Welcome Center Opens for Legacy and Current Residents, Visitors
Rise East, a collective impact initiative working to raise $50 million to bring transformational improvement to deep East Oakland and its residents, announced the soft opening of a new “Welcome Center” for co-working, content studios and resources to support the economic empowerment of legacy and local residents – all under one roof.
The Welcome Center is the first project of the Liberated Land Trust, stewarded by the Black Cultural Zone CDC— a Rise East partner—and is located at 83rd Ave. and International Blvd. in the heart of the “40x40'' square-block area where the Rise East coalition will focus its efforts.
The Welcome Center is among the first coordinated investments the Rise East initiative has supported to reinvigorate the once-thriving commercial corridor on International Blvd. between 80th and 90th Avenues and to connect communities in the 40x40. In December, leaders of the Rise East initiative joined Roots Community Health Center in announcing the opening of its Clean360 soap-and-candle factory five blocks away on 88th Ave. and International Blvd. The soap factory, one of Roots’ social enterprises, helps residents re-enter the workforce, including those formerly incarcerated or unhoused. Roots is a partner in the Rise East initiative, working to create the Commercial Corridor in collaboration with the Black Cultural Zone.
“Our new Welcome Center will bring economic opportunities for our residents, artists, and entrepreneurs and build on our collective vision of a Deep East Oakland where we thrive,” said Carolyn “CJ” Johnson, Chief Executive Officer of Black Cultural Zone. “While we celebrate today’s progress, we also know we have more work to do to reach Rise East’s ambitious fundraising goal that will bring significant investment into our community. We can serve 100 now, but with real investments, we can serve 1,000 tomorrow – and the sky's the limit.”
At the public launch of Rise East in August, community leaders announced they had received a $50 million pledge from a national philanthropic organization – but they could only “unlock” those funds once they secured an additional $50 million in matching commitments from local donors, for a total investment of $100 million. Fundraising began in earnest in the summer of 2023. Early investments included $7 million from Kaiser Permanente, $1 million from the Akonadi Foundation, and $10 million from an anonymous funder.
The new Welcome Center is supported by a $1.7 million donation from the Kataly Foundation – which pushes Rise East close to $29 million of its $50 million goal.
“We are excited to see the launch of the Black Cultural Zone Welcome Center, a longstanding, trusted community partner,” said Lynne M. Hoey, Chief Investment Officer of Kataly. “Ownership of land and property, in service of community, is a key part of power building. By owning space for gathering and organizing, Black Cultural Zone continues to realize its goal of keeping Black folks in East Oakland and creating the conditions for neighborhoods to thrive. We encourage others to join us in supporting this important and necessary work.”
