Direct Public Offerings (DPOs) -  A revolutionary approach to raising money in challenging times without Angels, VCs, or Banks

Friday, October 29th
11:30am PT
2:30pm ET

 Register here!

Presented by
Jenny Kassan, CEO, Cutting Edge Capital
Jason Gore, Partner, Green Ladder Funding
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 The initial presentation of this topic on 9/27 in Berkeley was so popular that we decided to offer it again for those who couldn’t attend and those who just want more!
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A Direct Public Offering is a process for companies -
but especially green, sustainable, and other value-driven companies - to raise capital from like-minded investors.

Most entrepreneurs seek financing from banks, VCs, and angels. While these funding sources can work for some companies, they can also be problematic (we’ll briefly discuss why at this event).

There’s a better way. In this knowledge-packed event, you will learn how to raise money using a little-known set of state and federal laws which allow companies to advertise and market offerings directly to the public.

Just as the Obama campaign illustrated that it is possible to raise millions from individuals rather than relying on large corporate donors, entrepreneurs are using Direct Public Offerings to raise large sums from many small investors.

The ability to advertise directly to the public makes it possible for both startups and existing companies to reach affinity investors and raise money faster and cheaper than resorting to banks, angels, or venture capitalists, while staying true to their mission and values. And the best part is that you maintain control of your company and the funding process.

In this 1-1/2 hour webinar, with time for Q&A, you will learn practical rubber-meets-the-road tools to:
• Reach a new, untapped pool of high-probability investors
• Structure your deal with 3 insider tricks-of-the-trade you won’t learn anywhere else
• Close investors in 5 working days by making an investment offer that investors can’t refuse

If you have a green, sustainable, or triple-bottom line business, and need capital to implement or expand it, this webinar may reveal a new avenue for you to successfully raise capital.

Not only did OneCalifornia Bank win a Best of the East Bay Award, but so did some of our Oakland Unwrapped members!  Congratulations to our fellow Best of the East Bay Winners on Oakland Unwrapped!

Oakland Museum of CA: Best Face Lift

Oaklandish: Best Locally Made Kids’ Products; Reader’s Poll: Best Locally Made Products; Reader’s Poll: Best Men’s Clothing; Reader’s Poll: Best T-Shirts

Pendragon Books: Reader’s Poll: Best Book Store

Pro Arts Gallery: Reader’s Poll: Best Arts Organization

Yoshi’s Jazz Club: Most Balanced Kid’s Meal

Check out these and other winners at the Best of the East Bay Party on August 6th in Jack London Square!

The OneCalifornia Foundation staff continues to search for fun and unique items listed on Oakland Unwrapped!  Here are some of our favorites for the month of July:

Shea Butter Cream from Skincare by Feleciai

This smooth shea butter cream scented with lemon, orange and notes of sweet basil is a must have.  Skincare by Feleciai is all natural and handcrafted with love in Oakland.

Glass Pendant from Bridgland Studios

Check out this beautiful orange, purple, and pink disk from Bridgland Studios.  The color selection is unique with a striking result and the design is gorgeous.

Memberships at Chabot Space & Science Center

Searching for something fun to do this weekend? Visit Chabot Space & Science Center, which hosts events and exhibitions for people of all ages. And don’t forget to visit the observatory-in the afternoon, you can view the sun, moon, or Venus from the telescopes, and at night, your view of the sky is spectacular. Families looking for a fun outdoor adventure should check out the new family/group overnight event, Slumber with the Stars.  Memberships are available at the Center and online.

Find these and other cool items on Oakland Unwrapped!

On Friday, May 14th, Oaklanders celebrated the people and businesses that make the city great at OneCalifornia Foundation’s 4th Annual Oakland Indie Awards.  Hosted in partnership with the East Bay Express, the annual awards program is a celebration of all things Oakland and an opportunity to highlight the positive social and environmental impact of Oakland’s independent businesses and artists. The program was kicked off by keynote speaker Michael Kieschnick, Co-Founder, President and CEO of CREDO Mobile / Working Assets. 

The 2010 Indie Award Winners Are:

Neighborhood Dynamo: Uptown Body and Fender, a woman-owned body shop that focuses on the emotional well-being of its customers and hosts community events and fundraisers free to local non-profits at its stunning body shop in Oakland’s Uptown district.

Newbie: Snap Judgment, the new Oakland-based NPR program and multi-media company that offers a new voice in storytelling, showcasing Oakland’s diversity and telling stories that “drop listeners into another person’s skin”.

Youth Empowerment: Oaklandish, the extremely popular design and screen-printing company that celebrates all-things Oakland through its apparel and supports the city’s youth through innovation award grants.

