The Rainin Foundation believes every Oakland child should have the literacy skills to communicate, learn and thrive. We support early childhood education because these years make a big difference in a child’s life. Children learn at home, in the classroom and in the community. At the heart of our work are three strategies that will lead to improved outcomes for children:
- Literacy Programs: Increase proven literacy programs that explicitly and systematically support decoding, encoding and translanguaging.
- Literacy Practices: Improve educators’ approach to Structured Literacy, translanguaging and equitable, culturally connected practices.
- Literacy Partnerships: Nurture families’ capacity to engage in literacy development and strengthen coalitions that seek to improve conditions for language and literacy attainment.
We ground our work in community wisdom and collaborate with families, educators, community organizations and funders so that Oakland’s youngest learners reach their full potential.
Education Program Snapshot
Education Grants
We invest in Oakland schools and community-based organizations that support literacy and language development for children from birth to eight years old.
Education Initiatives
Learn about the Rainin Foundation’s initiatives to ensure that every Oakland child has the literacy skills to communicate, learn and thrive by the beginning of third grade.
Education News & Stories
08/20/2025 | Education
This grantmaking round reflects our updated strategies that aim to strengthen early literacy education and complement existing resources and people power to raise literacy rates.
07/31/2025 | Education
Our Community Advisory Council has been helping us design a new grant that recognizes schools as sites of change for literacy. Learn about our approach and key insights.
05/21/2025 | Education
Early Care Spaces will provide one-year grants of up to $75,000 or two-year grants of up to $100,000 to support organizations promoting early language and literacy development for Oakland children from birth to five years old.
