Y & H Soda Foundation

The Y and H Soda Foundation is a left-of-center grantmaking foundation that supports liberal expansionist immigration, left-progressive social policy, and liberal social welfare organizations located in California. Originally founded to improve education in the East Bay region of northern California, the organization’s focus has shifted to promoting statewide and nationwide immigration expansion activism efforts and left-progressive social policy.

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At-A-Glance

Type: Non-profit, 501(c)(3), Private Foundation
Issue Areas: Immigration Policy
Website: www.yhsodafoundation.org
Location: Moraga, CA View on map
Tax ID: 94-1611668
Most Recent Filing: 2024
Budget (2024): Assets: $103,897,544 Revenue: $9,138,763 Expenses: $7,258,893

Contents

    Background

    The Y and H Soda Foundation was founded by East Bay residents Y. Charles and Helen Soda in 1964 for the purpose of supporting charitable work in their neighborhood,1 and more specifically for the purpose of advancing education. The Organization’s co-founder Y. Charles (Chet) Soda was co-owner of the Oakland Raiders and a Vatican Appointee to The Knights of Malta, a Catholic sovereign order now under investigation due to political and financial scandal. 2  Y. Charles Soda passed away in 1989, leaving the foundation to its Board of Directors. Under new leadership, the Y&H Soda Foundation has expanded the scope of its grantmaking agenda, focusing much of its efforts on immigration activism.

    In 2018, Louis Arteaga, who previously oversaw grant-making for the Levi Strauss Foundation, a multi-million dollar left-of-center corporate foundation, was added as a program officer to the Y and H foundation. 3

    Expenses

    The Y and H Soda foundation prioritizes the East Bay area of northern California, specifically organizations working in Contra Costa and Alameda counties. In 2017, the Y and H Soda Foundation spent its entire income on overhead, liquidating its assets to support its grantmaking mission. Of the $10,379,080 spent,4 $5,121,3455 was spent on operational and administrative expenses, including $873,4846 spent on salaries, and $1,714,857 spent on Portfolio Expenses. 7  As such the organization only spent $5,257,735 on grantmaking.

    Assets and Investments

    The Y and H Soda Foundation does not solicit contributions, relying almost entirely investment income and principal assets. The Foundation earned $4,892,518 investment income in 20176 and supported its grantmaking efforts for the year by liquidating $30,470,352 in assets from the principal of the foundation. 8

    Robert Uyeki

    Robert Uyeki, the CEO of The Y and H Soda Foundation, received an annual salary of $295,000 in the 2015 fiscal year,9  and has received a raise every year since, with his salary currently at $316,000. 9  Uyeki is also a board member of the Regional Anti-poverty Coalition “Rise Together,” along with leaders of other regional funders such as the San Francisco Foundation and the Marin Community Foundation.

    Robert Uyeki was also a signer of a Philanthropy California Letter opposing the addition of a new question to the 2020 U.S. Census regarding citizenship status. 10

    Luis Artega

    As of 2018, Luis Artega is the Chief Program Officer for the Y and H Soda Foundation. Before coming on to the senior staff of the foundation, Luis Artega was a program officer for The Levi Strauss Foundation, focusing on issues of social justice activism and expanding immigration. 11

    Grantmaking

    Y and H Soda Foundation provided $70,000 in operating support to the left-wing advocacy group ACCE Institute. 12

    Immigration advocacy groups received substantial sums from the Foundation. It provided Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees with $30,500 in grants for immigration initiatives. 13 The Foundation awarded $35,000 in operating support to the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF). 12 The Y and H Soda Foundation has provided $30,000 in 2018, and $32,500 in 2017 to the San Francisco-based lobbying firm and immigration activist group OneJustice. 13

    Y and H Soda Foundation funded Oakland Based non-profit focused on immigration law, Freedom for Immigrants, providing a $75,000 donation. 13  In 2018, Freedom for Immigrants supported the controversial Non-Profit “Pueblo Sin Fronteras,” a far-left group which lobbies in favor or illegal immigration and organizes “migrant caravans” as a way to facilitate and increase illegal immigration. Pueblo Sin Fronteras claims that Freedom for Immigrants has directly funded the group, while Freedom for Immigrants denies this, claiming that it only raised funds for Pueblo Sin Fronteras. 14

    A $25,000 grant was given to the Oakland-based LGBT activism organization Brown Boi Project. 15  The organization promotes itself as a “community that supports the lives of masculine of center womyn (meaning gender non-confirming), queer, transmen, trans people of color and their allies committed to changing the way that communities of color talk about gender.” 16

    A $10,000 grant was issued in 2017 to left leaning Peace Development Fund for “Rapid Response Planning.” 13

    The Y and H Soda foundation made a $2,000 grant in both 2018 and 2017 to the Regents of the University of California for the Berkeley-based Haas Institute for a Fair and Inclusive Society. 13

    The Foundation provided $40,000 to the Movement Strategy Center in 2018 for the Bay Area Black Worker Center. 12

    In 2018, The Tides Center was given a $50,000 grant for its LeaderSpring initiative.  During the 2017 fiscal year, the Y and H Soda foundation provided the Tides Center with $82,000 in grants for a “Civic Engagement table,” among other purposes. 12

    Financial Statistics

    Total Assets

    Total Revenue

    Total Expenses

    YearTotal AssetsTotal RevenueTotal ExpensesFiling
    2024 $103,897,544 $9,138,763 $7,258,893 View
    2023 $99,759,601 $1,009,790 $7,594,835 View
    2022 $100,271,506 $473,380 $6,952,689 View
    2021 $110,844,391 $9,814,241 $8,261,508 View
    2020 $109,556,231 $-2,560,117 $8,508,868 View

