For over 40 years, Red Oak agents have donated a portion of their commission to the Red Oak Opportunity Foundation (ROOF). Together with Red Oak partners and vendors, we've granted more than $1,700,000 to East Bay charitable organizations—because real estate isn't just about homes, it's about our communities and the people within them.
100% OF YOUR TAX-DEDUCTIBLE CONTRIBUTION SUPPORTS YOUR LOCAL EAST BAY NEIGHBORS
ROOF was established in 1985 when our community of agents witnessed the emerging issue of homelessness in the East Bay. We were helping people buy and sell properties every day, yet so many others were going without a home. Our agents decided to donate a percentage of each commission back to the community—and ROOF was born.
From the beginning, ROOF funds were directed to organizations that weren't receiving significant funding elsewhere, with a focus on housing and education. Any remaining money was donated on a discretionary basis. Ten years after its formation, our contributions were recognized when the mayor of Berkeley issued a proclamation declaring a Red Oak Realty Week for the city.
In 1996, one of our clients, who wished to remain anonymous, was so impressed with ROOF that they offered to match whatever funds were raised that year. To accept this generous offer, ROOF formally became a 501(c)(3) nonprofit charitable organization, making all contributions tax-deductible. As a result, ROOF has vastly increased contributions from clients, business associates, and agents alike.
The Oakland Literacy Coalition works to ensure every Oakland child learns and loves to read by improving the capacity of Oakland's literacy providers. The coalition brings together stakeholders to collaborate and champion literacy through the Oakland Reads campaign focused on third-grade reading achievement — a critical predictor of school success. Through family literacy nights, book distribution, and educator professional development, the coalition combines the strength of Oakland families, schools, and community partners. Serving Oakland.
Rising Sun Center for Opportunity builds career pathways for economic equity and climate resilience through workforce development programs. Their Climate Careers program employs youth ages 15-24 from low-income households to perform no-cost energy and water audits at local residences, while Opportunity Build provides state-certified apprenticeship readiness training for union construction trades with hands-on skills and wraparound support. With offices in Oakland and Stockton, Rising Sun addresses economic inequity and climate change while preparing people for family-sustaining wages. Serving Oakland, Bay Area, and Stockton.
Berkeley Path Wanderers Association preserves, restores, and creates Berkeley's 136 public paths, steps, and walkways originally built in the early 1900s to connect hillside neighborhoods to transportation and schools. This volunteer-led organization offers free guided walks, builds and repairs pathways, and maintains these historic pedestrian corridors that now serve as garden corridors and evacuation routes. Celebrating over 25 years of service, the organization has received recognition from Berkeley's city council for making the community more walkable and welcoming. Serving Berkeley.
Destiny Arts Center inspires social change through movement-based arts education, serving over 2,600 youth annually at 50+ school and community sites across Oakland and the East Bay. Founded in 1988 by Black and Queer dance and martial artists, Destiny offers financially accessible dance, martial arts, and theater programs for ages 3-18 rooted in their Warriors Code values. Through performances, school partnerships, and after-school programs, Destiny uplifts youth voice, fights systemic racism, and builds community where everyone feels valued and free to express themselves. Serving Oakland and the East Bay.
Intertribal Friendship House, established in 1955, is one of the nation's first urban American Indian community centers, serving as a vital cultural homeland for Bay Area Native people. IFH promotes the ability of Native people to thrive in an urban environment through ceremony, traditions, and cultural connections—providing a safe space to strengthen cultural identity and support intergenerational healing. Through pow wow dance, drumming, beading classes, and cultural events, IFH fosters belonging and cultural continuity for the Bay Area's multi-tribal Native community. Serving Oakland and the Bay Area.
West Oakland Punks with Lunch is a volunteer-run nonprofit providing harm reduction services and support to individuals experiencing homelessness. Starting in 2015 making 50 lunches, the organization now distributes approximately 150 weekly lunches along with syringe access services, Narcan training, hygiene packs, and basic necessities through fixed-site and mobile outreach. Operating with unconditional compassion, volunteers engage in direct outreach while encouraging destigmatization of drug use and poverty, providing a safe space where people can access support without shame. Serving West Oakland.
