The faith community has historically been at the forefront of advocating for racial and economic equity, and it remains a crucial voice today. In 1993, The San Francisco Foundation created FAITHS (Foundation Alliance with Interfaith to Heal Society) — now a nationally recognized program — to enhance the work of faith-based organizations and congregations to organize and advocate for equitable policies and improve services and outcomes in their neighborhoods and the region.
FAITHS is now a multi-faith network of more than 600 congregations, faith-based agencies, and community organizations that address racial and economic equity issues in the five Bay Area counties that the foundation serves (Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, and San Mateo). FAITHS grantmaking and other program activities align with the foundation’s goals to ensure that every Bay Area resident has access to a good job, lives in a safe and affordable home, has a strong political voice, and can live in a community that provides real opportunity.
Our Focus
“Our liberation is bound together. We cannot achieve justice for some without justice for all.” ~ Alicia Garza
FAITHS convenes faith leaders, offers technical assistance, capacity-building training, and grants centering building voice and power to support greater racial and economic equity in the region.
FAITHS Community Partners Grant Program
FAITHS grants support programs that strengthen interfaith and race relations, increase civic and cultural participation, develop leaders, and provide community services to low-income residents and communities of color and programs addressing the needs of our communities: affordable housing, food insecurity, civic engagement (advocacy, integrated voter engagement, civic education), mental health and re-entry programs for systems involved community.
The FAITHS Community Partners Grant is closed and will re-open in Fall 2025. Current Application notifications will be shared by January 31, 2025. Please reach out to Sayron at sstokes[at]sff.org or Michelle at mmc[at]sff.org for any questions.
FAITHS Leadership Council (FLC) Meetings
The FAITHS Leadership Council comprises a diverse representation of faith-based leaders from the five Bay Area counties: San Francisco, Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, and San Mateo. These quarterly meetings provide a forum for training, information and resource sharing, and community building. Community leaders interested in participating are invited to register below. Meetings are conducted in a hybrid format, offering both online and in-person attendance options at the San Francisco Foundation.
Dates and registration for FLC Meetings in 2025:
June 5, 2025 – Register here
September 4, 2025 – Register here
November 6, 2025 – Register here
Stay connected! Sign up to receive emails with faith-based learning opportunities, stories about our community, inspiration and resources.
Trainings and Technical Assistance
FAITHS Leadership Council Meetings
FAITHS consists of a diverse representation of the Bay Area’s faith-based community leaders representing 5 counties: San Francisco, Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, and San Mateo. Our regular meetings bring leaders together for training, information and resource sharing, and community reconnection.
Community leaders who would like to join the FAITHS Leadership Council meetings can do so by registering below.
When available, register for upcoming FLC meetings:
- No meetings at this time; check back again later.
Questions? Email Sayron Stokes at sstokes[at]@sff.org.
OCCUR and FAITHS Program Virtual Workshops
These annual workshop series are designed to support faith-based and other non-profit leaders in creating communities of opportunity throughout the Bay Area. The trainings are FREE and equip participants with the skills they need to develop stable organizations, design impactful programs and build passionate teams. Sessions are presented in workshop settings and small group intensives. Individual coaching sessions are also available.
When available, register for upcoming OCCUR and FAITHS workshops:
- No workshops at this time; check back again later.
In partnership with
OCCUR, FAITHS provides capacity building and technical assistance workshops for Bay Area faith- and community-based organizations providing community services and civic engagement programs. These sessions focus on strengthening organizational and program effectiveness. For more information, visit
amodelbuiltonfaith.org or contact OCCUR at (510) 839-2440 or
info@occurnow.org.
THRIVE! FAITHS Master Class Series
Over the past two years, we have learned to pivot into a new normal. In the process, we’ve become transformational leaders. You know them. You see them daily in our faith-based and nonprofit organizations. Much more than a title, transformational leadership is a calling. It is said that “transformational leaders do not care about how they were called. They only care about what they are called to do.” Through the leans of a fixed vision, they inspire positive changes within an organization. They increase morale, lead to organizational innovation, resolve conflicts, build unity then help the team, united, to press forward.
The THRIVE! FAITHS Master Class Series II trainings draw on the knowledge of experts in their fields with decades of experience. Sessions will prepare nonprofit and faith-based transformational leaders to navigate key critical areas. They will inspire leaders to lean into the wind of turbulent times, to emerge whole, to press forward and to THRIVE!
When available, register for upcoming THRIVE! training sessions:
- No training sessions at this time; check back again later.
See the THRIVE! Master Class Series Resources Toolkit.
Watch recordings of past THRIVE! Master Class sessions on our FAITHS YouTube Playlist.
Civic Engagement
In partnership with the Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity, FAITHS provides trainings and policy briefings for its grantees and broader network. Through these trainings, faith- and community-based organizations learn how to successfully engage in nonpartisan voter registration, education and policy work that supports the foundation-wide focus on racial and economic equity.
