TechEquity Annual Report 2018
From Our Founder
I founded TechEquity two years ago to ensure that the Bay Area’s growing tech economy was creating more opportunity for more people. Despite meeting scores of tech workers who were eager to figure out how to become more civically engaged, I found that the people who worked at the tech companies at the center of our economy were absent from conversations about how to solve our region’s shared problems. This led to a corrosive perception that the tech community didn’t care about its effect on its neighbors.
We created TechEquity to bring those voices to the table, to heal that civic rift, and to advance policies that would help the benefits of a growing tech economy accrue to more people.
We started small, by hosting talks in the East Bay and San Francisco to deepen our collective understanding of the issues. As our community grew, so did our offerings. In 2018, we hosted 33 events on everything from permitting and the cost of construction to redlining and modern-day segregation. We’ve helped over 1,000 supporters gain the knowledge they need to become active citizens working towards a more equitable Bay Area.
In 2018, we gathered over 1,300 signatures to qualify Prop 13 reform for the 2020 ballot, brought community partners together around statewide legislation to solve our housing crisis, and raised almost $20,000 to support local community organizations. Most importantly, we’ve shown in a tangible way that tech workers want to see a tech-driven economy that works for everyone. We’re so proud of the work we’ve done together and we can’t wait to see what 2019 brings.
Thank you for your continued support and belief in our work.
Co-Founder and Executive Director
Who We Are
We believe the tech industry can and should contribute to broad-based growth that benefits everyone. That instead of being a force for displacement and inequality, tech can create opportunity and widespread prosperity.
Our mission is to mobilize tech workers to create a tech-driven economy in the Bay Area that works for everyone. We educate people in the tech sector around housing and workforce & labor issues and activate them to make change in those key areas.
Meet the Community
“I have found TechEquity to be an incredibly supportive platform to engage with local issues in an informed way. I appreciate the balance of beginner-friendly educational resources which have helped me understand the basics of civic engagement in the Bay Area, as well as the nuanced and challenging conversations that TechEquity has facilitated on how the tech community has played a role in issues of inequality in our community.”
James Liu“So many of the people I’ve met at TechEquity events have told me that they’ve wanted to get more civically engaged but haven’t known how or have been intimidated. I think TechEquity has provided a roadmap for tech workers and a resource for companies that want non-judgmental guidance on how to be a responsible corporate citizen.”
Ellie Casson“TechEquity has been an incredible partner in developing programming to help educate and engage tech workers alongside the broader community. From conversations with thoughtful authors to the forums to dive into the intricacies of local politics, TechEquity has created space for the civic education needed to be a good member of a community like the Bay Area.”
Ernest BrownHow We Work
Policy Advocacy
Partnering with organizations that are working most directly with marginalized communities, we engage in policy advocacy that brings to bear the civic power of the tech community on these issues.
Awareness Raising & Connection
We hold educational events that raise awareness about our policy areas among tech workers and social events that builds relationships between Tech and the rest of the community.
Community Engagement
We create relevant, meaningful volunteer opportunities for our members to use their skills and resources to support organizations working on the front lines of our focus areas.
Issue Areas
Housing
Everyone deserves to live with a roof over their head. Everyone. No one should have to pay more than one-third of their income for housing in order to live close enough to the jobs that the region’s economy is creating.
Workforce & Labor
As technology radically changes the nature of work, the tech industry must play an active role in advocating for policy solution to ensure broad sections of the workforce aren’t left behind. We also have work to do to make sure the employee base inside the tech industry is representative of the community at large.
What We Did in 2018
We Brought People Together
We brought together hundreds of people at 33 events that tackled a wide range of topics, from the perils of tech in social services to the real costs of building affordable housing to local politics. Each event left our community members with new learnings and motivations to take action. Attend our next event here.
Event Series
We created spaces for tech workers to learn about our affordability crisis from a variety of perspectives, from the hidden costs of building housing to the dangers of digitizing social services.
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Attendees
33
Events
Policy Briefings
Over the course of the year, we brought briefings on policy campaigns, explanations of the affordability crisis, and conversations on personal and corporate responsibility into company offices and community spaces alike.
House Parties
We went to dozens of tech workers’ homes armed with snacks and facts to share with their friends. We discussed everything from Prop 13 reform to all the major propositions on the ballot and sparked debates and brainstorms all over the Bay.