Park Place Refuge provides compassionate mobile shower and laundry services to individuals experiencing homelessness throughout the East Bay, fostering connections while upholding dignity. This nonprofit serves unhoused neighbors through regular street outreach, offering free showers, laundry services, and resources to assist with upward mobility. Through mobile units that bring essential hygiene services directly to encampments and curbside communities, Park Place Refuge helps individuals maintain their health and dignity while working toward housing stability. Serving Oakland, Hayward, and East Bay communities.
Town Bizness brings the necessities of dignified life to Oakland's unhoused population—including good food, shelter, clothing, toiletries, and basic comforts—while treating each person with respect and loving kindness. Founded by Signe Nielsen, who experienced homelessness herself, the organization builds mutual trust over time, meeting clients without judgment. Beyond material support, Town Bizness provides connections to transitional housing and rehabilitation services, helping their unhoused family achieve dignity and justice while addressing how racism complicates challenges faced by unhoused people of color. Serving Oakland.
MOYO Institute offers heart-centered educational experiences that foster inner peace, health, wellbeing, and connection, supporting harmony within individuals, families, and communities. Based in Oakland, this organization has provided free workshops for African American women navigating cancer for four years through their Love Letters to Our Bodies program. Nearly 100 women have found support and learned mind-body-spirit practices, giving themselves permission to be vulnerable and connect with others who understand their journey. Serving Oakland and the Bay Area.
The Mosaic Project works toward a peaceful future by uniting children of diverse backgrounds through immersive week-long experiences in the Santa Cruz mountains. Since 2000, this organization has served nearly 76,000 children through their Outdoor Project for fourth and fifth graders, in-school programs, and youth leadership training—all focused on celebrating diversity, developing empathy, teaching conflict resolution, and building connections across differences. The name Mosaic represents their values and the beautiful piece created when different tiles come together. Serving Berkeley, Oakland, and the Bay Area.
Building Futures helps Alameda County women, children, and families in crisis become safely housed, free from homelessness and domestic violence, through emergency shelters, transitional housing, and comprehensive wraparound services. Operating as a Housing First agency since 2007, this organization provides 55 emergency shelter beds, 20 domestic violence safe house beds, 52 units of supportive housing, a 24-hour crisis line, and street outreach teams. Through partnerships with Oakland and Alameda County, Building Futures has helped thousands transition from homelessness to safe, permanent housing. Serving Alameda County.
Running for a Better Oakland mobilizes the Oakland running community to support local nonprofits and create positive change. Through organized group runs, community events, and partnerships with local organizations, this grassroots initiative brings together runners who share a passion for fitness and community service. Whether supporting youth programs, environmental initiatives, or addressing homelessness, Running for a Better Oakland demonstrates how athletic communities can become powerful forces for neighborhood improvement, building connections across diverse Oakland neighborhoods. Serving Oakland.
Tiny Village Spirit operates Richmond's innovative tiny house village, providing dignified transitional housing and supportive services for individuals experiencing homelessness. This community-driven approach offers residents secure tiny homes with beds, heating, cooling, and electricity, along with case management, life skills training, and resources to help transition to permanent housing. By creating a village model that fosters community and mutual support while maintaining individual dignity, Tiny Village Spirit demonstrates that innovative housing solutions can provide both immediate shelter and a pathway to stability. Serving Richmond and Contra Costa County.
Richmond Promise is a community-wide college success initiative building a college-going culture throughout Richmond through scholarships and supportive programming. Launched in 2016 with a $35 million seed investment from Chevron, Richmond Promise provides renewable $1,500 annual scholarships for up to six years to Richmond students who meet eligibility requirements. Beyond financial support, the organization ensures students excel through higher education with college access programming, success coaching, and campus peer networks, helping Richmond students—82% first-generation—reach their career goals. Serving Richmond.
