Contact: Ashara Ekundayo,
Co-Founder, Director of External Affairs
press@huboakland.net
(303) 260-9209

Closed Bank Transformed into Crowdfunding Headquarters

Teller Counters Become Kickstarter Kiosks as New Economy Takes Root in Oakland

(OAKLAND, CA) – Less than two years after Occupy protesters clashed with police at Frank Ogawa Plaza, a former bank situated on that very plaza has been occupied – with the blessings of city officials – by a group bringing systemic change and economic revitalization to the community.

In the past week, HUB Oakland (a planned “campus for changemakers” that will include offices for startups and nonprofits, an open coworking space, entrepreneurship education, and daily yoga and meditation classes) has raised more than a third of its $100,000 crowdfunding goal on Kickstarter. (www.ComeAliveWith.Us) The funds will support the buildout of a 16,000 square foot permanent space in Uptown.

While construction takes place over the next six months, HUB Oakland has set up a temporary “pop-up” headquarters Downtown at the former site of Far East National Bank, where coworking will begin next month and events. Atop four marble teller counters are laptops connected to Kickstarter, where members of the community can pledge their support for the campaign.

“It used to be that if you wanted to get funding for a big idea, you needed to go through a big financial gatekeeper like a bank,” said Lisa Chacon, co-founder of HUB Oakland. “But now crowdfunding lets us easily fund each others’ projects. We can’t say we planned it this way, but it’s poetic justice that these contributions are taking place inside the shell of a former bank.”

HUB Oakland is the latest in a global network of 50+ independently-owned HUBs, which serve more than 6,000 innovators, artists, social entrepreneurs, and activists working to solve social and environmental challenges.

In addition to becoming Founding Members of HUB Oakland, Kickstarter backers can also sponsor memberships for low-income people. “It’s no secret that the Bay Area startup world lacks diversity and equal access to opportunity,” said Konda Mason, another co-founder. “While venture-funded startups spend huge amounts of money on lavish parties, many people with talent and big ideas can’t afford to pay rent. This Kickstarter campaign allows us to level the playing field a bit, by letting wealthier individuals pay-it-forward and gift educational opportunities and office space to those who can’t afford it.”

Additionally, HUB Oakland has also partnered with local organizations Youth SEED (Youth Social Entrepreneurship for Equitable Development), United Roots Oakland, and Black Girls Code to ensure that young people growing up in Bay Area have access to entrepreneurial mentorship and STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, mathematics) education that isn’t readily accessible in the public school system.

HUB Oakland’s temporary space is in partnership with Popuphood, a small business incubator revitalizing neighborhoods block by block, by putting vacant real estate into the hands of local entrepreneurs.

Kickstarter campaign: http://ComeAliveWith.Us
HUB Oakland: http://HubOakland.net
Popuphood: http://popuphood.com

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HUB Oakland is the newest in a global network of coworking spaces for changemakers. We planted the seeds over a year ago, watered the soil, and worked the land ~ yes we know it’s been a long season and you’ve been waiting – but now it’s Springtime, and we’re in full bloom!

Please come share in the Launch of our crowdfunding Kickstarter campaign and check out our new “pop-up” digs in Downtown Oakland! We are ready to turn the Town upside down w/ innovation, but we can’t do it w/out you – so Join Us!

On Monday, April 8th from 6:00 – 9:00PM
You Can:

Mingle & Mix
Meet the Founders
Have a Cocktail
Peep the Floorplan
Munch & Laugh
Find Out More
and Become A Member!

We’re JumpingOFF! You coming?

Cordially,
Ashara, Ahmed, Zakiya, Edward, Lisa, Kristin, Konda, Roe and Jeff

p.s. Be Sure to LIKE Our Page: www.facebook.com/huboak!
p.p.s. check out our blog at http://HubOakland.net/

From the website:

This is just a quick post to make it easy to refer you Bay Area friends to both of the screenings in their back yards. In just over two weeks, we will take Money & Life to both San Francisco and Oakland. We couldn’t be more excited, because we know that the Bay Area is a hot bed for transformational economic work.

If you live in the area, choose the screening that works best for you, invite some friends and get your tickets soon!

Here are the main links for both screenings:

San Francisco Premiere (April 10th at the Roxie):

Ticketing: http://mnlsf.brownpapertickets.com/
FB event page: http://www.facebook.com/events/259633094172050/

Oakland Premiere (April 11th at the New Parkway Theatre):
Ticketing: http://mnloak.brownpapertickets.com/
FB event page: http://www.facebook.com/events/591630377533695/

Join Omi Arts* @Hub Oakland and curator/producer Ashara Ekundayo for the 2nd edition of our a delicious breakfast series, “Grits & Greens,” exploring the intersection of food, art, and technology by featuring innovators, educators, artists, makers, hackers, and entrepreneurs living and working in the cross sections of these fields. “Grits & Greens” highlights individuals, companies and organizations committed to sustainable living, creative excellence, social justice, and locally grown solutions. In January we will also highlight creative placemaking strategies inspired by the cosmology of Dr. Martin Luther King.

