The Bay Area’s housing crisis remains one of the region’s most pressing challenges, with households of color disproportionately impacted by rising rents, displacement, and inequitable access to affordable housing. To address this, the Partnership for the Bay’s Future (PBF) is proud to launch its third cohort of the Policy Fund grantees, awarding $7 million to 10 local governments and their community-based organization (CBO) partners to advance innovative policies rooted in equity.
Bridging Policy and Community
Since it launched in 2020, the Policy Fund has been a cornerstone of PBF’s approach to housing justice, fostering collaboration between local governments and CBOs. This innovative model has led to transformative policy changes while simultaneously reshaping how governments and communities work together. By prioritizing deep community outreach—such as our work in Richmond and Antioch—the Policy Fund ensures that those most impacted by housing instability play a central role in shaping solutions. Through trust-building and inclusive policymaking, the Policy Fund amplifies community voices, strengthens relationships, and creates lasting change toward equitable housing practices.
Through trust-building and inclusive policymaking, the Policy Fund amplifies community voices, strengthens relationships, and creates lasting change toward equitable housing practices.
“PBF has been instrumental not only in expanding our capacity but also in redefining how we develop partnerships to co-design housing policies,” said East Palo Alto Mayor Antonio López (East Palo Alto is returning as a Policy Fund grantee for the third time). “By empowering community voices and fostering collaborative solutions, this program has transformed how we approach housing policy, making partnership and equity the foundation of our progress.”
A defining feature of the Policy Fund’s is its “inside-outside strategy,” which combines internal government capacity with external community advocacy. This model is brought to life by PBF Fellows (the Fellowship is administered by Coro Northern California), mid-career professionals embedded in local governments. Fellows bridge the gap between policy creation and community needs by working closely with local CBOs to ensure that solutions are informed by the lived experiences of those most affected by housing challenges.
Grantees also benefit from technical assistance and training provided by Enterprise Community Partners, which offers expertise in data analysis, legal frameworks, and strategy development. This support ensures that site teams are equipped to address policy challenges effectively.
Cohort 3: A New Chapter of Innovation
This year’s grantees are focusing on ambitious and innovative themes like tenant protections, the intersectionality of housing justice with environmental justice and public health, and creative financial sources. Some policy goals include:
- East Palo Alto: Establishing a rental registry and advancing a tenant preference policy to stabilize housing for vulnerable residents.
- Alameda County: Creating an affordable housing fund to address needs in unincorporated areas.
- San Jose: Implementing city-wide preservation and production policy programs, and strengthening nonprofit capacity building.
This program has transformed how we approach housing policy, making partnership and equity the foundation of our progress.
Explore the full list of grantees and their projects.
“Building on the success of our past two rounds, we are proud to continue addressing the pressing needs of our communities through sustainable and transformative policy partnerships,” said Aysha Pamukcu, PBF’s Policy Fund Director. “When government and community leaders collaborate, we can create innovative and equity-centered solutions to the housing crisis.”
Building on the Success of Cohort 2
The second cohort of the Policy Fund set a high standard, with grantees passing 13 policies that tackled displacement, expanded affordable housing, and prioritized community-led solutions. Highlights include:
- Richmond’s Equitable Public Land Disposition Policy, ensuring surplus public land is used for community benefit, focusing on permanent affordability through models like community land trusts.
- San Jose’s Tenant Preference Policy, prioritizing affordable housing for residents most at risk of displacement.
- Antioch’s Cottage Communities on Faith-Owned Land, leveraging underutilized faith properties to develop supportive housing units that seamlessly integrate into the community.
These successes demonstrate the transformative power of collaboration and how PBF’s model creates sustainable pathways for housing justice.
A Vision for the Future
This latest cohort deepens PBF’s commitment to tackling the Bay Area’s housing crisis. By equipping grantees with the tools to address political challenges and foster inclusive collaboration, it lays the groundwork for bold, equity-driven housing solutions with the power to inspire change regionally and beyond.
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