The Berkeley Baby Book Project promotes early literacy and family bonding by providing free new books and literacy resources to families with young children. Through book distributions at pediatric clinics, community centers, and family events, along with parent education about reading aloud from birth, the organization ensures every baby and toddler has access to developmentally appropriate books. By placing books directly in families' hands and providing guidance on making reading a joyful daily routine, The BBBP helps lay the foundation for lifelong literacy while strengthening parent-child bonds. Serving Berkeley and the East Bay.
Luna Dance & Creativity uses dance and creative movement to empower individuals across the lifespan, offering programs that celebrate diversity, promote healing, and build community. From early childhood programs developing motor skills to intergenerational classes bringing together people of all ages and abilities, Luna Dance creates inclusive spaces where participants explore self-expression and connect through movement. Serving schools, community centers, senior facilities, and families throughout the East Bay, the organization makes the arts accessible to everyone regardless of age or ability. Serving Berkeley, Oakland, and the East Bay.
Us4Us Bay Area mobilizes community members to support their neighbors through direct mutual aid, emergency response, and grassroots organizing across the East Bay. Operating on principles of solidarity and collective care, this volunteer-driven organization coordinates resource sharing, provides emergency assistance during crises, and builds networks that strengthen community resilience. By fostering connections and creating systems where people can both give and receive support, the organization builds a culture of mutual aid recognizing everyone has something to contribute and deserves support when needed. Serving Oakland and the East Bay.
Jack McGoverns Coats' Disease Foundation provides support, education, and resources to families affected by Coats' disease—a rare eye condition causing abnormal retinal blood vessel development and potential vision loss. Named in memory of a young person who lived with this condition, the foundation connects families navigating diagnosis and treatment, funds research, raises awareness, and advocates for improved care. Through support groups, educational materials, and connections to specialists, the foundation helps families find community, information, and hope. Serving the East Bay and beyond.
The James Morehouse Project supports LGBTQ+ youth and young adults in the East Bay through advocacy, community building, and direct services addressing unique challenges faced by queer and trans youth. Through drop-in programs, peer support groups, leadership development, mental health resources, and connections to affirming services, the organization creates safe spaces where LGBTQ+ young people can be themselves and access the support they need to thrive. The project ensures every young person has access to affirming care, supportive community, and opportunities to develop as leaders. Serving Oakland and the East Bay.
The Rotary Club of Richmond's Bikes for Kids program provides bicycles, helmets, and bike safety education to Richmond youth, promoting healthy activity, independence, and joy. Each year, Rotary members refurbish donated bikes and purchase new bicycles to distribute to hundreds of Richmond children. Beyond providing bikes, the program includes helmet fitting, safety instruction, and encouragement of active lifestyles, recognizing that a bicycle can provide transportation, recreation, and freedom while teaching responsibility and building confidence. Serving Richmond.
Richmond Police Activities League builds positive relationships between Richmond youth and law enforcement through sports, recreation, educational programs, and mentorship. Operating programs including basketball, boxing, football, and academic support, Richmond PAL provides safe, structured activities where young people develop athletic skills, build confidence, and form positive connections with police officers and community mentors. By creating opportunities for youth and officers to interact in non-enforcement contexts, PAL helps build mutual respect and provides youth with positive role models. Serving Richmond.
Alameda County Community Food Bank alleviates hunger by providing nutritious food and nutrition education to people in need while advocating for policies addressing hunger's root causes. Founded in 1985 and based in Oakland, the food bank distributes enough food for 300 million meals annually through 400+ partner agencies including food pantries, soup kitchens, and schools—with farm-fresh produce comprising over half of all food distributed. Through emergency distributions, CalFresh outreach, and nutrition education, the food bank works toward a hunger-free community. Serving all of Alameda County.
Young People's Symphony Orchestra provides exceptional musical education and performance opportunities for talented young musicians throughout the East Bay, fostering artistic excellence and lifelong love of music. Through multiple tiered orchestras serving elementary through high school students, YPSO offers comprehensive training including rehearsals, masterclasses, chamber music, and performances at prestigious venues. Under accomplished conductors, young musicians develop technical skills, learn ensemble collaboration, and gain confidence through public performances, preparing them as outstanding musicians and leaders. Serving Berkeley, Oakland, and the East Bay.
