In reviewing applications from prospective grantees, the Y&H Soda Foundation looks for a broad array of key elements.  These are typical characteristics that encompass most projects, though the Foundation recognizes that each project may not have every element present due to the nature of its scope of work.

East Bay Impact

Central to the mission of the Y&H Soda Foundation is a commitment to supporting low-income immigrants and communities of color in Alameda and Contra Costa Counties. Projects and programs must directly impact the East Bay and include local leaders in their design and implementation.

Equity Centered

We approach all our grantmaking with an equity focus. This requires a critical examination of the East Bay’s history, policy decisions, governance structures and philanthropic practices that perpetuate racial injustices in the economy and limit the full potential and civic participation of immigrant communities. 

Organizations or initiatives requesting funding must have:

• Programming that identifies and addresses the root causes of inequity

• Expected outcomes that build toward lasting change

• Success indicators that are tracked by race and ethnicity, and the data is used to inform, revise, and strengthen the initiative

• Impacted communities who:

  • Participate in developing, assessing, or refining project goals and outcomes

  • Are provided meaningful opportunities for leadership development by serving on staff, advisory boards, or the Board of Directors

• Demographic alignment between the impacted community and the organization’s leadership and staff

Clear Outcomes and Accountability

The Foundation expects to find the following elements in proposed projects:

• Strategies incorporate and reflect learning from related projects and current research.

• Accurate baseline data on the defined problem.

• A statement of the anticipated impact and outcomes of the program and detail on how progress will be measured.

• Demonstration of how East Bay residents will directly benefit as a result of the work.

Organizational Practices

• Organizational processes and procedures are transparent, accountable and effective.

• Organizations working with the richly diverse population of the East Bay value and understand different cultures, languages and needs.

• A well-articulated work plan and budget that fits the project’s stage of development.

Effective Partnerships

Addressing systemic and structural barriers to achieving equity will take a coordinated, integrated and intentional approach with partners working together at the policy, community organizing and narrative change levels. We look for opportunities to invest in ways that build on the individual and combined strengths of the partners to achieve greater impact and create new ways of working together. Key elements of effective partnerships include:

• Shared understanding of the problem to be addressed.

• Policy solutions derived from the community that address the root causes of the problem.

• Evidence of collaboration and cooperation including a strong governance structure and an explicit internal and external communications strategy.

• Realistic and ambitious planning that identifies the resources and funding needed to achieve lasting social change.