Pillar: Peerless Coffee, the 86-year-old family-owned specialty coffee company that provides specialty blends to some of the Bay Area’s most esteemed restaurants, offers scholarships to Berkeley students, helps develop the communities that grow their coffee, and was one of the first businesses to be certified green by the Alameda County Green Business program.

Innovator: Natural Home Cleaning Professionals, the eco-friendly co-op that provides healthy worker-owner cleaning employment opportunities for immigrant women in Oakland and the Bay Area.

Ripple Effect: BayVAN and Compound Gallery, the arts organizations that founded the nationally-recognized Plaid Friday, the independent business’ answer to Black Friday that encourages people to do their holiday shopping at local indie businesses.

Greenie: Ryan Duke, an independent industrial designer that creatively re-uses reclaimed materials to build essential products to improve lives including refugees in the U.S. and individuals in developing countries.

Oakland Soul: Joyce Gordon Gallery, the downtown-Oakland based commercial fine art gallery that seeks to open doors and share the perspectives of the Bay Area’s diverse artist population, as well as those of international artists.

Please visit http://www.oaklandindieawards.com/ for more information about the winners and for pictures!

In addition to seeing the winners being announced and awarded, party guests sampled food, wine, chocolate and beer from as many as 30 food producers and restaurants, explored a selection of locally-made items from over 50 artists and retailers, and thanks to the generosity of DJ Mama L, listened to music from Oakland musicians, past and present. 

Thank you to everyone that came out to celebrate with us and we’ll see you at the 5th Annual next year!!

There are so many different and unique stores on Oakland Unwrapped that sometimes it’s hard to know where to start browsing for gifts!  To give you an idea of the great products that are on Oakland Unwrapped, and to get you in the browsing mood, may we suggest some of our favorite Oakland Unwrapped items:

Courier Bag from Haiku–A Courier Bag with Flair

We love this bag because it has lots of space, lots of pockets, and a cozy sleeve to secure a laptop. It doesn’t look like every other messenger bag out there - it’s got a little feminine flair (while still durable and super functional).  They have purses wallets and other bags, too. From Oakland-based Haiku Bags .

Cards from Volta Press–U N I R O-S-M

Adorable letter press cards to affectionately send a someone special a smile! We love Volta Press for their creative, one of a kind cards, stationary, and invitations. They also have fun items for Dads and Grads!

Crunchy Foods Biscotti di Suzy–Cranberry Almond Biscotti

These biscotti, while still nice and crunchy, are fresher than anything you’ll find in the stores, and come in many yummy flavors.  Cranberry Almond has a nice vanilla cookie flavor without being overly sweet, with pairs nicely with tart cranberries and crunch almonds.  Perfect for your tea, crumbled over ice cream, or right out of the box!

L’Amyx Tea Bar–Organic English Breakfast

If you’re going to have your biscotti, you have to have your tea-and English Breakfast isn’t just for breakfast anymore!  L’Amyx makes the best cup of English Breakfast I have ever had, hands-down.  Enjoy a steaming cup in the morning or afternoon, or brew it and pour it over ice for refreshing homemade iced tea.

Find these and other fun items at Oakland Unwrapped!

There are ways to avoid the mall this holiday season, support local stores and artists, and still buy gifts for everyone no your list.  Oakland Unwrapped, in collaboration with Jack London Square, ProArts, adn Oakland Grown, is putting on a “mall-ternative” shopping event, Holiday Buy Night, on Thursday and Friday, December 10th and 11th, from 5 to 10 PM.  From pet lovers to food lovers, fashionistas to athletes, women, men, children, and everyone in between, Holiday Buy Night promises to have something for everyone on your list.

If you need a shopping break, be sure to check out the music and live entertainment going on throughout the evening.  Have the young ones check out the kids section for games, arts and crafts, and a movie.  And if you get hungry or thirsty, be sure to check out the “food court” at the event.  Restaurants from Jack London Square will be selling food, including Kincaids, Cocina Poblana, Ben and Jerry’s, and others.  Awaken Cafe will provide coffee and hot chocolate and Numi and L’Amyx will provide hot tea to keep you warm and alert while shopping.  There will also be a beer and wine bar, featuring the East Bay Express’ holiday lager!  This is one shopping event you won’t want to miss this December!

Save the date!  Add this event to your Outlook Calendar here.

Interested in volunteering?  See below:

In the world of gift giving, a growing trend is to give a gift certificate instead of an item.  Be it a gift certificate to a restaurant or coffee shop, a bookstore or clothing store, gift certificates allow the recipient to buy what they want or to spend some time out with a friend or loved one of their choice.