MISSSEY (Motivating, Inspiring, Supporting & Serving Sexually Exploited Youth) provides trauma-informed services, advocacy, and support to commercially sexually exploited and trafficked girls and young women in Oakland and the Bay Area. Through intensive case management, mental health services, housing assistance, educational support, and peer mentorship, MISSSEY helps survivors heal from trauma and rebuild their lives. By centering survivors' voices and providing comprehensive wraparound support, MISSSEY works to end commercial sexual exploitation while ensuring every young woman has opportunities to heal and thrive. Serving Oakland and the Bay Area.
YES Nature to Neighborhoods engages young people in environmental stewardship, urban greening, and green jobs training while improving parks and natural spaces throughout Oakland and the East Bay. Through paid employment opportunities, youth participants gain hands-on experience in habitat restoration, urban agriculture, and environmental education while developing job skills and environmental literacy. By combining workforce development with environmental service, YES creates pathways for young people to build skills and earn income while making tangible neighborhood improvements and becoming environmental leaders. Serving Oakland and the East Bay.
Dandelion Kitchen provides community meals, food access programming, and culinary training in Richmond, creating spaces where neighbors can gather and build connections. Through community dinners, food distributions, cooking classes, and youth culinary training, Dandelion Kitchen addresses food insecurity while fostering community, teaching life skills, and creating food industry employment pathways. Operating on principles of dignity, sustainability, and inclusion, the organization welcomes everyone to the table, combining food access with community building and workforce development. Serving Richmond.
Habitot Children's Museum provides hands-on, play-based learning experiences for children ages 0-5 and their families in Berkeley, offering interactive exhibits and programs supporting early childhood development, creativity, and family bonding. Through thoughtfully designed play spaces, art activities, storytelling, and music programs, Habitot creates environments where young children explore and learn through play while families connect. Recognizing play as children's work, the museum offers accessible programming including free admission days to ensure all families can participate, supporting parents as their children's first teachers. Serving Berkeley and the East Bay.
Women's Daytime Drop-In Center provides a safe, welcoming space where women experiencing homelessness or housing instability can rest, connect with services, and access resources to move toward stability. Through hot meals, showers, laundry, clothing, case management, housing assistance, and mental health support, the center offers comprehensive services where women are treated with dignity. Operating with low-barrier access, the center provides not just essential services but also community—a place where women can find support, build relationships, and work toward their goals at their own pace. Serving Berkeley and the East Bay.
Bay Nature Institute, located in Berkeley, is an independent non-profit organization that produces publications, a website, and community and educational events throughout the Bay Area. Their goal is to honor the region’s legacy of environmental advocacy and motivate people to consider nature by connecting them to their natural world. Their writers, photographers, and artists cover science and nature, conservation and recreation. The organization has developed into a vital part of the Bay Area’s green communications infrastructure, aligning with many other Bay Area green initiatives.
Building Futures' mission has always been to build communities with underserved individuals and families, where they are safely and supportively housed, free from homelessness and domestic violence. Domestic violence is a primary reason that women become homeless and Building Futures has been providing safe places, warm meals, and much more, serving Alameda County since 1986. In 2022 the Building Futures Family Resource Center was opened in Oakland.
Central Stage is a nonprofit organization with a mission to promote the arts, with an emphasis on Persian arts and culture. They provide an affordable space where the artistic community can explore creative expression, promote cultural dialogue, and share knowledge.
Dandelion Kitchen’s mission is to help eliminate food insecurity and reduce food waste right here in the East Bay. The organization consists of a large group of volunteers from all backgrounds and professions, who help to prepare single-serving vegetarian meals using fresh local ingredients that would otherwise end up in landfills. The initiative grew from what was originally a program developed by Berkeley Food Network (BFN) who remains one of the key sources of fruits and vegetables for the program, in addition to helping with distribution. Dandelion Kitchen currently prepares and distributes about 750 meals a week, feeding local community members in need and diverting close to ten tons of recovered food annually.
