The Kenneth Rainin Foundation celebrates our tenth anniversary of formal grantmaking in 2019. For me, the time has gone by so quickly. It feels like it was just yesterday that we were hiring our first staff members—many of whom are still with us after all these years. I’ve learned so much over the past decade, and I know that there’s so much left to do. As we reflect on this milestone, we feel the urgency to serve Oakland’s children, discover ways for Bay Area artists to thrive, and find new predictors and treatments for people with Inflammatory Bowel Disease.
A milestone like this is also a great opportunity for us to take stock of what we’ve achieved so far and set our sights on the future. Rainin Foundation staff recently got together to talk about why this work is so important to us. We shared the moments we are most proud of and what we hope to accomplish in the next ten years. These were gratifying conversations.
It fills my heart to hear how connected and aligned with our mission we are. What emerged is that we believe deeply in our grantees and the communities of people they serve. We embrace collaboration as an organizational value because we know that working together is better than working alone. And we are not afraid to take risks—especially when it comes to trying something new when old solutions aren’t working.
We do this because we want to see communities benefit and flourish from the work we support. Oakland children deserve every chance to unlock their extraordinary potential. Artists should be able to live and work in the Bay Area because the arts are an essential part of human expression and understanding our world. And people with Inflammatory Bowel Disease deserve to live healthy and happy lives.
“We are not afraid to take risks—especially when it comes to trying something new when old solutions aren’t working.”
Kenneth Rainin breaking ground on the Oakland location of Rainin Instruments in 2001. Through listening and innovation, his ergonomic pipettes reduced repetitive strain injury risk.
Rainin Foundation staff and board really want to make a difference and we know that we can’t do any of this alone. We do our work in true partnership with our grantees, our funding partners, and within the broader fields in which we work. We know that philanthropy should be held accountable, and we do our best to ask for feedback, listen carefully, and take what we hear to heart.
My father’s success stemmed from his commitment to fully engaging with the people he served and we strive to continue his legacy. We think about Ken when we talk about how we can infuse the Foundation with his spirit. In all his pursuits, he was interested in the wild ideas, the pioneering ideas, the ideas with the power to transform. As much as my father would have enjoyed celebrating our accomplishments with great pride, he would urge us to do more to tackle the challenging problems we continue to see.
“We will continue to work as hard as ever to achieve our shared goals.”
The headline for this post, “A Decade of Service, and Just Getting Started,” is much more than a tagline to note our tenth anniversary. It is a promise to ourselves and others that we will continue to work as hard as ever to achieve our shared goals.
During the year, we will celebrate our pivotal moments with you. Below you’ll see our anniversary logo, which we will feature throughout 2019. We’ll release a set of videos to talk about our evolution, from our founder Kenneth Rainin’s vision, to how his legacy continues to inspire our work in the Arts, Education, and Health. A new series, “10 Stories for 10 Years,” will pay tribute to the incredible work of our grantees—the individuals who have helped us accomplish so much. The stories will also include conversations with program staff to share what we’ve learned over the past decade and how that has influenced our strategies and our future. Follow along on our website and on social media with #10YearsofRainin.
This next decade is full of possibility and promise. And we are excited! Our success will rely on our ability to collaborate, be responsive to our partners, and take smart risks. Whether you are new to us or a long-term grantee or partner, thank you for being with us on this journey.
Here’s to the next ten years!
