This not-for-profit organization employs a community land trust model to provide affordable housing to low-income families in the Bay Area. It both builds and renovates existing properties to rent or sell below market cost to residents who have been trained in home ownership responsibilities. The organization also offers office space when available.
If, as Whitney Houston sang, children are our future, then teaching them to understand and respect the earth is one of the smartest things we can do as global citizens. Kids for the Bay is leading the way among Bay Area elementary students by teaching hands-on environmental science and promoting ecological restoration to thousands of students, teachers and parents each year. It offers a variety of programs, including mobile ones that take place in the host school, as well as field trips and programs for which teachers can earn academic credit.
If your computer, DVD player, microwave or anything else that plugs in an outlet goes out or if you just want a new one, give it to ACCRC, who will try to fix it and reuse it, giving it to schools, non-profits, or economically or physically disadvantaged people. If they can't reuse it, they will recycle it in an environmentally friendly way. They get a new appliance, you get a tax write-off and the landfill gets nothing. This innovative non-profit also takes donations to sustain its charitable and ecologically responsible practices.
Founded in 1969, Small Press Distribution is a local non-profit organization dedicated to providing reading enthusiasts with access to independently published literature. It distributes books on film, art, music, poetry and women’s studies, as well as numerous fiction and nonfiction anthologies. It also provides desk copies of books for teachers and has a special distribution program for librarians. You can order its books via phone, email, fax or online through Pubnet.
Like other chambers of commerce, this Berkeley organization seeks to advance the causes of the business community, particularly those of its member businesses. It supports Buy Local Berkeley and the Sustainable Business Alliance which encourage community-based, environmentally-responsible businesses reflecting local values.
One of the central programs of the Chez Panisse Foundation, the Edible Schoolyard is an organic garden and kitchen classroom at Martin Luther King Jr. middle school. Students get hands-on experience in the entire food cycle, from growing to harvesting to preparing food so that they might better understand the natural world and the connection between human society and the environment.
Multicultural Institute is a non-profit organization helping immigrants improve their lives. Through vocational and social education, GED preparation and after-school tutoring, the institute attempts to help people help themselves and their communities. The Multicultural Institute is one of many programs linked to the Province of St. Barbara, Franciscan Friars. Check its website for a full list of activities. Donations are always welcome.
These Emmy- and Peabody-award winning producers put on the Berkeley Video and Film Festival and provide various film training services to up-and-coming filmmakers. It holds a number of workshops and classes on such topics as screenwriting, documentary production, editing and post-production. It also does video duplication and rents equipment to independent producers; a screening room is currently being built.
Earth Team works with students and teachers to cultivate the next generation of leaders in the environmental field. It provides resources for organizing, mobilizing and disseminating information to schools, nonprofits and government agencies. It also sponsors restoration initiatives, a news magazine, and art and poetry contests.
Spiral Gardens is dedicated to sustainable, local food, grown organically and to promoting the productive use of urban soil. It has a nursery that sells affordable plants specializing in California native, medicinal and edible plants. The community farm's produce is given to low-income seniors, as well as the volunteers who help grow it. The community harvest program gets fruits and vegetables from locals that have extra and gives them to neighbors that need it. If you’re interested in learning how to make your thumb greener, you can volunteer and get and education from experienced gardeners at the same time. Check out its website on how to get involved, as well as how to donate food or cash.
The Berkeley Youth Alternative has been serving the community since 1971. This community-based organization offers programs and activities for children, youth and their families, promoting healthy living, education and crisis prevention. There is an after-school center for students and a teen center for at-risk youth. Berkeley Youth Alternative provides career development, sports and fitness activities, counseling and more.
This homeless service center run by the City of Berkeley provides information and referral services as well as case management for homeless women in the Berkeley area. There's also a public bathroom, and clients may get free meals in exchange for doing chores for the center.
Kala Art Institute offers traditional art classes as well as residency programs and fellowships that allow artists with fewer resources to continue to develop their art. It also hosts an artists-in-schools program where public school students throughout Alameda County get to work with artists at the institute in a variety of disciplines.
This LGBT community center offers mental health services, HIV counseling, sensitivity training for therapists, a variety of peer support groups and a youth leadership program. It offers a full-time staff as well as a dedicated and professional group of volunteers. No one is turned away for lack of funds. Donations are always welcome.
The Berkeley Student Food Collective operates a cooperative grocery store providing locally sourced and sustainably produced foods for affordable prices. Because the Collective makes all decisions democratically, it gives students good experience in business management, while also teaching about nutrition.
The Jewish Community Center, while promoting Jewish culture and heritage, is open to people from all faiths and ages. It hosts film, literature and other cultural events; operates a preschool and afterschool programs; offers classes to adults; and sponsors a Jewish music festival. The facility is also available for rent.
Nia House provides a Montessori curriculum to a diverse group of children ages 18 months to six years in the hopes of educating them in the values of peace, understanding and equality at an early age. The Montessori learning method has stood the test of time and space, having been developed in Italy more than a century ago, and focuses on freedom within limits for children who are thus incited to learn from themselves. It has been remarkably successful. The Nia House tries to provide this experience to all families by providing scholarships to those in need, but needs your donations to continue this practice.