At Nia, we recognize and honor the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. who said: " Philanthropy is commendable, but it must not cause the philanthropist to overlook the circumstances of economic injustice which make philanthropy necessary." In that vein, we seek to do foundation work differently—recognizing injustices, trying new tools in partnership with our community.

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• We value diversity, collaboration, transparency, inclusion, growth, education, and life-long learning, integrity, and empathy.

• We believe in building and nurturing relationships. Fair and equitable access to our financial and educational institutions—learning to live peacfully on a planet with limited resources.

• We care deeply about our local communities and recognize that to contribute to a thriving Oakland we need to both be deeply involved and act right here, as well as nationally and globally. To that end, we support efforts that move us toward an inclusibe economy that workds for everyone, particularly those historically underserved.

• We support the sharing-economy, entrepreneurship, mentors for youth, and community engagement.

• We encourage disclosures from our largest corporations and banking institutions—and thus gran to organizations who are working on issues of corporate accountability—and invest with firms that actively engage with the companies in which they invest.

• We want healthy, caring, productive communities.