This holiday season, if you are thinking about getting a gift certificate from a business in the East Bay, the first place you should check out is the new East Bay Express eDeals online store.  The East Bay Express launched their eDeals store last month, featuring gift certificates from independent businesses that have been donated to the weekly paper.  To spread the wealth, the East Bay Express has started selling some of these popular gift cards and certificates at their new online store at 25 to 50% off regular prices.  Gift certificates are available for all sorts of businesses, including clothing stores, spas and body product shops, tickets for local holiday events, sporting equipment stores, local restaurants and eateries, and more! 

This is a great way to support the East Bay Express (a weekly, FREE newspaper) and get diverse gift certificates for family and friends at a discounted rate!  New gift certificates are added all the time, so keep checking out the East Bay Express eDeals website for more.

To find this store and other Oakland-based stores online, shop at oaklandunwrapped.org.

Oakland Unwrapped would like to introduce you to the latest additions to the online marketplace–just in time for the holidays!

Bird vs. Bird Designs: hand made purses, bags, and magnets from salvaged materials, featuring original artwork

bubbles and boo: hand sewn fabric tote bags and buckets, children’s clothing, and more!

bylee design: a visual communications design studio offering its service as well as original cards, stationary, and more

Celebrity Poodle Jewelry for Humans: fabulous jewelry (for fabulous humans) with a focus on the Glam Rock scene and a bit of the Hip Hop world

Dippity-Doo-Da Dip Mixes: a flavorful mix of herbs and spices to make outstanding dips for your next party

Found Treasures: jewelry, magnets, and mirrors sold by Oakland Artisan Marilyn Bookbinder

katoPop co.Op: unique handmade jewelry and fine art, using upcycled and refurbished materials

Continue to check back to see what other unique Oakland stores have been added to the marketplace!  www.oaklandunwrapped.org

OneCalifornia Foundation works closely with Oakland Grown, the East Bay Express, Buy Local Berkeley and the Sustainable Business Alliance on a campaign called the Indie Revolution.  Each month offers a different theme with ideas to help revolutionize our economy and celebrate our community with individual choices.  It provides people with ideas and tools to support local indpendent businesses and aritists.  October was Made in the East Bay month, and we thought we’d share it with you.  You might be suprised by what is made right here in our neighborhood!

Brought to you by Buy Local Berkeley, Oakland Grown, Sustainable Business Alliance and the East Bay Express…

Dear Indie Revolutionary,

We’ve spent this year exploring many ways to change the world through small personal economic decisions and actions.  Many of these actions involved shopping at locally-owned stores and with local artists.  This month, we focus on items that are actually MADE right here in the East Bay.  

We residents and business owners can extend our impact on the local economy by not only focusing on where we buy, but also where products are made. Buying products made here not only reduces the carbon footprint made in transit to you, but also helps contribute to variety of job types in the East Bay, including jobs that may suit those without a high school or college degree, and or those who are not English proficient.

So… in this October issue, we touch on a few industries and a few interesting manufacturing businesses in our neighborhood.

Industries – Now and Then

Here in the East Bay, we’ve moved from the WWII era of shipbuilding, automobile manufacturing, and canning to scooters, skirts, and raw organic granola. Oakland, once a major exporter of beer, finds a young brewmaster ready to bring that era back.

The East Bay has an illustrious industrial past, as one of the largest ship building regions in the world. during WWII.  An industry that included women, helped start the first HMO (by Henry J. Kaiser), and let to a bustling auto industry in Oakland, once known as the Detroit of the West. 

While the region doesn’t produce cars anymore, and it isn’t centered around building warships, it does still offer a variety of smaller businesses focusing on transportation, and benefitting from being near a larger port.  Several  smaller businesses in the area build smaller boats, boat parts, and aircraft equipment.  And new businesses are cropping up to handle more local and sustainable transportation needs, such as bikes and scooters.

Similarly, the East Bay’s current strength in food production harkens back to that same era when our proximity to agricultural land, orchards, and the port made canning Oakland’s second-most valuable war contribution. 

Many people know that several large corporations like Safeway, Dreyers, Clorox and Cost Plus World Market have corporate headquarters here in the East Bay.  But we thought we’d share a small number of interesting, independent businesses actually producing things in our neighborhood.  And we’ll focus on items you can buy yourself, so when you have a choice, you can choose their products.