Darvag Theater Group was founded in Berkeley in 1985 with the dual mission of exploring creative expression in theater arts and maintaining a vital living connection with the group’s Iranian heritage. Darvag’s repertoire consists of contemporary Iranian works, new plays by group members, and Farsi translations of classic and contemporary works from other languages. The group performs at the Central Stage theater mentioned above.
Destiny Arts Center’s goal is to ignite and inspire social change through the arts. Destiny Arts Center believes that art and movement give young people a vehicle for self and community expression. Founded by Black and Queer dance and martial artists in 1988, Destiny uses movement-based arts to uplift youth voice, supporting pathways for young people to express themselves, advocate for justice and equity, fight against the systemic racism that continues to impact Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC), and build a community where everyone feels seen, valued, and free.
East Bay Center for The Performing Arts has been around since 1968. They offer diverse youth and young adults opportunities to grow and excel as learners, creators of art, and contributors to their communities. The center provides broad and strategic community-based and public school performing arts access programs; rigorous individual and ensemble training; an intensive six-year, interdisciplinary diploma program; advanced internships; and commissions for new works of art. Their students, partners, and audiences deepen their experience and engagement with the impact of music, theater, dance, and media-making from a critical selection of the world's great cultures.
The center is passionate about the power of art to create beauty and new ways of seeing the world. Located in the heart of Richmond, more than 50,000 student artists from all walks of life have benefited from the organization over the years, enabling them to think, lead, and contribute to the world around them.
Friends of Oakland Animal Services works alongside Oakland Animal Services, Oakland’s only open admission shelter. Open admission means that every animal, regardless of their condition, is welcomed. Friends of Oakland Animal Services was founded by volunteers. Their mission is to provide homes, health, and happiness to Oakland’s animals in need with a primary focus of funding programs and activities at Oakland Animal Services. The organization works to improve services beyond the typical expectations of a municipal, open-admission shelter.
Habitot Children’s Center is a big advocate for early childhood learning through play. It’s a hands-on discovery museum designed for the youngest children, 0-5 years old, who learn through, and thrive on, play and social interaction. 90% of a child’s brain develops before age 5. Brain development in the early years depends on enriching experiences and positive interactions and relationships. The center’s mission is to provide a space that helps parents and caregivers raise creative, curious, and confident children. Theme-based exhibits give young children a context for play and learning about the world. Designed for small hands and bodies, Habitot’s exhibits foster social interaction, problem-solving, and confidence building.
Hip Wah Summer Program was founded in 1984 by parents to provide Bay Area children an opportunity to experience the heritage of the Chinese and Chinese-American people. The organization’s goal is to provide an accessible summer program by keeping it affordable and leveraging community support and volunteers. Children of diverse ethnicities come together and are immersed in a full Chinese experience that culminates in a music festival where everyone participates with choral and instrumental music, dance, and martial arts. Campers do not have to be Chinese to attend. For many, Hip Wah is an opportunity to discover their cultural identity. The program remains one of the most successful and longest-running Chinese-American summer programs in the country.
Back in 2019, Red Oak was introduced to an organization that was approaching the challenges of the unhoused (homelessness) on an extremely human level. LavaMaex coined the term "Radical Hospitality®" - a means of providing care in a way that aims to restore dignity, rekindle optimism and fuel a sense of opportunity to individuals living on the streets. Their vision is a world where hygiene is treated as a human right, and they have so far served over 100,000 people bringing them access to sanitation and hygiene services through their mobile showers, hand washing stations, and pop-up care villages.
Living Room Conversations connects people through dialogue to build trust and understanding. They believe belonging starts with conversation and are committed to designing the resources and opportunities that allow everyone to feel seen and heard. Their four organizational pillars: respectful connection, open and curious of human experience, building and supporting community, fostering belonging and confusion, help to guide their work.
Steeped in the tradition of gathering in parlors to talk, Living Room Conversations brings people together to generate understanding and connection. The parlor of today is any place – physical or online – where we find ourselves connecting with others. Our unique conversational model makes it easy for anyone to create a safe and welcoming environment where people can respectfully discuss important issues.
