
Beginning
President Barack Obama grants Darryl Reed executive clemency — the first chapter of a public commitment to transformation and service.
Darryl Reed Foundation Presents
“Second chances create future leaders.”
Join a premier Bay Area cultural-philanthropy experience supporting mentorship, violence prevention, entrepreneurship, financial literacy and leadership development for young people throughout Northern California.

A Bay Area philanthropic institution built on transformation, service and measurable community impact — advancing youth development across Northern California.
Read the founder storyThe Foundation was created to translate one person's second chance into structured opportunity for thousands of young people. Its work concentrates on the outcomes that most reliably change a young person's trajectory — mentorship, leadership, financial literacy, entrepreneurship, conflict resolution and violence prevention.
White Lotus is the annual convening that resources the Foundation's year-round programming. It brings corporate leaders, community organizations and cultural stakeholders into one room around a shared commitment to Bay Area youth.
Bay Area youth face compounding pressure from economic dislocation, community violence and uneven access to opportunity. Sustained, measurable investment in mentorship and leadership development is one of the most durable regional responses available to corporate partners.
White Lotus is more than an annual entertainment event. It is a platform where corporate leaders, entrepreneurs, community advocates, cultural influencers, professionals and philanthropic supporters come together to strengthen youth outcomes and expand community opportunity across the Bay Area.

Founder, Darryl Reed Foundation. Oakland.
Darryl Reed is an Oakland native with a direct understanding of the communities most affected by the war on drugs. In 2016, President Barack Obama granted him executive clemency.
He used that second chance to build progressive, measurable community impact — founding the Darryl Reed Foundation, which now serves youth and families across the Bay Area through mentorship, entrepreneurship, financial literacy, leadership development and violence prevention.
“Transformation, accountability, service and long-term impact — translated into a Foundation that thousands of young people now stand on.”
Milestones
A path from clemency to community infrastructure.
President Barack Obama grants Darryl Reed executive clemency — the beginning of a public commitment to transformation and service.
The Darryl Reed Foundation begins serving Bay Area youth through mentorship, financial literacy, entrepreneurship and violence prevention.
Programming expands across 22 schools and community organizations, powered by 500+ annual volunteer hours.
The signature cultural-philanthropy platform returns to Mare Island Brewing Company on September 12, 2026 — targeting $400,000 to sustain and scale the Foundation's work.
Second chances create future leaders.
In September 2025, the Darryl Reed Foundation received a Solano County proclamation recognizing its service, leadership and community impact.
Signed by Supervisor Cassandra R. James on September 21, 2025 — recognizing the Foundation's service, leadership and community impact.
Additional civic recognition presented in acknowledgment of the Foundation's community work.

A horizontal journey through the moments that shaped the Darryl Reed Foundation — from clemency and community giving to youth mentorship, cultural gatherings and government recognition.

President Barack Obama grants Darryl Reed executive clemency — the first chapter of a public commitment to transformation and service.

The Darryl Reed Foundation is founded to advance youth development, community leadership and cultural expression across the Bay Area.

Annual toy drives and direct community giving become an early signature of the Foundation's presence across Northern California neighborhoods.

Structured mentorship, leadership and financial literacy programming launches — reaching youth across schools and community organizations.

Foundation programming expands to include conflict-resolution and violence-prevention work — meeting young people where community safety is most fragile.

The Foundation builds partnerships with schools and community organizations to embed mentorship and leadership pathways into everyday student life.

The Foundation's white-attire gatherings become a recognized Bay Area cultural moment — thousands convened around service and celebration.

A predecessor cultural gathering places Black excellence, artistry and philanthropy at the center of the Foundation's public identity.

Solano County issues an official proclamation recognizing the Foundation's service, leadership and community impact.

The 7th Annual White Lotus returns to Mare Island Brewing Company on September 12, 2026 — the year's public expression of a year-round mission.
Drag or scroll horizontally to traverse the Foundation journey.
Community changes when opportunity becomes visible.
Select a year to review Foundation milestones. Additional milestones will be added as verified.
The signature cultural-philanthropy platform returns to Mare Island Brewing Company on September 12, 2026, targeting $400,000 to sustain and scale the Foundation's year-round work.
Additional milestones will be added as verified.
Awards, civic proclamations and press coverage of the Foundation's community leadership.