“Grits & Greens” participants will also get a sneak peak at the latest offerings from the Hub Oakland team, including 1st dibs at Members-Only perks, and have an opportunity to become investors in our economic movement-building model!

*Omi Arts is the curated interactive gallery space opening inside Hub Oakland in Autumn 2013 that will feature exhibitions, lectures, performance and installations from local, national and international creatives.

January Community Partners:
ITVS
KQED
Bi-Rite Market
OaklandLocal.com

Agenda:

730am – Breakfast
750am – Welcome & Introductions
800am – Hub Oakland – Intro & Membership Sneek Peak
815am – Grits & Greens Panel Discussion
905am – Q & A
915am – Special Thanks & Networking

Grits & Greens, Volume 2 – Panelists:

Ashara Ekundayo, Curator/Moderator – http://flavors.me/asharaekundayo

Evan Bissell, visual artist, educator – http://evanbissell.com/Evan_Bissell/Evan_Bissell.html

Drew Dellinger, poet, activist, Martin Luther King scholar – http://drewdellinger.org/

Byron Hurt, educator, director of “Soul Food Junkies” – http://www.bhurt.com/

**
Livestream presented by Fertl – https://www.facebook.com/wearefertl?ref=ts&fref=ts&__req=d
and Hosted by Abby Bobe – (BlackGirlsCode.org) http://blackgirlscode.org/

WHEN:
Wednesday – January 16, 2013
730am – 930am

@Miss Ollie’s Restaurant
901 Washington St.
Oakland, CA 94607

TIX $12
Online at
http://gritsandgreens2-huboakland.eventbrite.com/

Menu from Miss Ollie’s Owner/Chef Sarah Kirnon -

The Base:
creamy Anson Mills grits

The Finishes:
TBD

SF’s Original ‘Party with a Purpose’ Brings Renowned National and Local Speakers, Workshops, Green Businesses, and Cultural Programming to the Bay Area

San Francisco, C.A. (October 15, 2012) – Green Festival, the nation’s premier green living event, returns to San Francisco on November 10-11, 2012 at the San Francisco Concourse Exhibition Center. The Festival will host 150 eco-innovators, renowned speakers, performers, community leaders, local green business experts and young entrepreneurs. A new Yoga & Movement Pavilion will feature teachers from Bay Area’s favorite studios.

Green Festival is the largest marketplace of conscious businesses and exhibitors, who are chosen for their commitment to social justice, sustainability and ecological balance and the number one place to find the latest in sustainable products and Fair Trade gifts perfect for holiday shopping.

“Since its inception in 2001, the Green Festival has grown and is well-known for providing a solutions-based forum to discover more ways to green your life and get information on the environmental and social justice issues facing our communities.” according to co-founder and activist Kevin Danaher.

Keynote speakers include leading environmental, healthy lifestyle and social justice advocates: Amy Goodman of Democracy Now!; John Robbins, author of Food Revolution; Dolores Huerta, who was recently honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom; Bill McKibben, of 350.org, Starhawk, Devorah Major, Annie Leonard, and Winona LaDuke, with a special closing performance by the Clif Bar House Band featuring co-owner Gaary Erickson on the sax.

Local community leaders working on energy, food and revitalizing communities include Konda Mason, Ellen Sebastian Chang, Ahmed Rahim, Drew Dellinger, Jose Corona, Brahm Ahmadi, Michael Bush, Leila Salazar, and many more. Renowned Bay Area instructors bring yoga and movement to the Festival: Jessica Premsangha Prakasha, Interstellar Yoga/Pilates; Dari Love Sylvia, Loka Yoga; Doria Robinson, Sanctuary Yoga; Nannette Vides and Tanya Leakes, Zumba Fitness and more.

A joint venture between Green America and Global Exchange, Green Festival is a non-profit event that celebrates an 11-year milestone hosting over one million attendees in eight cities. Green Festival is the only event that screens exhibitors for their commitment to social justice and ecological balance using Green America’s Green Business Certification Standards.

Green Festival continues to be the backdrop for the FORD Motor Community Green Grant program. Green Festival attendees will have the opportunity to vote for their favorite non-profit project at the FORD Community Green Grants Booth during show hours. A $5,000 grant will be awarded on Sunday, November 11^th.

“Over the years we have seen the Festival grow and evolve along with the community, helping to educate and shape the critical discussions ,which support people to make healthy choices and make a difference in all of our lives.” said Denise Hamler, Green Festival Director.

Attendees of all ages can learn at the hands-on DIY workshops, engage with award-winning chefs on the Good Food Stage and gain practical green tips to apply to everyday life. At the Green Business Stage, attendees will experience what’s hot in the green job market and how to grow green businesses.

Highlights include:

Nonprofit Allies include: 350.org, Amazon Watch, Youth Speaks, United Roots, Destiny Arts Center, The Ecology Center and Green For All.

