Kingmakers of Oakland

Kingmakers of Oakland is a Bay Area nonprofit that focuses on improving educational outcomes for Black males. 1 The organization has argued the public education system is failing Black boys through harsh discipline, and a biased curriculum with a “white narrative.” 2

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At-A-Glance

Type: Non-profit, 501(c)(3)
Issue Areas: Identity Politics (for race-based policy/activism), Education Policy
Website: www.kingmakersofoakland.org
Founded:

2018

Location: Oakland, CA View on map
Tax ID: 38-4105767
Most Recent Filing: 2025
Budget (2025): Assets: $8,058,759 Revenue: $2,599,445 Expenses: $5,519,826

Contents

    Donors include MacKenzie Scott, the ex-wife of Jeff Bezos, and the NBA Foundation. 3 4

    Background

    In 2010, the Oakland Unified School District Superintendent Anthony Smith named Chris Chatmon as the executive director of the African American Male Achievement Program. Over that time, Black male graduation increased from 42 percent to 57 percent, while average grade point averages also increased by 25 percent. 5

    Based on the model from the Oakland school district, Chatmon founded Kingmakers of Oakland in 2018 to provide training and resources for schools based on six pillars: curriculum and pedagogy, youth voice and leadership, Black teacher retention, community and family engagement, narrative change, and policy. 5

    The organization says it focuses on “healing the fish while treating the toxic ecosystem.” 6  The organization uses professional development, “narrative change resources,” curriculum, and other methods to attempt to transform public school environments. 6

    The organization says it is “unapologetically focusing on Black boys” because the public education system fails black boys through harsh discipline, a biased curriculum with a “white narrative,” poor literacy rates, and high juvenile arrests. 2

    The group says conversations about “race and systemic oppression” are necessary to design more equitable educational systems. 2

    Programs

    Kingmakers of Oakland’s KOO Street Team is an “activated group of black youth leaders, innovators, change-makers and content curators.” It is made up of 10 members between the ages of 15 and 25. 7

    The Kings In The Making TFI Program is a 3-year college access program in partnership with JP Morgan Chase’s Fellowship Initiative. It focuses on three areas: access to college preparatory courses; access to experienced teachers with competencies working with boys and men of color; and consistent guidance counseling to track academic performance and college application process. 7

    The organization also has a Leadership Coaching program to guide strategic plans to improve outcomes for Black students. 7

    The Kingmakers’ Learning Collaborative is a cross-country partnership where individual school district personnel share strategies. 7

    The Phase Zero program is the initial phase of supporting schools and districts to understand the culture. 7

    The Professional Learning Community program was established to train teachers and facilitators to “utilize our African-centered and culturally relevant pedagogy and curriculum” with students. 7

    Financing

    MacKenzie Scott, the ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, contributed to Kingmakers of Oakland. It is among the 465 organizations to which she contributed $3.8 billion between June 2021 and March 2022. 3 Scott has also been a donor to the NewSchools Venture Fund, which finances public school innovation, and has provided financial backing for Kingmakers of Oakland. 1

    In August 2021, the NBA Foundation announced 22 new grants totaling $6 million, including one to Kingmakers of Oakland. 4

    The Golden State Warriors Community Foundation contributed $1.85 million to 51 Bay Area nonprofits in 2021, including Kingmakers of Oakland. 5

    The Berkley Patients Group, which says it is the nation’s oldest cannabis group, announced in 2019 that it would donate $1 million to 10 nonprofit groups including Kingmakers of Oakland. 8

    Financial Statistics

    Total Assets

    Total Revenue

    Total Expenses

    YearTotal AssetsTotal RevenueTotal ExpensesFiling
    2025 $8,058,759 $2,599,445 $5,519,826 View
    2024 $11,097,028 $3,912,547 $6,199,746 View
    2023 $13,414,712 $6,248,483 $5,497,167 View
    2022 $12,595,129 $14,987,448 $3,693,561 View

    Revenue Detail

    Expenses Detail

    Employee Compensation

    • Number of Employees: 51

    Highest Earning Employees

    EmployeeTitleTotal Compensation
    Christopher ChatmonCEO$337,279

    Grant Activity

    All-time grants received statistics from Candid dataset:

    • Total Grant Value: $23,849,260
    • Number of Grants: 71
    • Number of Funders: 35

    Selection of highest value grants received from the last seven years:

