Keeping Space – Oakland is CAST’s new pilot program dedicated to providing training and funding for Oakland arts and culture organizations seeking real estate assistance. Through direct financial grants, one-on-one technical assistance, and real estate readiness training, CAST’s goal is to provide safe, stable, and permanent real estate solutions for Oakland’s local arts organizations.

CAST launched the program in December 2016 with funding from the Kenneth Rainin Foundation and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. Keeping Space – Oakland is one strategy of many proposed by the Oakland Arts Workspace Group, a public-private partnership that includes the Kenneth Rainin Foundation, CAST, Northern California Community Loan Fund, and the City of Oakland. The group is focused on creating workspace stability to foster, support, and sustain the arts and cultural ecosystem in Oakland.

Real Estate Readiness Workshops

RSVP now for the FREE three-part Real Estate Readiness Workshop Series led by real estate expert consultants at the Northern California Community Loan Fund (NCCLF). These workshops help arts groups build their organizational and financial capacities to navigate the real estate market. We encourage both a senior staff person and board/advisory council member to attend the workshops. Register now for one workshop or all three. Limited space available.

Location:
East Bay Community Foundation
Dalziel Building, 353 Frank H. Ogawa Plaza, Plaza A Room
Oakland, CA 94612

Time: 9:30am-12:30pm

Cost: FREE!

Thursday, June 8, 2017
Plaza A Room
On with the Show: Turning your Financial Performance into a Masterpiece
This workshop is open to all Oakland arts and cultural groups, collectives, and organizations, whether or not you are seeking space or a real estate opportunity at this time. Come develop your financial acumen to grow your organization. We welcome all financial questions, including those for which you think you “should” already know the answers. There are no stupid questions in this workshop! Our goal is that you leave feeling empowered with the information and confidence necessary to return to your organization as a stronger financial ambassador.

• Build your “finance vocabulary”
• Learn how to create and monitor your budget
• Learn how to manage your cash flow
• Understand and use your financial statements for decision-making
• Get strategies to develop a long-term business model

Bring your most recent financial statements and budget projections:

• Most recent fiscal year income statement (profit and loss)
• Most recent fiscal year statement of position (balance sheet)
• Budget projections (if available)

If you do not have these, we will have sample materials for you to work with.

Thursday, July 13, 2017
Plaza A Room, 353 Frank H. Ogawa Plaza
Commercial Leasing Strategies: Getting to Yes
Looking to lease new space or renew your lease? Not sure how to approach the landlord? What’s in the fine print of my 15-page lease? In Oakland’s escalating real estate market, organizations are facing large rent increases. Yet, nonprofits are still finding ways to lease space in the communities they serve. NCCLF will share examples of nonprofits that have successfully negotiated leases that fit their budgets and location considerations. Participants in this workshop will learn key terminology in commercial leases, pitfalls to watch for, negotiation strategies with landlords, and current trends in the bay area commercial market.

Past Workshops:
Friday, May 5, 2017
Suite 359, Frank H. Ogawa Plaza
Real Estate Readiness: Overview
Come learn how to prepare your organization to embark on securing a facility for your program. Get answers to common questions around planning for your space. Are you ready to move? How much space? What can I afford?

Technical Assistance Awards Announced

Six Oakland arts and cultural organizations will receive assistance to secure long-term, affordable, safe space in Oakland. The technical assistance is through Keeping Space – Oakland, CAST’s pilot program to assist arts nonprofits that are vulnerable to space instability and displacement.

$90,000 in professional real estate training and consultation services will be awarded across six local organizations. CAST has hired the Northern California Community Loan Fund (NCCLF) to carry out the real estate trainings and the private consultations for the Keeping Space – Oakland awardees. Award recipients include:

Alena Museum, which translates to ‘ we are here’ in the African language Tigrinya, is an active work hub for arts and social enterprise, dedicated to advancing the cultural richness of African diaspora through aspiring entrepreneurs. Alena is dedicated to creating spaces that reflect our heritage, history, and stories. 

Pro Arts is among the oldest and most significant institutions for contemporary art in Oakland. Pro Arts shows contemporary art in all its forms. Through our interdisciplinary approach to curating, which fosters collaboration and the cross–pollination of ideas, we champion new art practices and emerging forms of cultural production.

Project Bandaloop honors nature, community, and the human spirit through perspective-bending vertical dance that interweaves dynamic physicality, intricate choreography and climbing technology. The work re-imagines dance, activates public spaces, and inspires wonder in audiences around the world. 

PLACE for Sustainable Living is a grassroots experiential learning center in Northwest Oakland that showcases and fosters sustainable living practices for the general public through art, community and ecology. Our events, workshops and outreach programs focus on urban homesteading, neighborhood community building, community resilience, social justice and artistic expression.

Qilombo strives to advance Afrikan and Indigenous cultural revitalization through arts and education programming. We believe in promoting Black and Indigenous arts and culture as a vital step toward healing and strengthening communities of color.

Ubuntu Theater Project creates exquisite theatrical experiences that inspire compassion. Ubuntu is a Zulu proverb that means “I am because we are” and “My humanity is tied to yours.” Ubuntu Theater Project’s work brings together divided social groups for transformative artistic experiences that reveal our shared humanity.

See the official press release here.

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Funding is provided by the Kenneth Rainin Foundation and The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. Keeping Space – Oakland is made possible in collaboration with the Oakland Arts Workspace Group and in partnership with the City of Oakland and Northern California Community Loan Fund.

For more information, please contact Tyese Wortham, CAST Program Manager at 415-556-9888, ext. 103, or twortham@cast-sf.org.