The 2012 Green Festival will be held at the San Francisco Concourse Exhibition Center: 635 Eighth Street, San Francisco, CA, 94103. Doors open Saturday, November 10, 10 am –7 pm and Sunday, November 11, 11 am-6 pm.

Tickets are $10 for a one-day pass and $20 for a full weekend pass when purchased online at www.greenfestivals.org, or $15 and $25 at the door. (All tickets provide access to exhibit floor, all workshops/yoga classes, speakers and films.) Discounted admission at the door for seniors (over 65) and students with student ID. Free admission for bicyclist, youth under eighteen, union members, volunteers and Green America, Global Exchange and Sierra Club members.

For more information, please visit www.GreenFestivals.org. To exhibit, please call: 828-333-9403 x 300.

For partnership information, visit www.greenfestivals.org/become-a-partner.

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About Green America

Green America is a national nonprofit organization founded in 1982, providing the economic strategies, organizing power and practicing tools for businesses and individuals to address today’s social and environmental problems. Its Green Business Network is the largest national network of businesses screened for their social and environmental responsibility.

About Global Exchange

Global Exchange is a membership-based international human rights organization dedicated to promoting social, economic and environmental justice around the world. Since its founding in 1988, Global

Exchange has successfully increased public awareness of root causes of injustice while building international partnerships and mobilizing for change.

The 1st Oakland Innovation Film Lab (OIFL) 2012 held June 18-21 at the Oakland School for the Arts and other nearby venues presents four full days of engagement in non-traditional storytelling, informative discussions, active educational learning, and community participation. With social entrepreneurs drawn from Oakland’s dynamic business, media, tech, and non-profit communities, OIFL aims to generate synergistic engagement within the creative class, new media, social justice, environmental sustainability and emerging tech sectors.

The carefully-curated films embody a wide range of expression, beginning with Monday’s opening night highlighting high-school student film projects; to Tuesday’s engrossing international documentaries, “Bouncing Cats” (Uganda) and “Maestra” (Cuba); to “An Oversimplification of Her Beauty,” Wednesday’s groundbreaking mix of new media techniques and traditional filmmaking; and ending with “Soul Food Junkies,” Thursday’s primer on food justice and dietary consciousness for urban audiences that also includes a community panel moderated by Hub Oakland CEO, Konda Mason.

KQED Director of External affairs Siouxsie Oki says, “we are proud to be a sponsor of the first OIFL. We believe that media has the power to bring diverse audiences together and foster two-way engagement, conversation and collaboration between different industries, organizations, audience segments and individuals.” Konda Mason, CEO of HUB Oakland, adds that the festival “serves our mission of building community and supporting the artistic entrepreneur, using the lens of innovation while providing a platform for alternative voices to be heard.”

For: Tickets | Movie Trailers | More Information, visit http://oifl.eventbrite.com

Our first Innovation Mixer on Friday, April 20th to launch the NewMe Community in Oakland, and welcome the NewMe Accelerator program. The NewMe Accelerator is a residential technology start-up incubator for minority-led businesses in the technology industry. Friday’s event far exceeded all of our expectations and demonstrated just how unified Oakland is around supporting innovation, building community, entrepreneurship, collaboration, and expansion.

Where we were initially expecting a beautiful and intimate gathering, we received a bountiful and overflowing celebration that sold-out 3 days before the event! OaKollectiv was generous enough to offer us their pop-up retail space to host the event (Hub Oakland’s space is coming soon!). 2.OAK (formerly known as InOak) was our presenting sponsor, while community collaborators Steve Snider and Oakland Venue Management donated an incredible team to set up and strike the event and also provide tables, chairs, audio/video, and staging. Furthermore, Herspring-Gibbs, Arizmendi, Just Desserts, Sweet Bar Bakery, Richmond Spokes, Bill’s Snack Bar, and TCHO filled those tables with a delicious spread of food, pastries, and desserts, and the Downtown Oakland Association and the Lake Merritt-Uptown District Association lent us support with marketing. We also had a great team of Volunteers who made sure everything ran smoothly and filled in the spaces where needed – for their time we are grateful.

And, the amazing presentations themselves featured snapshots from around the Bay of important initiatives bringing technology and entrepreneurship while celebrating culture, youth, social media, co-working spaces and green jobs. We learned about Black Girls Code, G4GMobile.com, the Latino Start-Up Alliance, the Green Science Academy, Techliminal, and Oakland Local and the diverse ways in which these organizations work to cultivate meaning while stimulating the economy in underserved communities.

It is hard to imagine a more perfect launch for Hub Oakland! This is just a taste of the kind of events that we will be convening on a regular basis. Thank You to everyone who came out to mix it up and enjoy the evening!

Hub Oakland NewMe Mixer Sponsoring Organizations include; 2.OAK, Downtown Oakland Association, Lake Merritt-Uptown District Association, Oakland Venue Management, OaklandLocal.org, Hub Berkeley, Pecha Kucha Oakland, OaKollectiv, Arizmendi Bakery, Richmond Spokes, NewMe Accelerator, and Community Ventures.