Solano County proclamation honoring the Darryl Reed Foundation, September 2025.
In September 2025, the Darryl Reed Foundation received a Solano County proclamation recognizing its service, leadership and community impact.
Additional civic recognition presented in acknowledgment of the Foundation's community work.
The Darryl Reed Foundation works to improve the lives and outcomes of youth through mentorship, violence prevention, leadership development, entrepreneurship, financial literacy, conflict resolution and positive role modeling.
The Darryl Reed Foundation operates continuously across the calendar year. White Lotus is the annual expression of that work — the moment corporate partners, community leaders and cultural stakeholders publicly resource what the Foundation delivers every week.
Structured mentorship and leadership curricula that connect youth with role models across professional, cultural and civic life.
Confident, resourced young leaders prepared for the next stage of school, work and community.
Prevention programming and conflict-resolution workshops in partnership with schools and community organizations.
Safer schools, safer neighborhoods and durable pathways out of cycles of harm.
Applied entrepreneurship workshops that expose youth to real business fundamentals and Bay Area operators.
Young people who can imagine — and build — their own economic future.
Financial literacy sessions covering earning, saving, credit, investing and long-term wealth-building principles.
A generation entering adulthood with the language and habits of financial confidence.
Peer-based conflict-resolution training that equips youth to de-escalate and resolve disputes without violence.
Stronger interpersonal skills that translate into schools, families and workplaces.
Curriculum-aligned workshops delivered in partnership with schools and community organizations across the region.
Consistent, measurable learning experiences woven into the year-round calendar.
Family, neighborhood and civic engagement initiatives that surround young people with a supportive community.
Deeper community fabric and long-term family stability.
The Darryl Reed Foundation operates across three connected areas of charitable activity designed to support youth development, strengthen community relationships and provide direct assistance to families.
The 45% / 35% / 20% figures describe the Foundation's ongoing program activity across the year. They are separate from the 2026 White Lotus Campaign Commitment that 40% of White Lotus proceeds support year-round youth and community programming.
Reduce youth violence, encourage positive decision-making, promote entrepreneurship and help young people develop leadership and life skills that improve their opportunities for success.
The Foundation's Executive Director and volunteers conduct activities throughout the year in collaboration with schools, nonprofit organizations, community leaders and families.
Oakland and other San Francisco Bay Area communities.
The Foundation has worked with Elite School in Vallejo, California, where volunteers periodically provide entrepreneurship and financial-literacy instruction during the school year.
Foundation Program Activity Model — distinct from the 2026 White Lotus Campaign Commitment.
White Lotus increases public awareness, strengthens community and corporate engagement and raises funds that help support the Foundation's broader youth and community work. It is a major annual expression of a mission the Foundation delivers throughout the year — not the sole source of Foundation activity.
Corporate sponsors and community partners commit resources to the annual convening.
The event amplifies mission visibility and raises funds that support Foundation work.
Resources flow into mentorship, cultural engagement and direct-assistance programming across the calendar year.
Young people gain leadership, life skills and tangible support; families receive holiday and school-supply assistance.
Compounding social benefit across Oakland and the broader Northern California region.
Each partnership moves through the same disciplined pathway — capital resourced to programming, translated into youth opportunity, and compounded into community leadership across Northern California.
Committed capital, executive time and employee engagement from partner organizations.
Year-round mentorship, leadership, financial literacy, entrepreneurship and violence-prevention work.
Measurable skills, mentors, exposure and pathways for participating young people.
Young people re-enter their schools, families and neighborhoods as active leaders.
Compounding social and economic benefit across the Bay Area over time.
285 youth served since 2024 across 22 schools and community organizations, supported by 16 workshops and more than 500+ volunteer hours each year.
Youth served since 2024
Schools & organizations
Workshops delivered
Volunteer hours annually (≈200 from leadership)
Verified organizational data below. Fields under verification are hidden until confirmed and will be added as the Foundation completes documentation.
Darryl Reed Foundation
Emeryville, CA
82-3182347
170(b)(1)(A)(vi)
22
285
16
500+
Toy drives & school supplies
Mentorship & community
Approximately 80% working and middle-class professionals.

20,000+ cumulative attendees. 4,000 expected in 2026.
4,000
Guests in 2026
30–60
Approximately 80% working and middle-class professionals.

Guests arrive to a premium all-white waterfront tableau.

Attendees connect across culture, industry and generation.

Thousands gather in an all-white dress code — culture, connection and celebration.

