Community. A tapestry of people, organizations, and ideas stitched together by common experiences and interests.
At North Berkeley Wealth, we experience the threads of community through our work with clients, interactions with people and local businesses, and partnerships with nonprofit organizations. Our work impacts the shared physical and social environments of those around us, embracing a community alive with connection and stewardship.
Our Community Engagement Report explores how we strived to strengthen the fabric of our community in 2023.
Community Engagement Highlights
Giving as a Firm
Nonprofit organizations join together the gaps that exist in our economic and social structure. Their work supports the well-being of our shared communities, be that on a global, national, or local level. As a firm, we strive to reinforce the positive missions of local nonprofits and nurture our shared community.
Event Sponsorships
Each year, North Berkeley seeks out opportunities to sponsor events in our community that help increase the impact of nonprofits. In 2023, we continued to use our time and expertise to support local organizations including the Berkeley High School Development Group, the Berkeley Athletic Fund, and the Berkeley Public Schools Fund.
Community Involvement
Our advisory team provides expertise and counsel to our community partners and other organizations by serving on boards or committees. We provide paid service days off for all team members and organize group volunteering opportunities. In 2023, one highlight was our team spending two days volunteering at the Berkeley Food Network to sort produce and support their mission of reducing local food insecurity.
Community Partners
YES nurtures leaders who champion the well-being of their community in partnership with nature, guiding youth, adults, and families to lead healthy, connected lives, motivate positive change in their neighborhoods, and inspire a safe, thriving community. Lead Advisor Matthew Gatt served on the YES board in 2023, and our firm provided guidance on investment reserves and retirement plan investment management to their organization.
The YWCA Berkeley/Oakland’s mission is to eliminate racism, empower women, develop leaders, and promote peace, justice, freedom, and dignity for all. The YWCA is a global movement working for women’s empowerment, leadership, and rights. In 2023, Founding Partner, Kate King was honored to present the keynote speech at the YWCA’s Young Women and Money conference. We work with the YWCA on managing a portion of their investment reserves.
The Berkeley Food Network envisions a Berkeley where no one goes hungry. Using an innovative, community-centered approach to food sourcing and distribution, they provide easy and convenient access to healthy, high-quality food for people in need. Kate King co-founded Berkeley Food Network and served as the Treasurer and member of the Executive Committee. Several of our team members volunteered as a group, helping sort produce for BFN’s community.
The Changemaker Project equips young people with the tools and skills to create a better world. Through their Global Pitch competition, they connect groups of entrepreneurial students with potential sponsors to enact the change they envision in the world. Advisors Brian Kozel and Daniel Smyth participated as funding judges for the 2023 Global Pitch and North Berkeley Wealth sponsored several projects.
Team Giving Initiatives
Each year, North Berkeley earmarks a portion of our giving to be directed by our team members. This commitment to shared giving unites us in purpose and exposes each of us to what other team members value and support. We provide funds to each person and ask them to donate to organizations that are meaningful to them. In 2023, we launched two giving initiatives, each focusing on the causes and people most meaningful to each of us, resulting in support for 30 organizations. We have now given to more than 70 organizations that were selected by North Berkeley team members over the last four years.
Spring Giving Initiative
With so many great causes to support, we gave our team the opportunity to support any nonprofit that was meaningful to them. The results were inspiring, creating deeper ties on our team as we learned about new nonprofit organizations and about our fellow team members. The organizations included a gamelan orchestra and dance troupe, animal welfare organizations, and social justice causes.
Winter Giving Initiative
For the Winter Giving initiative, we asked each team member to donate with someone special in mind. North Berkeley provided each team member funds to donate to a cause that impacts a client, family member, or friend. The result was a diverse crosshatch of connections supporting a variety of organizations, from local family theater to cancer research.
2023 Giving Initiative Highlights
Best Practices
We believe that business can be a force for good, recognizing that our business decisions affect all stakeholders, and that the well-being of our team, clients, and community is central to our purpose. We are proud to be a certified B Corp and to offer a sustainable alternative to financial institutions that are guided by short-term investment horizons, with little overall stakeholder involvement. Being a B Corp helps identify us as part of a new landscape of local, socially sustainable financial services firms. We use a community bank for our firm’s banking needs because of its local focus and because it channels loans to the neighborhoods where its depositors live and work, helping local businesses and communities thrive. As a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) it focuses on creating equal opportunity for all community members.
The Impact of Our Services
Our services provide a set of options to clients interested in supporting positive change, from banking to philanthropy to investments. We offer impact investing options and leverage shareholder engagement when possible.
Impact Investing
Many of our clients elect some form of impact investing. Their engagement ranges from opting for diversified portfolios that include forward-looking businesses to investing in high-impact notes to promote environmental stewardship and renewable energy.
Shareholder Resolutions
When you hold a share of stock in a public company, you are a partial owner of that company. We help clients use the power of the shareholder vote to voice opinions about a company’s policies, affecting how that company is governed and its social and environmental impact.
Work with Nonprofits
We provide services to a select group of nonprofits. These organizations often don’t have access to professional financial advice. We help strengthen these nonprofits by providing financial clarity and stability through managing their reserves, providing brokerage services for stock donations, and counseling on growth strategies.
Art at North Berkeley
Art is a vital component of a healthy community. We curate art exhibits featuring local artists to promote their work and build ties within our community. 2023 was an exciting year for exhibits. We participated for the first time as a satellite exhibit of Art of the African Diaspora; explored the emotional impact of finely balanced shapes and color in Stillness and Movement; delved into treasured ephemera in Memory and Other Inventions; and reflected on our response to the physical world with Inner Passages.
From Our 2023 Exhibits
Our Team in Giving
North Berkeley Wealth runs on collaboration. We work as a team, and we engage with the community as a team.
This commentary on this website reflects the personal opinions, viewpoints, and analyses of the North Berkeley Wealth Management (“North Berkeley”) employees providing such comments, and should not be regarded as a description of advisory services provided by North Berkeley or performance returns of any North Berkeley client. The views reflected in the commentary are subject to change at any time without notice. Nothing on this website constitutes investment advice, performance data, or any recommendation that any particular security, portfolio of securities, transaction, or investment strategy is suitable for any specific person. Any mention of a particular security and related performance data is not a recommendation to buy or sell that security. North Berkeley manages its clients’ accounts using a variety of investment techniques and strategies, which are not necessarily discussed in the commentary. Investments in securities involve the risk of loss. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.