Oakland Fund for Children and Youth

What Oakland Fund for Children and Youth does

Oakland Fund for Children and Youth (OFCY) is a municipal grantmaking program established by Oakland voters in 1996 through approval of the Kids First! Oakland Children's Fund Amendment. OFCY operates within the Children and Youth Services Division of the City of Oakland's Human Services Department and is the city's largest grantmaking vehicle dedicated to children and youth. It is funded by a charter-mandated allocation equal to 3% of the city's unrestricted General Purpose Fund per City Charter Article XIII, with the program extended by Ordinance No. 13588 C.M.S. through June 30, 2033.

OFCY distributes approximately $18-20 million annually through competitive three-year Request for Proposal (RFP) cycles governed by a publicly developed Strategic Investment Plan. Per the charter, 90% of revenue is allocated as grants for direct services and 10% is reserved for administration and evaluation. In FY2024-2025 OFCY served over 21,000 children, youth, and families across 144 funded programs; FY2025-2026 funded programs totaled $18,527,382. The latest 2025-2028 Strategic Investment Plan, approved by City Council in December 2024, organizes grantmaking into twelve strategic areas covering early childhood development, school success, youth leadership, violence prevention, career and employment access, and related services.

The business model is structurally unlike a commercial enterprise: there is no pricing model, no product, no headcount-driven revenue generation, and no external investors or equity ownership. OFCY's sole revenue source is the City of Oakland's General Purpose Fund allocation, and its "customers" are the roughly 70-77 community-based nonprofit and public agencies that deliver direct services. Independent evaluation is performed by The Bridging Group using the Results-Based Accountability (RBA) framework. Governance is provided by a 17-member Planning and Oversight Committee (POC) of Oakland residents, with members appointed by the Mayor and collaborating with Oakland Unified School District and Alameda County per Charter Section 1303.

Name

Oakland Fund for Children and Youth

Legal name

Oakland Fund for Children and Youth

Website

https://ofcy.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

OFCY is the City of Oakland's municipal grantmaking program, distributing approximately $18-20 million annually to 70-77 community-based organizations delivering education, health, and youth development services to Oakland children and youth (birth to age 21).

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Municipal Grantmaking for Children and Youth Services

NAICS

Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321), Other Grantmaking and Giving Services (813219), Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813), Administration of Public Health Programs (923120)

akta.pro primary industry

Grantmaking & Philanthropic Funds (Institutional Donors) (BPADAOAB)

Keywords

• Children youth services
• Community grantmaking
• Nonprofit funding programs
• Youth development grants
• Municipal grant programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Causeway Bay

HQ country

Hong Kong SAR China

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Others, Personnel, Operations

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

OFCY is a municipal grantmaking program established in 1996 by the City of Oakland that distributes strategic funding to community-based organizations delivering programs supporting children, youth, and families from birth through age 21. The fund operates through three-year Strategic Investment Plans covering twelve program areas (early childhood, school success, youth leadership, career readiness, violence prevention, etc.) and awards approximately $18-20 million annually to roughly 70-77 agencies running 140+ programs via a competitive RFP process.

