Innovators Awards Recipients

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Oakland is a hotbed of renegade activity. It's a place where boundaries are mere suggestions, and trends are created rather than followed. Oaklandish is proud to nurture this legacy with the revival of our Oaklandish Innovators Award Fund.

This award offers recognition and grants to individuals and organizations doing trailblazing work in the East Bay. It celebrates local programs that exemplify the values of innovation and progress in all areas of civic life, including arts, education, technology, and business. The recipients represent diverse social interests unrestricted by political agenda.

And, our support doesn't end after we write the check. Our award winners gain an ongoing partnership that can include event organization, collaborative designs, public awareness campaigns, and so much more.

We created this award in the spirit of the multitudes of Oakland legends who've positively impacted national and global culture. These include architect Julia Morgan, martial artist Bruce Lee, musician Larry Graham, dancer Isadora Duncan, aviator Joe Fong Guey, artist Mike 'Dream' Francisco, and director Russ Myer, among many many others.

Previous awards have recognized diverse local organizations and individuals working on many community issues. We've supported community-based food distribution, educational support for homeless youth, tech training for underrepresented communities, violence prevention workshops, and crisis response for people impacted by homicide.

So wear your Oaklandish with pride, because it's so much more than a shirt or a lifestyle. It's a commitment to do good where you belong, wherever that might be.

We hope these stories inspire you to take the Oaklandish spirit and spread it far and wide.

We’re proud to support these five incredible organizations in 2022.

Homies Empowerment

Homies Empowerment serves and elevates Oakland’s gang-involved and impacted youth by steadfastly promoting education, peace, and friendship among Oakland’s rival gang members. They’re serving up hope in a tough East Oakland neighborhood where positive role models are in short supply and gang violence is part of everyday life.

**Pen Harshaw’s Rightnowish Podcast & Radio Show**

Pendarvis Harshaw is the host of Rightnowish on KQED-FM. Every week, he talks to movers and shakers about how the Bay Area shapes what they create, and how they shape the place we call home.

Asian Health Services

Asian Health Services has provided health, social, and advocacy services for Oakland’s Asian community regardless of income, insurance status, immigration status, language, or culture. They’ve offered primary care services to more than 50,000 patients since 1974 in more than fourteen Asian languages.

Youth ALIVE!

Youth ALIVE! Is a violence prevention non-profit that has helped Oakland’s violently wounded youth heal for thirty years. They engage where the youth are, at the hospital bedsides of young shooting victims, in the homes of the families of homicide victims, and in the schools in the Bay Area’s hardest-hit neighborhoods.

Alameda County Community Food Bank

For decades, ACCFB has remained steadfast in its belief that food is a fundamental human right. They distribute millions of healthy meals annually, serving one in four residents of Alameda County, and are at the forefront of new approaches to ending hunger and poverty, pioneering the distribution of fresh fruits and vegetables to those who need it most.