For over 25 years we’ve been working in partnership with local community-based organizations to ensure that our community is strong, connected, and flourishing. We support staff involvement on all levels of our work –from underwriting loans, to consulting on real estate and financial management, to spending time volunteering with our clients and other community organizations – those working diligently to meet the needs of our community.

Over the last six months we’ve volunteered with three essential community-based organizations and have left each opportunity deeply connected, inspired, and further invested in our work. In April our staff cooked and served a warm meal to homeless seniors staying at St. Mary’s Center in Oakland. In July we ventured to Dover Street Park in North Oakland where we spent the day weeding and learning about Phat Beets Produce’s work promoting an equitable food system in an area undergoing a great deal of demographic change. In August we served lunch at St. Anthony’s newly renovated dining room in San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood. Seeing firsthand the impact of the new space, which allows for over 2,500 people a day to enjoy a warm and healthy meal, brought home the importance of our efforts and partnerships.

As we venture into 2016, we’re looking towards a year of continued meaningful community involvement.