    Prior year filings: 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011

    Expenses Detail

    Employee Compensation

    Highest Earning Employees

    EmployeeTitleTotal Compensation
    Luis ArteagaCEO$305,061
    Louise LangController$185,535
    Johnathan MoyProgram Lead$120,081
    Mary MeiProg Officer$100,613
    Sophia RodriguezProg Officer$60,613
    Alfred DossaDirector$40,000
    Judith A MurphyTreasurer$40,000
    James DyeSecretary$40,000
    Rosemary SodaVice Chairman$40,000
    Diana BermudezChairman$40,000
    William McLeodDirector$10,000

    Grant Activity

    All-time grants given statistics from Candid dataset:

    • Total Grant Value: $47,635,636
    • Number of Grants: 1,774
    • Number of Recipients: 625

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

    AmountYearFunderSubject
    $300,0002023 Centro Legal De La RazaWorkers' Rights Practice
    $300,0002022 Centro Legal De La RazaGeneral Operating Support
    $200,0002023 East Bay Community FoundationEast Contra Costa STRONG Fund
    $150,0002021 Immigration Institute of the Bay AreaGeneral Operating Support
    $150,0002020 Immigration Institute of the Bay AreaEast Bay Immigration Legal Services
    $150,0002023 California Reinvestment CoalitionPublic Bank East Bay
    $150,0002023 EAST BAY ALLIANCE FOR A SUSTAINABLE ECONOMYGeneral Operating Support
    $150,0002023 Hijas Del CampoGeneral Operating Support
    $150,0002023 ICA.FundGeneral Operating Support
    $150,0002023 MUJERES UNIDAS Y ACTIVASGeneral Operating Support
    $150,0002023 The Maven CollaborativeEast Bay activities
    $150,0002022 Community Financial ResourcesEast Bay Guaranteed Income Activities
    $150,0002022 East Bay Community Law CenterGeneral Operating Support
    $150,0002022 ICA.FundGeneral Operating Support
    $150,0002022 MUJERES UNIDAS Y ACTIVASGeneral Operating Support
    $150,0002022 Richmond Community FoundationEnsuring Opportunity Campaign
    $150,0002022 Rubicon Programs Inc.General Operating Support
    $150,0002021 EAST BAY ALLIANCE FOR A SUSTAINABLE ECONOMYGeneral Operating Support
    $150,0002021 East Bay Community Law CenterGeneral Operating Support
    $125,0002023 Monument ImpactELEVATE Concord Guaranteed Income Pilot
    $125,0002023 Sustainable Economies Law CenterExpansion of Worker Self-Directed Non-Profits in the East Bay
    $125,0002023 Urban Habitat ProgramLeadership Development and Organizing of Immigrant and Low-Income Residents of Contra Costa County
    $125,0002022 Monument ImpactGeneral Operating Support
    $125,0002020 Inner City AdvisorsGeneral Operating Support
    $120,0002020 Acce InstituteEast Bay Organizing

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

    Mentioned in this Article

    References

    1. “Our Founders” Y & H Soda Foundation. https://www.yhsodafoundation.org/our-founders
    2. “Why the pope has taken control of the Knights of Malta”. The Economist. https://www.economist.com/the-economist-explains/2017/02/07/why-the-pope-has-taken-control-of-the-knights-of-malta February 7, 2017.  Accessed October 10, 2019.
    3. “Y & H Soda Foundation Announces Luis Arteaga as its New Senior Program Officer” Northern California Grantmakers.  https://ncg.org/news/y-h-soda-foundation-announces-luis-arteaga-its-new-senior-program-officer. Accessed 24 May 2018.
    4. “Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax.” Guidestar.org. Accessed August 10, 2019, Part I Line 26(a)
    5. “Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax.” Guidestar.org. Accessed August 10, 2019, Part I Line 24(a)
    6. “Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax.” Guidestar.org. Accessed August 10, 2019, Part I Line 14(a)
    7. “Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax.” Guidestar.org. Accessed August 10, 2019, Part I Line 16(c): Statement 4.
    8. “Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax.” Guidestar.org. Accessed August 10, 2019, Part I Line 27
    9. “Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax.” Guidestar.org. Accessed August 10, 2019, Part VIII 2(c)
    10. Comments on Proposed Information Collection on 2020 Census to Department of Commerce, Philanthropy California 2019,  https://www.philanthropyca.org/node/113
    11. “Y & H Soda Foundation Announces Luis Arteaga as its New Senior Program Officer” Northern California Grantmakers. https://ncg.org/news/y-h-soda-foundation-announces-luis-arteaga-its-new-senior-program-officer May 24, 2019. Accessed October 10, 2019.
    12. “Grants – List of 2018 Grants” Y & H Soda Foundation. Page 3. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5511d040e4b0b2a9ab8dba4c/t/5ca680c553450a53329e419e/1554415813528/2018+Grants+Awarded.pdf
    13. “Grants – List of 2018 Grants” Y & H Soda Foundation. Page 4. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5511d040e4b0b2a9ab8dba4c/t/5ca680c553450a53329e419e/1554415813528/2018+Grants+Awarded.pdf
    14. Linthicum, Kate.  “Pueblo Sin Fronteras uses caravans to shine light on the plight of migrants — but has that backfired?” Los Angeles Times.  https://www.latimes.com/world/mexico-americas/la-fg-mexico-caravan-leaders-20181206-story.html December 6, 2018. Accessed 30 Oct. 2019.
    15. “Grants – List of 2018 Grants” Y & H Soda Foundation. Page 1. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5511d040e4b0b2a9ab8dba4c/t/5ca680c553450a53329e419e/1554415813528/2018+Grants+Awarded.pdf
    16. “Mission and Values” Brown Boi Project, http://www.brownboiproject.org/mission-and-values