Please join us in celebrating the 2026 #RaininArtsFellows! 🎉 - Cece Carpio (Public Space) - Sarah Crowell (Dance) - Danny Duncan (Theater) - Cheryl Dunye (Film)

The SFFILM Rainin Filmmakers with Disabilities Grant is open for applications through July 7. This program supports filmmakers who identify as having a disability with films that address stories within the disability community.

We’re hiring an Education Program Officer! The Foundation seeks someone analytical to support grantmaking strategies and relationships in Oakland’s early literacy ecosystem. Learn more about this opportunity to join the team.

Motility plays a major role in gastrointestinal disorders. Aiming to anticipate an impending flare before it becomes full blown, G-Tech Medical is developing a user-friendly, easily accessible system to measure gut function via gastrointestinal motility.

Applications are now open through June 1 for the Rainin Visionary Scientist Award. Three exceptional postdocs will each receive a $300K grant, awarded over two years, to support their innovative biomedical research relevant to IBD. Attend a pre-application webinar on April 21 to learn more.

Our Health Program supports research to improve the lives of Inflammatory Bowel Disease patients. Explore recent articles in “Nature” that feature findings from our Innovator Awards grantees. ⬇️

We’re hiring an Administrative Coordinator who will ensure a welcoming, organized and well-functioning hybrid office. This role is responsible for delivering exceptional service to staff & guests as well as overseeing office vendors and partnering with building staff. krfoundation.org/about/careers/

Postdocs: We’ll be accepting applications April 13-June 1 for the Rainin Visionary Scientist Award. Grants of $300K each over two years will support three early career scientists conducting innovative biomedical research relevant to IBD.

We provide early funding to help scientists prove concepts, de-risk their research & generate critical data to secure future investments. Read how our early and ongoing support of Thetis Pharmaceuticals accelerated TP-317 as a safe, oral therapy for IBD.

Check out a special screening of “The Last Black Man in San Francisco” at The Castro Theatre on April 12. Writer & Director Joe Talbot will introduce the film, which delves into the Bay Area’s changing socioeconomic landscape. We’re proud to have supported this movie through an SFFILM Rainin Grant.

Azora Therapeutics is developing an alternative to immuno-suppressive therapies. Read about their work and how our early funding helped them reach pre-clinical milestones that de-risked the program and enabled them to secure additional investors.

Our Arts Director, Liz O’Malley, is participating in a panel on March 25 at the Independent Film & Media Arts Group National Meeting. Register on Zoom for this conversation featuring the funder, strategist and practitioner perspective on supporting media arts: us02web.zoom.us/meeting/regi...

Next Friday, March 27, join our grantee BANANAS for another playgroup at Oakland’s Main Library from 12-1:30 PM. Playgroups give children a place to pretend, create and dream while offering parents new tools and an opportunity to learn more about child development.

Our Health Program supports novel, high-risk research that has the potential to improve the lives of people with Inflammatory Bowel Disease. Explore some of the findings our Innovator Awards grantees have published this month. ⬇️

Still buzzing from Keystone! 🎉 Our Islet Biology & Diabetes / Gut-Brain Axis meetings delivered top science + spring vibes ❄️☀️ Congrats to 14 @krfoundation.org scholars from around the world! #KSDiabetes26 #KSGutBrain26 @o-andersson-lab.bsky.social @linnemannlab.bsky.social @tunepers.bsky.social

World Arts West recently launched the Cultural Dance Catalyst Fund. It will provide general operating support to California-based arts organizations whose work sustains cultural traditions, advances community well-being & strengthens intergenerational connection. Apply by April 17.

In January, we were thrilled to partner with Zellerbach Family Foundation, Fleishhacker Foundation & San Francisco Grants for the Arts on the Bay Area Arts & Culture Collaboration Summit. It was a pleasure to be in space together and to envision a future rooted in collaboration. 📸: Cheshire Isaacs

Sightline, a new arts space at Pier 29 in San Francisco, is accepting proposals for community-centered programming & private events. Our friends at Community Arts Stabilization Trust have transformed this formerly vacant waterfront building into a home for arts & culture.

We support research that has the potential to transform the prediction, prevention, diagnosis and treatment of IBD. We’re proud to have provided funding for the development of the cytometric bead array used in this study.

Celebrate International Women’s Day on Sunday, March 8, at The Lawrence Hall of Science. They’re offering $5 entry to join the Society of Women Engineers to design, build and test hands-on activities and meet women engineers from University of California, Berkeley.

Whether you’re an established investigator or early in your career, the digital poster sessions at our annual Symposium are an open invitation to share findings & learn from others in the field. Submit an abstract & apply for a Travel Award by March 31.

Our New & Experimental Works Program is now open for applications. Apply by March 24 for grants of $5K-$30K. Funding provides unrestricted and artist fee support to small and mid-size arts organizations to produce visionary works of dance and theater.

This Sunday, March 1, Open Spaces Program grantee Megan Lowe Dances will perform “Chinatown Connections” at Oakland Chinatown’s fourth annual Lantern Festival. The event will feature food booths, Asian & Black artist vendors, a community altar honoring immigrant rights & family-friendly activities.

@keystonesymposia.bsky.social and Endocrine Society published “Science Advocacy For Biomedical Researchers: Make Your Voice Heard!” It offers scientists the guidance, knowledge and tools they need to fight funding cuts and garner public and political support for investing in research.