Product overview

Oakland Fund for Children and Youth (OFCY) is a municipal grantmaking program operated by the City of Oakland's Human Services Department, not a technology product company. It provides strategic funding to community-based organizations serving children and youth ages 0-21 through a competitive Request for Proposal (RFP) process with three-year funding cycles. OFCY funds programs across twelve strategic areas including early childhood development, school success, youth leadership, violence prevention, and career/employment access. The organization administers approximately $18-20 million in annual grants to 70-77 agencies delivering 140+ programs, with evaluation services provided by The Bridging Group.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Three-Year Strategic Investment Plan Grants Competitive grants awarded through Request for Proposal (RFP) process to non-profit and government agencies for direct services supporting Oakland children and youth ages 0-21; current FY 2025-2026 funding totals $18,527,382 across approximately 144 programs under twelve strategic areas.
• Strategic Investment Plan (2025-2028) Three-year strategic plan guiding allocation of OFCY funds across twelve program areas including early childhood development, school success, youth leadership, career/employment access, and violence prevention.
• Program Evaluation Services Independent third-party evaluation of OFCY-funded programs using the Results-Based Accountability (RBA) framework, producing annual evaluation reports (most recent FY 2023-2024 report approved).
• Grantee Resources, Trainings, and Events Announcements, resources, training programs, and convener meetings provided to OFCY grantees to support grant administration, quarterly reporting, and program delivery.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• The Bridging GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProvides independent third-party evaluation services for all OFCY funded strategies and programs. Conducts annual evaluations using Results-Based Accountability (RBA) framework.
• City of OaklandcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOFCY operates within the Children and Youth Services Division of the Human Services Department. Funding established by City Charter Article XIII.
• Oakland Unified School District (OUSD)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborates with OFCY in developing Strategic Investment Plans as required by City Charter Section 1303.
• County of AlamedacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborates with OFCY in developing Strategic Investment Plans as required by City Charter Section 1303.
• Mayor Barbara LeecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAppoints members to the Planning and Oversight Committee and partners on initiatives including Mayor's Summer Youth Employment Program (MSYEP).

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Regional players

• Tipping Point Community: Bay Area philanthropic organization funding vetted nonprofits working to break the cycle of poverty, with significant overlap in education, youth employment, and family-support program funding. Comparable as a Bay Area anti-poverty grantmaker, though a private nonprofit rather than a city program.

Broad incumbents

• Annie E. Casey Foundation: Large national private foundation dedicated to improving outcomes for disadvantaged children and families through grantmaking, research, and advocacy. Comparable as a major children-and-youth grantmaker, though operating as a national private foundation rather than a municipal program.
• United Way Bay Area: Major regional nonprofit that raises and distributes funds to a portfolio of health, education, and human-services programs across the Bay Area, including youth and family services. Comparable as a large-scale regional grantmaker serving community-based organizations.
• East Bay Community Foundation: Regional community foundation serving Alameda and Contra Costa counties with grantmaking, donor-advised funds, and philanthropic advisory services. Comparable as a Bay Area institutional donor with overlapping children, youth, and family funding priorities.

Direct peers

• Jacksonville Children's Commission: Municipal grantmaking program funded by a dedicated share of Jacksonville's budget that distributes competitive grants to community organizations serving children and youth. Closely analogous structure to OFCY as a city-charter-protected children's fund.
• First 5 California: State-level California commission distributing Proposition 10 tobacco-tax funds to county commissions serving children 0-5 and families. Closely comparable as a public, formula-funded grantmaking program dedicated to children.
• The Children's Trust (Miami-Dade): Florida-chartered special district that administers dedicated property-tax revenue for competitive grants serving children from prenatal to age 18 across Miami-Dade. Shares OFCY's model of statutory, formula-funded grantmaking on behalf of municipal children and youth.
• First 5 Alameda County: Local First 5 commission allocating California Proposition 10 tobacco-tax revenue to programs for children ages 0-5 and their families across Alameda County. Operates in the same Bay Area geography with an overlapping children-and-youth funding mandate.
• San Francisco Department of Children, Youth & Their Families: City of San Francisco agency funded by the Children and Youth Fund (voter-approved, established 1991, extended through 2034) that grants money to community organizations for children and youth services. Essentially a sister municipality to OFCY with near-identical charter-protected structure and RFP grantmaking model.

Others

• Kalamazoo Community Foundation: Community foundation operating in a single mid-size U.S. city with a strong focus on early childhood, youth, and education grantmaking. Comparable as a place-based, locally rooted grantmaker focused on youth and family outcomes, though structured as a private 501(c)(3) rather than a municipally chartered program.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/oaklandhsd

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Oakland Fund for Children and Youth