Background:
The Alameda Community Fund (“Fund”) is a non profit public benefit 501(c)(3) charitable organization whose roots go back to 1964. The primary purpose of the Fund is to make grants to Alameda non profits primarily for capital purchases. The Fund over the years has grown its endowment through fundraisers, bequests, donations and investment returns. Past grants have been used to purchase freezers, computers, appliances, copy machines and much more. Since 1964, the Fund and its predecessors have awarded over $600,000 in grants to Alameda non profit organizations.

The Fund was formed in November of 2009 as the result of a merger between the Alameda Clara Barton Foundation (c. 1977) and the Alameda Community Foundation, formerly known as the City of Alameda Foundation (c.1964). Both Foundations had very similar purposes and the combined boards of directors has created a very positive energy which continues the work of the formerly separate foundations.

The Fund has three Directors Emeritus:

  • James Stonehouse, first President.
  • Judge George McDonald, original contributor in 1964.
  • Jim Franz, long time community activist.

History of the Alameda Clara Barton Foundation (ACBF):
ACBF was formed in 1977, primarily to support the Alameda Chapter of the American Red Cross. Eventually, with the merger of the Alameda Chapter of the American Red Cross with the San Francisco Chapter in the 1980s, the Board also focused on other Alameda non profit organizations. Jim Stonehouse was the first President. The first fundraiser, a golf tournament in 1978, netted $984. The first grant was in 1979 to the Alameda Red Cross for artificial carpet in the entry hall.

History of the Alameda Community Foundation (ACF), formerly known as City of Alameda Foundation:
The ACF was formed originally as the City of Alameda Foundation in 1964 and was initially funded with the transfer of funds from the dissolution of the Alameda Community Chest & Foundation, Inc. In the 1990s the name was changed to Alameda Community Foundation. The first grant awarded by ACF in 1965 to the Alameda Girls Club, Inc. in the amount of $228 for the purchase of a “duplicating spirit machine.”