The 9th annual Black Joy Parade is happening in Oakland this Sunday, February 22. Enjoy performances and activities for the whole family, and support Black owned vendors. The parade will begin at 14th Street & Broadway at 12:30 PM.

Every year, scientists from around the world gather at our Symposium to share knowledge, build relationships & advance IBD research. At a time when science is facing challenges & constraints, we remain committed to creating space for curiosity & collaboration. Read about this year’s event.

Happy Lunar New Year! Join Oakland Museum of California for the 25th anniversary of their annual celebration. On Feb 21, the museum will offer a full day of performances, family-friendly storytelling, hands-on activities, food from local Asian American Pacific Islander chefs & community connection.

Our grantees @castsf.bsky.social & Artist Space Trust were featured in the New York Times! We’re proud to support their work to secure affordable space to ensure artists can live & create in the Bay Area. And we’re excited that these models are inspiring cities across the country & around the world.

Innovator Awards grantee Dr. Chun-Jun Guo shared findings that could lead to a new cancer treatment. Instead of targeting tumors directly, clinicians may one day be able to reshape a patient’s gut microbiome or diet to starve tumors while supercharging immune cells.

“Black Spaces: Reclaim & Remain” shares how Black American communities use creativity & resistance to carve out places to hold their histories & futures despite systemic oppression. Adrian Burrell, our 2024 Rainin Arts Fellow in Film, is the lead artist of the exhibition.

Applications are open for the 2026 SFFILM Rainin Grant. Grants of up to $25K support the screenwriting, development or post-production of films that address social justice issues. Grantees also receive access to the FilmHouse and benefit from SFFILM’s comprehensive artist development programs.

SFFILM announced the 2026 FilmHouse Residents. This year’s group of Bay Area-based storytellers will make use of SFFILM’s shared workspace and gain artistic guidance and support to develop their narrative and documentary film projects.

"It’s our turn now. What we dream and build from these ashes matters. We cannot surrender our rights to the patterns of oppression that have so often inflicted suffering on the most vulnerable."

The Literacy & Justice For All Symposium returns next month. This annual event promotes effective practices in literacy and reading skills. Attendees will learn from leaders in literacy education, network with literacy professionals and discover practical tools to implement meaningful change.

Our 2025 Response Fund provided additional unrestricted operating support to existing grantees to offset unforeseen shortfalls. Our investments created momentum around systems change work and advanced collaborative funding and learning efforts in the arts.

Explore arts in action as a force for civic engagement, movement building and community transformation. Tickets for CA Arts & Culture Summit on April 20 and registration for Arts Advocacy Day on April 21 are now open.

Sidhartha Sinha, MD, a Rainin Foundation grantee and senior author on this paper, studied the fasting mimicking diet (FMD) in Crohn’s disease patients after earlier research showed that diet could reduce a common marker of systemic inflammation.

Our Education Program used the 2025 Response Fund to develop a multiyear policy and advocacy strategy, planting seeds that will benefit young people for years to come. This has allowed us to invest in organizations that are focused on critical literacy issues.

BANANAS is hosting their first playgroup of the year at the Main Oakland Library today, January 23, from 12-1:30 PM. These playgroups give children a place to pretend, play, celebrate music and create art while parents can gain new tools and learn more about child development.

We invite applications for our New & Experimental Works Program from March 3-24, 2026. Grants of $5K-$30K provide unrestricted and artist fee support to small and mid-size dance and theater organizations to produce visionary works relevant to the communities they serve.

Amid federal cuts to scientific research, we used our 2025 Response Fund to benefit early career scientists working on Foundation-funded IBD research. Beyond direct grants, we also financed a documentary aimed at shifting harmful narratives about science.

Visit the African American Museum and Library at Oakland today for a Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Film Festival. Watch civil rights film screenings and bring the whole family for kid-friendly hands-on activities from 11 AM – 6 PM. Register to attend: oaklandlibrary.bibliocommons.com/events/694b3...

Join the City of Oakland on Monday for Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service. Volunteer at a project site as an individual or group to honor Dr. King’s legacy by caring for Oakland’s environment and uplifting our neighborhoods.

Last January, we dedicated $4 million to our Response Fund to meet the moment. Explore how we used these resources to be nimble, timely and strategic as we galvanized to support our communities and protect and defend human rights.

Nicole Kendrick (right) served as our Education Program Officer since 2023 and is moving on to her next endeavor where she will continue to advance meaningful change. While at the Foundation, Nicole led the development of our Early Care Spaces grant program and co-created the Rest and Care Awards.

We’re thrilled to support another round of artist-led projects that bring powerful, community-centered work to public spaces and spark authentic connection between residents and our region’s unique cultural identities and practices.

We awarded $999,391 in grants in November to ensure that Oakland’s youngest learners have access to culturally connected literacy & translanguaging practices, which support all children to engage in learning by using all the languages & dialects they know.

2023 Rainin Arts Fellow Mohammad Gorjestani’s 1-800 Happy Birthday project comes to Oakland during Black History Month. This large-scale exhibition honors Black and Brown victims of police violence and systemic racism, using audio, video, mural and personal ephemera to tell their stories.

In 2025, we were inspired by how our communities showed up and cared for one another. Two of our top blogs centered around facing the challenges of the year and offering resources to support nonprofits. We look forward to continuing our important work together in 2026.

We support innovative ideas that have the potential to improve the prediction, diagnosis, treatment and prevention of IBD. We’re proud to fund out-of-the-box thinking like Dr. Othmans and Dr. Jackson’s that can enhance the quality of life for IBD patients.