely limited, and applications will be prioritized based on need, severity of COVID-19 impact, and funding availability.

The City of Oakland’s Moratorium on Evictions remains in place until the lifting of the local emergency order by the City Council. For more information visit the City’s website at:

https://www.oaklandca.gov/documents/emergency-moratorium-on-rent-increases-and-evictions-faq

For more information on the Keep Oakland Housed COVID-19 Relief Financial Assistance program contact: City of Oakland Housing and Community Development, Housing Resource Center at (510) 238-6182.

The Details Of Defunding The Police In Oakland: The Kaplan / Bas Budget Memo Of July 21, 2020

July 22, 2020July 22, 2020 by Zennie Abraham

The Oakland City Council is discussing Agenda Item 16: “Fiscal Year 2020-2021 Budget Amendments”, which includes the “Defunding The Police” report filed by Oakland City Council President Rebecca Kaplan and Councilmember Nikki Fortunado Bas, the text of which has been digitized and is presented below. But also included below as links to the Scribd versions, … Read more

City Of Oakland’s Mid-Cycle Budget Cuts $14.3 Million From Police Department

June 29, 2020 by Zennie Abraham

Oakland’s Mid-cycle Budget Cuts $14.3 Million from Police Budget, Invests Additional $50 million to Address Racial Disparities Community investments include violence prevention, housing and homelessness, COVID economic relief, arts and culture, and bridging the digital divide Oakland, CA – Amidst a national conversation about racism and calls to defund the police in favor of repairing … Read more

City of Oakland And OUSD Have Plan To Close Digital Divide – Press Conference

May 18, 2020May 14, 2020 by Zennie Abraham

City of Oakland And OUSD Have Plan To Close Digital Divide – Press Conference ONN – City of Oakland And OUSD Have Plan To Close Digital Divide – Press Conference Leading the virtual press conference were: Libby Schaaf, Mayor of Oakland Kyla Johnson-Trammell, Superintendent of OUSD Jessica Ramos, 11th Grade Student, Skyline High School Ali … Read more

Port Of Oakland News: Oakland Airport Workers Praised As Aviation Industry Pivots

April 30, 2020April 20, 2020 by Roger Robarts

Shelter-in-Place Shifts Focus to Essential Operations Amid Travel Declines Oakland – At Oakland International Airport, runways and taxiways are open and in active use. Terminals are operational, and air cargo activity has increased with new goods movement demands. Travel that is deemed “non-essential” is legal but is discouraged as a measure to curb the spread … Read more

Oakland Residents And America Could Get A $2,000 Stimulus Check Under Proposed Bill

April 15, 2020April 15, 2020 by Zennie Abraham

Oakland Residents And America Could Get A $2,000 Stimulus Check Under Proposed Bill ONN – Oakland Residents And America Could Get A $2,000 Stimulus Check Under Proposed Bill According to Channel 11 in Atlanta: “The new bill, named the Emergency Money for the People Act is being introduced by Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Ohio, and Rep. … Read more

Bank Of America Paycheck Protection Program Website Access Works On Second Try

April 5, 2020April 5, 2020 by Zennie Abraham

Bank Of America Paycheck Protection Program Website Access Works On Second Try ONN – Bank Of America Paycheck Protection Program Website Access Works On Second Try Earlier, the website for the Bank Of America Paycheck Protection Program supported by the CARES Act and the U.S. Small Business Administration did not work properly. Using basic access … Read more

Bank Of America Paycheck Protection Program Website Has Form Page Access Problem

April 5, 2020April 5, 2020 by Zennie Abraham

Bank Of America Paycheck Protection Program Website Has Website Access Problem

Bank Of America Paycheck Protection Program Website Has Form Page Access Problem ONN – Bank Of America Paycheck Protection Program Website Has Form Page Access Problem The Bank Of America CARES Act Paycheck Protection Program has a problem where it’s website entry page takes you to, not the page to fill out the form for … Read more

Oakland District Two Councilmember Nikki Bas’ Digitized Newsletter

Sustainable, Healthy Use of Lake Merritt – Lake Merritt Vending Pilot Program Update

TUESDAY 10/20: Oakland City Council Meeting Preview Homeless Encampment Management Policy and Community Safety

TUESDAY 10/27: Community & Economic Development Meeting – Impact Fees, Economic Recovery Recommendations

Oakland Workers, Know Your Rights! COVID-19 Emergency Paid Sick Leave

City of Oakland; District 2 News and Resources County Reopening Updates, Small Biz Legal Support, Grants for Home-Based Business

Other Grant and Support Programs Available

About Working Solutions

What Lynette Did Was Spot Light The Violence Problems Black Women Face In Oakland

Lynette Makes Her Case For Re-Election And It’s Worth Reading

City Of Oakland Homeless Encampment Management Policy

State Of California Tenant and Landlord Protection Legislation

Both Grant Programs

City of Oakland Awarded $4.5M in CARES Act Funding to Support Low- and Moderate-Income Renters and Homeowners Affected by COVID-19

About the Oakland Unified School District

City of Oakland Receives Nearly $37M in CARES Act Funding – $5M for Renters & Homeowners

City of Oakland; District 2 News and Resources
County Reopening Updates, Small Biz Legal Support, Grants for Home-Based Business