About Eat Learn Play Foundation
We support children’s well-being through access to nutritious meals, quality reading resources, and opportunities to play and be active—because everyone deserves the chance to live a happy, healthy childhood.
Focus Areas
Nutrition / school mealsLiteracy / reading programsYouth sports and physical activitySchoolyard and school facility transformationMobile resource delivery (Eat. Learn. Play. Bus)
Who They Fund
Oakland Unified School District elementary studentsOakland K–8 students participating in summer camps and sportsstudents experiencing food insecurity served by district meal programsschool communities and staff (kitchen personnel, librarians, tutors)
Funding Style
About Eat Learn Play Foundation
Eat Learn Play Foundation’s grantmaking is built around Oakland children’s daily needs: food, reading, and play. A $25 million literacy commitment anchors the portfolio, while a separate stream funds school meal systems, playground and schoolyard renovations, and mobile resource delivery through the Eat. Learn. Play. Bus. Recent grants show the pattern clearly. The foundation gave $4,030,359 to Kaboom for renovation of elementary school play spaces at Oakland Unified School District, and $1,400,000 to Oakland Unified School District for tiered tutoring literacy coordination, emergency water stations, bottled water access, and support for the Oakland Central Kitchen. That combination of capital projects and direct program support reaches school facilities, classrooms, and family-facing services at the same time. In literacy, they back both tutoring and book access, including support for Oakland-based literacy organizations and reading interventions tied to elementary schools. In nutrition, the foundation works through school meal infrastructure and community food partners. Across these programs, the core focus stays on Oakland K–8 students and the school communities that serve them.
What Eat Learn Play Foundation Funds
Literacy is one of the clearest throughlines in the foundation’s grantmaking. They gave $1,200,000 to Open Literacy LLC for a 1:1 reading tutoring pilot project in Oakland Unified School District elementary schools, and another $1,129,690 to Hoot Reading Inc for the same pilot project. They also funded Oakland Literacy Coalition with $400,000 for books for kids, and $375,000 for books for elementary schools in Oakland Unified School District and general operating expenses. Food access is another major lane: $349,900 went to Brigaid LLC for chef training for Oakland Unified School District Central Kitchen food preparation, supporting the school meal system directly. On the play side, $319,000 went to Synergy Sports Charlotte LLC for the ADA Jenkins Community Center, reflecting support for youth physical activity beyond the classroom.
How Eat Learn Play Foundation Gives
Typical grants cluster at a mid-six-figure level, with a p25 of $100,400, a median of $250,000, and a p75 of $420,000. The pattern includes both one-time project grants and repeat support: Kaboom appears in consecutive years for school play-space renovation, and Open Literacy LLC and Hoot Reading Inc both received multiple grants for reading pilots. The foundation is a regular funder and also makes program-related investments. Its recent portfolio shows direct program support, capital improvement funding, and research or coordination roles alongside operating support.
Financial Snapshot
Annual Giving
$10.5M
Total Assets
$17.2M
Total Revenue
$22.8M
Total Expenses
$21.5M
Typical Grant Size
Most grants fall between $100K and $420K, with a median of $250K.
25th Percentile
$100K
Median
$250K
75th Percentile
$420K
Geographic Reach
Regional14 states funded
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Headquarters
Leadership
CHRISTOPHER HELFRICH
Accepts unsolicited proposals
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