Activism

Striving for Quality and Affordable Health for Everyone: Six Questions for The California Endowment

The California Endowment’s (TCE) mission is to expand access to affordable, high-quality health care for underserved individuals and communities, and to promote fundamental improvements in the health status of all Californians. Since the organization’s establishment in 1996, TCE has awarded more than 22,000 grants amounting to over $2.9 billion to community-based organizations across California, making it the largest private health foundation in the state.

Published

2 years ago

January 8, 2024

Oakland Post

The California Endowment President and CEO Robert K. Ross, MD

By Edward Henderson
California Black Media

The California Endowment’s (TCE) mission is to expand access to affordable, high-quality health care for underserved individuals and communities, and to promote fundamental improvements in the health status of all Californians.

Since the organization’s establishment in 1996, TCE has awarded more than 22,000 grants amounting to over $2.9 billion to community-based organizations across California, making it the largest private health foundation in the state.

TCE provides funding to 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations that are not private foundations, California state and local government entities, and faith-based organizations that welcome and serve all state residents.

California Black Media (CBM) spoke with Castle Redmond, Managing Director of TCE about the organization’s impact, challenges and achievements over the last year.

What does your organization do to improve the lives of Black people in California?

We fund organizations doing work within our strategic focus areas. We Many of them work on behalf of Black people and the community, not exclusively, but it’s a big part of what we want to accomplish in California.

What was your greatest success over the course of the last year?

We focus on public education. We’re trying to transform the public education system in California by supporting organizations that are doing the work to transform it. Over the last year, some of the best work we did is funding community groups supporting mental health in the school system. For example, The Alliance for Boys and Men of Color is an organization we support to ensure that funding gets to schools that have high numbers of Black students.

In your view, what is the biggest challenge Black Californians face?

There are a host of challenges that are systemic and not new. Structural racism and inequities hit the same folks who were hit hardest by slavery, indigenous genocide, by Jim Crow, northern and western segregation, redlining, and the rest. The same folks are hit with structural racism now. In California, Black people are, by far, the most affected by homelessness. It’s the same with incarceration and gun violence. The backlash from structural racism is landing on us. The aftermath of COVID – the deathrates and lockdowns — with schools being closed for the longest, we’re still reeling and trying to recover from that. Lastly, our schools in the districts that serve large numbers of Black students are being hit by a fiscal crisis. All of that stems from structural inequities.

What was your organization’s biggest challenge?

The biggest challenge is figuring out exactly how to move from strategy to implementation. Figuring out those levers that will have the greatest impact.

Does your organization support or plan to get involved in the push for reparations in California?

We support our grantees. We don’t take the lead, but we support organizations that are pushing for reparations. One of these organizations is the California Black Freedom Fund. We are finishing up our giving of a $10 million grant to the Fund.

How can more Californians of all backgrounds get involved in the work you are doing?

Join local organizing efforts that are led by and for Black people in your community or nearby. They can also give to the Black Freedom Fund.

Oakland Post

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Activism

Chase Oakland Community Center Hosts Alley-Oop Accelerator Building Community and Opportunity for Bay Area Entrepreneurs

Over the past three years, the Alley-Oop Accelerator has helped more than 20 Bay Area businesses grow, connect, and gain meaningful exposure. The program combines hands-on training, mentorship, and community-building to help participants navigate the legal, financial, and marketing challenges of small business ownership.

Published

1 week ago

February 21, 2026

Oakland Post

Bay Area entrepreneurs attend the Alley-Oop Accelerator, a small business incubation program at Chase Oakland Community Center. Photo by Carla Thomas.

By Carla Thomas

The Golden State Warriors and Chase bank hosted the third annual Alley-Oop Accelerator this month, an empowering eight-week program designed to help Bay Area entrepreneurs bring their visions for business to life.

The initiative kicked off on Feb. 12 at Chase’s Oakland Community Center on Broadway Street, welcoming 15 small business owners who joined a growing network of local innovators working to strengthen the region’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.

At its core, the accelerator is designed to create an ecosystem of collaboration, where local entrepreneurs can learn from one another while accessing the resources of a global financial institution.

“This is our third year in a row working with the Golden State Warriors on the Alley-Oop Accelerator,” said Jaime Garcia, executive director of Chase’s Coaching for Impact team for the West Division. “We’ve already had 20-plus businesses graduate from the program, and we have 15 enrolled this year. The biggest thing about the program is really the community that’s built amongst the business owners — plus the exposure they’re able to get through Chase and the Golden State Warriors.”

According to Garcia, several graduates have gone on to receive vendor contracts with the Warriors and have gained broader recognition through collaborations with JPMorgan Chase.

“A lot of what Chase is trying to do,” Garcia added, “is bring businesses together because what they’ve asked for is an ecosystem, a network where they can connect, grow, and thrive organically.”

This year’s Alley-Oop Accelerator reflects that vision through its comprehensive curriculum and emphasis on practical learning. Participants explore the full spectrum of business essentials including financial management, marketing strategy, and legal compliance, while also preparing for real-world experiences such as pop-up market events.

Each entrepreneur benefits from one-on-one mentoring sessions through Chase’s Coaching for Impact program, which provides complimentary, personalized business consulting.

Garcia described the impact this hands-on approach has had on local small business owners. He recalled one candlemaker, who, after participating in the program, was invited to provide candles as gifts at Chase events.

“We were able to help give that business exposure,” he explained. “But then our team also worked with them on how to access capital to buy inventory and manage operations once those orders started coming in. It’s about preparation. When a hiccup happens, are you ready to handle it?”

The Coaching for Impact initiative, which launched in 2020 in just four cities, has since expanded to 46 nationwide.

“Every business is different,” Garcia said. “That’s why personal coaching matters so much. It’s life-changing.”

Participants in the 2026 program will each receive a $2,500 stipend, funding that Garcia said can make an outsized difference. “It’s amazing what some people can do with just $2,500,” he noted. “It sounds small, but it goes a long way when you have a plan for how to use it.”

For Chase and the Warriors, the Alley-Oop Accelerator represents more than an educational initiative, it’s a pathway to empowerment and economic inclusion. The program continues to foster lasting relationships among the entrepreneurs who, as Garcia put it, “build each other up” through shared growth and opportunity.

“Starting a business is never easy, but with the right support, it becomes possible, and even exhilarating,” said Oscar Lopez, the senior business consultant for Chase in Oakland.