    AmountYearFunderSubject
    $3,350,0002022 Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift FundFor grant recipient's exempt purposes
    $1,407,1922021 NATIONAL EQUITY PROJECTFISCAL SPONSOR
    $1,200,0002022 Silicon Valley Community FoundationEducation
    $1,200,0002020 Ballmer GroupKingmakers of Oakland supports Black boys in the public school system to reach their full potential by collaborating, coordinating, and convening with school board members, teachers, parents, students, and others who are inspired to create a healthy, affirming learning environment for Black boys. Our grant supports the expansion of core services – culturally relevant curriculum and pedagogical tactics, recruitment and retention of Black male teachers, and district technical assistance – from five school districts (four in CA and one in Seattle, WA) to fifteen districts by 2023
    $1,000,0002024 Silicon Valley Community Foundation
    $1,000,0002023 Chan Zuckerberg Initiative FoundationFOR GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT
    $1,000,0002023 The Cleveland Avenue Foundation for Education GroupTO SUPPORT THE PROGRAMMATIC OR OPERATING COSTS OF THE ORGANIZATION IN ALIGNMENT WITH THE 1954 PROJECT VALUES
    $1,000,0002022 Chan Zuckerberg Initiative FoundationGENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT
    $1,000,0002021 Chan Zuckerberg Initiative FoundationGENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT
    $800,0002022 Oak FoundationTo support the Kingmakers of Oakland, a US- based not-for-profit organisation that works to improve the educational and life outcomes for Black and brown boys through programmes, research, training, and community mobilisation.
    $750,0002025 The Oak Foundation USATo provide support to improve the educational and life outcomes for students, including those furthest from opportunity
    $750,0002023 Crankstart FoundationGENERAL SUPPORT
    $750,0002022 Crankstart FoundationGENERAL SUPPORT
    $750,0002021 Crankstart FoundationGENERAL SUPPORT
    $600,0002022 Silicon Valley Community FoundationEducation
    $500,0002024 Jpmorgan Chase FoundationIN SUPPORT OF NEIGHBORHOOD REVITALIZATION
    $500,0002023 Jpmorgan Chase FoundationIN SUPPORT OF CREATING ECONOMIC MOBILITY AND CAREER PATHWAYS
    $500,0002023 Gs Donor Advised Philanthropy Fund for Wealth Management IncEDUCATION
    $500,0002021 New ProfitPROGRAM EXPANSION
    $400,0002022 Gs Donor Advised Philanthropy Fund for Wealth Management IncEDUCATION
    $400,0002021 Gs Donor Advised Philanthropy Fund for Wealth Management IncEDUCATION
    $350,0002024 Crankstart FoundationFOR GENERAL SUPPORT
    $350,0002021 Raikes FoundationThis Grant provides support for Kingmakers of Oakland (KOO) to transition out of the Oakland Unified School District to become a high-functioning standalone nonprofit organization, which will allow more districts, educators and students to learn and benefit from their proven strategies and approach. As KOO continues its organizational growth, they will simultaneously continue to add important learning to the Building Equitable Learning Environments (BELE) Network's knowledge base. Further, this Grant will enable KOO's organizational development to establish a foundation for scale in order to garner significant new philanthropic partners who are interested in their mode.
    $300,0002021 The Satterberg FoundationGENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT
    $260,0002022 Gilead FoundationFALL FORUM CONFERENCE

    All-time grants given statistics from Candid dataset:

    • Total Grant Value: $80,000
    • Number of Grants: 2
    • Number of Recipients: 1

    Selection of highest value grants given from the last seven years:

    AmountYearFunderSubject
    $50,0002024 Oakland PromiseStudent Grants
    $30,0002022 Oakland Promise

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    Financials, employee compensation, and grant information provided by Candid.

    Mentioned in this Article

    References

    1. Sullivan, Paul. “In Philanthropy, Race Is Still a Factor in Who Gets What, Study Shows.” New York Times. May 1, 2020. Accessed June 10, 2022. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/01/your-money/philanthropy-race.html?searchResultPosition=1
    2. What We Do. Kingmakers of Oakland. Accessed June 10, 2022. https://www.kingmakersofoakland.org/our-story/
    3. Scott, MacKenzie. “Helping Any of Us Can Help Us All.” Medium. March 23, 2022. Accessed June 10, 2022. https://mackenzie-scott.medium.com/helping-any-of-us-can-help-us-all-f4c7487818d9
    4. Thompson, Jazmine Denise. “The NBA Foundation Announces $6 Million in Grants to Support Black Youth in Career Advancement.” Ebony. August 6, 2021. Accessed June 10, 2022. https://www.ebony.com/career-finance/mentoring_leadership/nba-foundation-6-million-grant/
    5. Fortson, Jobina. “Kingmakers of Oakland dedicated to improving education system for young Black men.” ABC 7 News. February 4, 2022. Accessed June 11, 2022. https://abc7news.com/kingmakers-of-oakland-improving-education-for-black-boys-history-month-nonprofits-to-help-community/11537906/
    6. Kingmakers of Oakland. LinkedIn. Accessed June 10, 2022. https://www.linkedin.com/company/kingmakersofoakland/about/
    7. Programs. Kingmakers of Oakland. Accessed June 10, 2022. https://www.kingmakersofoakland.org/programs/
    8. Press Release. “Berkeley Patients Group, Nation’s Oldest Dispensary, Celebrates 20 Years with $1MM for Good Campaign.” September 11, 2019. Accessed June 10, 2022. https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190911005099/en/Berkeley-Patients-Group-Nation