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Expert Panelists
We Educated Voters
For both the June and November elections, we provided resources to our community to inform their votes on critical propositions on housing and workforce & labor. More than 4,500 tech workers used our voter guides, came to a house party, attended our webinar, and read our in-depth blog series, coming away with a clear understanding of what was at stake in these pivotal elections.
We Qualified Historic Prop 13 Reform for the Ballot
This year the statewide coalition Schools and Communities First set out to do the impossible: get an unprecedented reform of the disastrous Proposition 13 onto the ballot. Once this reform passes in 2020, $10 billion in recouped taxes will go back into schools, housing, and other social services across the state.
As part of the coalition, we rallied our tech workers to collect enough signatures to submit the initiative to the ballot. Over the course of two weekends, our community collected 1,300 signatures, contributing to the total 860,000 signatures that far exceeded the state requirement for ballot initiatives.
We Raised Thousands for Community Organizations
Giving Circle
Each quarter a group of our community members gets together to collectively benefit a local organization. In 2018 we raised $3,382 in our campaigns for Techtonica, a workforce development organization for low-income women and nonbinary people in the Bay, and Youth Uprising, a youth empowerment organization in East Oakland. Join our Giving Circle here.
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Silent Auction
In partnership with East Bay Young Democrats, the City of Oakland, and East Bay for Everyone, we held a silent auction to support the residents of the Northgate Community Cabins, a short-term housing solution for unsheltered people in Oakland. We raised $13,575, all of which went towards supplying household items to our neighbors transitioning into housing.
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Fair Chance to Housing
At the end of 2018 we launched our Fair Chance to Housing campaign with the Dellums Institute for Social Justice to remove a critical barrier to formerly incarcerated people getting housing. The Dellums Institute hired three Outreach and Policy Leaders to act as the bridge between the community and our campaign, and our tech workers showed up and contributed enough to hire the third. With these leaders, we’re aiming to win this important reform in all of Alameda County in the coming year. Learn more about our campaign here.
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What’s on Tap for 2019
Turning Education Into Action
This year we’re focusing on taking our educated community members and giving them avenues to turn that knowledge into action. Whether it’s policy advocacy, work in local organizations, or direct action, we’re connecting our community members with tangible ways they can contribute to the Bay Area.
Co-sponsoring statewide housing legislation
Launching Schools and Community First campaign
Advising tech companies on equity strategies
Launching responsible contracting report cards
Our Team
Catherine Bracy
Executive Director
Fahad Qurashi
Director of South Bay Programming
Becca Blazak
Director of Programs
Marion Wellington
Content and Communications Manager
Megan Abell
Director of Advocacy & Organizing
German Calderon
Community Coordinator
Thank You to Our Community Partners
Our Beloved Communities Action Network
System Reset
Thank You to Our Corporate Partners
Thank You to Our Policy Committees
Housing Advisors
Workforce & Labor Advisors
Brian Hanlon
Carol Galante
Gloria Bruce
Heather Hood
Fernando Marti
Margaretta Lin
Chris Benner
Derecka Mehrens
Efrem Bycer
Natalie Foster
Housing Committee
Workforce & Labor Committee
Adam Garrett-Clark
Alex Lofton
Daniil Karp
David Peters
Derek Slater
Ellie Casson
Genevieve Herreria
Gina Tomlinson
Heather Bromfield
James Liu
Liz Allen
Mike Schiraldi
Molly Turner
Ryan Ko
Sonam Jindal
Ben Keller
Chandni Kazi
Charlie Rybak
Evan Gastman
Evan Gelfand
Jacob Moy
Marco Lindsey
Matt Jorgensen
Pinal Shah
Samantha Harrington
Serena Keith
Tiffany Furrell
Tomas Quinonez Riegos
Wendy Yu
Thank You to Our Board
Caitlyn Fox
Cedric Brown
Darrell Jones III
Erica Baker
James Hurd Nixon
Zack Rosen
Jose Corona
John Lyman
Kim-Mai Cutler
Lindsay Baker
Tracey Ross
Susan Mernit
Thank You to Funders
John Wolthuis
Paul Graham
Ron Conway
2018 Financials
Total Revenue: $725,275
Total Expenses: $566,014