Luna Kids Dance, Inc. is another longtime ROOF recipient in support of equitable and inclusive practices. The organization brings creativity, equity and community to the lives of children through dance and creative activities. They have worked with children, parents, educators, schools, artists and various organizations for over 30 years, helping to develop future leaders, choreographers and visionaries.
Park Place Refuge serves East Bay homeless communities by providing mobile showers and laundry services to those in need. Established in 2022 in Hayward, the organization believes everyone deserves to be treated with respect and human kindness. They are currently securing funding through fundraisers, donors, and sponsors, so that they can obtain mobile showers.
Richmond’s Rotary was established in 1920, over a hundred years ago to encourage and foster the idea of service and goodwill. In 1989, Richmond’s fire and police united to form a toy drive to help local families in need. Each year, families register for the toy and food giveaway in November, and on the Saturday before Christmas, families receive bags of toys for each of their children, dry foods, fresh chicken and an opportunity to win a bike. The bikes are provided by the Richmond Rotary Club through support from generous donations.
Sarah Webster Fabio Center for Social Justice (SWF Center for Social Justice) was created with the goal of elevating Black voices. SWFCenter was inspired by the work of Sarah Fabio, scholar, educator, cultural critic, and poet. The organization supports the needs of the traditionally underserved by providing opportunities for dialogue, art, social justice, and community building. Recently the center premiered the film, “A Rising Tide” by filmmaker Cheryl Fabio. The film confronts, challenges, and changes the false and limited narrative of the growing homelessness in Alameda County. The film is a call to action empowering a more profound understanding of keeping unhoused children and their families at the center. Red Oak Realty was honored to recently sponsor a screening of the film in partnership with the Bridge Association for Realtors to help spread awareness within the local real estate community. The impactful film brought most viewers to tears.
Tiny Village Spirit is helping to tackle the increasing challenges faced by the unhoused in the Bay Area. They work to engage community members in the constituent-led developments of emergency housing villages. Their Oakland Tiny Village project engaged over 4,000 volunteers from local congregations, schools and businesses, partnering together to develop solutions and emergency shelters. The organization is currently working to build a Richmond Tiny House Village, Garden and Farm, essentially doubling the number of emergency housing units for Richmond’s youth between the ages of 12 and 24. The project’s expected move-in date is July 2024.
Town Bizness is a grassroots organization serving the cities of the East Bay. By delivering basic comfort to those in need, durable tents for shelter, shelf-stable food and hygiene items, they are addressing the basic human needs of those without access to these necessities. Volunteers help with everything from helping to find shelter to helping create access to services like healthcare and even vet care for pets. They collect clean blankets, bedding and sleeping bags, clean clothing and coats to help keep community members warm during the colder months. As is often the case with many grassroots organizations, volunteers and additional support are always welcome.
Waterside Workshops engages Bay Area youth with hands-on vocational training in bicycle mechanics, wooden boatbuilding, and outdoor education. Located at the Berkeley Aquatic Park, the program offers internships and jobs for youth in their three social enterprises: a community bike shop, a wooden boat shop and boat rental facility, and a youth-run cafe. It’s a safe place for youth to feel heard, gain confidence, develop work skills, and access the tools and resources needed to lead healthy, sustainable lives.
West Oakland Punks with Lunch is run by a group of volunteers whose mission is to provide life-saving services and harm-reduction resources to underserved and marginalized community members. The organization’s volunteers provide direct community outreach, encouraging de-stigmatization of drug use and poverty. They aim to empower people to make well-informed decisions by providing resources, education and compassion. Some of their partners include Berkeley Free Clinic, BOMBAS Socks, and Roger’s and Rosewater Soup Company, among many others.
Women's Daytime Drop-In Center empowers homeless women and children, offering hot meals, groceries, hygiene products, and diapers to women and children in need. They also provide support services and housing resources for Berkeley, Albany and Emeryville families.
YES Nature to Neighborhoods was founded on the belief that positive experiences in nature are a catalyst for individual and community transformation. The organization offers numerous programs for people of all ages with a mission to nurture leaders who champion the well-being of their communities.