Fashion

The fashion industry in the East Bay is quite bustling, and incorporates a wide variety of jobs, including models, photographers, event planners, promoters, designers, manufacturers/sewing facilities, to name a few. Here are some locally-made fashions you can buy, next time you’re in the market:

Baby and Children’s Clothing 
Biscotti (Malia Obama’s inauguration dress was from Biscotti)
Mariposa Baby
Jasper Hearts Wren
 

Women’s Clothing
Babette  
Cari Borja
Says Who
Verrieres & Sako
5ft2in

Makeup
100% Pure
Just Glam

Bags
Haiku Bags
Elbow Grease Designs

Watches & Jewelry
Youngblood Timepieces          

Specifically Sustainable
Blue Sky Biofuels
Fwrap
Lucid Design Group

Technology and Web Businesses 
Pandora
Elfster
Livescribe, Inc.           
Wine Commune.com
Drivers Ed.com

Home / Furniture     
Jason Lees
Berkeley Mills
Swerve Co
Metro Lighting   
Wooden Duck
Mediums to Masses
Vertical Home Gardens           

Musical Instruments 
DaSilva Ukeleles          
Ervyn Somogyi Guitars
Steven Faulk Guitars

Sporting Goods and Accessories 
TruKid Skincare for the Active Kid
Electric Motor Sport Motorcycles
Fly Scooters
Xtracycle
Sheila Moon Athletic Wear
Comet Skateboards

Food, Seeds, and Herbs
Fortune Cookie Factory
DELIZIA Olive Oil
Voila Juice
Food Mill Peanut Butter
No Cookie Vegan Cookies
Hodo Soy Beanery
Glow Mama Drink
Premier Organics Nut Butters
Sweet Maria’s home coffee roasting supplies
Blue Bottle, Peerless, Mr. Espresso coffee & machines
Clif Bars
Tofu Yu
Mayway Herbs
Kitsawa Seeds
Gu Energy Gel

For more local foods, and various local Wines and Beers, see last month’s article…

Artisan and Handmade in the East Bay
The list above focused on small to large scale manufactured items.  However, the bay area hosts a huge variety of artisans, home-based businesses making wonderful, unique things, like re-purposed clothing, jewelry, bath and body care, silk screen clothing, hats, housewares, fine art and so much more.  To find some of these, we recommend you check the following sites:

Buy Local Berkeley
Oakland Unwrapped!
Rock Paper Scissors Collective
Feria Urbana
DAI Style Lounge
ProArts Gallery

This Made in the East Bay list is part of the 2009 Indie Revolution - a year-long campaign to support local independent businesses and artists in the East Bay. A collaboration of Oakland Grown, Buy Local Berkeley, East Bay Express, and the Sustainable Business Alliance.

Tell Us About Your Experience in October and Stay Eligible to Win the $5800 Prize
To comment on your participation for these months and be eligible for $5800 in prizes, go to http://indierevolution.wordpress.com

Amy Thomas, owner of Pendragon, for the East Bay Express Indie Revolution

We have recently profiled new, up-and-coming small businesses in Oakland, many of which sell exclusively online.  But Oakland is also home to small, independent businesses with storefronts that have been around for years, some even decades.  These are the stores that you grow up with, that add character to your community and childhood memories.  They are also the stores that set examples for other small businesses in how they treat their employees and serve their clients and community.

Pendragon Books in the Rockridge neighborhood is one of these independent businesses.  Pendragon has been in its same location for nearly forty years.  They have been there so long that the children who used to come with their parents to check out the books continue to come back as adults with their own children.  Many staff members have also grown up with the independent bookstore-several have worked for Pendragon for a decade, some even two decades.

Having been in the independent book business for so long, Pendragon knows a thing or two about operating a successful small business that is competitive with the services offered at any chain bookstore.  All staff members are trained to do everything in the store, from helping customers find a book to buying high-quality used books.  Staff members also earn a living wage and get full benefits.  This partly explains why so many have stayed with Pendragon for so long, but it also demonstrates Pendragon’s commitment to sustaining small businesses.  As Amy Thomas, Pendragon’s owner, says, the store is putting its money where its mouth is in terms of advocating for supporting small businesses.

Many new customers come to Pendragon unaware of the top-notch service they can get at an independent book store.  Pendragon’s shelves are well stocked with a wide variety of titles, both new and used, and anything that isn’t in its stockroom can be ordered and shipped to the store within a few days.  Their prices are comparable to the ones you would see at a big book store.  Pendragon’s staff is also knowledgeable about the books they offer, and can suggest book titles and recommendations the way staff at a big book store cannot.

But Pendragon is more than just a bookstore in Oakland; it acts as an engaged member of the community.  Pendragon features local authors and sells beautiful gift cards, many designed by local artists.  It gives discounts to book groups in the area.  It donates books and gift certificates to local libraries and schools.  It is an active member of the American Booksellers Association and supports national literary events, such as Banned Book Week and National Novel Writing Month.

Pendragon, while a stalwart, is also changing with the times.  They have greened the water filtration system in their store and recycle all their packaging materials.  They also buy and sell used books, which is, as they say, perhaps the greenest thing they do.  They also sell all their books and products online, so you can browse their book collection from the comfort of your own home!  To shop online at Pendragon Books and to learn more about their role as an independent bookstore in Oakland, check out their website.