A front-row moment of joy and celebration.
Across its history, Foundation events have brought together community leaders, business professionals, entertainers and multigenerational audiences in support of connection, awareness and charitable purpose.

Historical performance image from a previous Foundation event.

Vocalist performing at a previous Foundation event.

Featured performer engaging the audience at a previous Foundation event.

Recording artist on stage at a previous Foundation event.

Backstage: featured artists and community leaders in the traditional all-white attire.
References to previous entertainers and collaborators are historical. No individual listed is presented as a 2026 performer, sponsor or endorser unless separately confirmed.
A distinctive Northern California setting on the Mare Island waterfront: sweeping San Pablo Bay views, working maritime character, industrial architecture and public sculpture — a stage that feels unmistakably of the Bay.

Sweeping San Pablo Bay views and working maritime character.
A partnership with the Darryl Reed Foundation is evaluated on the same terms as any strategic corporate initiative — community impact, workforce engagement, executive visibility and long-term community positioning.
Support measurable youth development throughout Northern California through structured, year-round Foundation programming.
Volunteer, mentorship, leadership and community-service pathways designed for corporate employees and executives.
Meaningful participation alongside business leaders, community organizations and regional stakeholders across the Bay Area.
A continuing relationship with the Foundation and the communities it serves — not a one-night activation.
2026 Fundraising Goal
$400,000
40% of proceeds support year-round youth and community programming.
The 2026 White Lotus campaign supports both the production of the event and the Foundation's year-round work across mentorship, leadership development, violence prevention, entrepreneurship, financial literacy and direct community giving. This 40% programming commitment is distinct from the Foundation's overall program-activity model.
The next generation deserves more than hope.
Each partnership level below is presented as a distinct opportunity — with a defined purpose, ideal partner profile, community impact focus and strategic benefit architecture. Final terms are confirmed in each sponsor agreement.
The defining corporate voice of White Lotus 2026 and the Foundation's year-round mission.
Dedicated underwriter of the Foundation's leadership-development pathway for Bay Area youth.
Anchor underwriter of a defined community-impact focus area.
Underwriter of a signature moment of the White Lotus guest experience.
Corporate leadership presence supporting the Foundation's mission.
Community-level corporate support of the Foundation's work.
All naming rights, activation rights, logo use, exclusivity, speaking opportunities and deliverables are subject to an executed sponsorship agreement and applicable production deadlines.
Sponsorship Timeline
Two commitment deadlines shape 2026 inclusion.
July 31, 2026
August 21, 2026
Partners confirmed by July 31 receive the strongest opportunity for inclusion across advance campaign materials. Sponsorships confirmed after July 31 are subject to production schedules and inventory availability.
Direct your partnership to a specific area of Foundation programming. Values and per-participant impact will be published once verified program costs are supplied.
Underwrite hands-on entrepreneurship curriculum for Bay Area youth.
Underwrite financial-literacy programming across schools and community sites.
Underwrite structured mentorship cohorts and leadership development.
Underwrite prevention and conflict-resolution work in partner schools and neighborhoods.
Underwrite technology access and skill-building for participating youth.
Underwrite transportation and access so participation is never limited by logistics.
DRF can develop a tailored partnership connecting your organization’s community-impact priorities, employees, leadership and brand to a defined youth or community outcome.
Every partnership progresses through the same clear sequence — designed for executive review and legal clarity.
Review the partnership platform, community impact and levels of engagement.
Introductory executive conversation to align priorities and objectives.
The Foundation prepares a tailored partnership proposal for review.
Terms, deliverables and timelines are confirmed in an executed agreement.
Visibility, hospitality, employee engagement and community programming are activated.
A post-event partnership and impact report is delivered to your organization.
Direct answers to the operational, financial and governance questions raised by corporate partnership committees.
The Darryl Reed Foundation identifies as a public charity under classification 170(b)(1)(A)(vi), EIN 82-3182347.
The Foundation conducts youth mentorship, violence-prevention programming, public speaking, leadership and life-skills education, entrepreneurship and financial-literacy instruction, community cultural events, toy drives, school-supply donations and other community-giving activities.
White Lotus increases public awareness, strengthens community and corporate engagement, and raises funds that help support the Foundation's broader youth and community work.
Forty percent of proceeds support year-round youth and community programming. Additional campaign resources support the production, administration and fulfillment required to deliver the event and partnership experience.
Impact is tracked across youth served, participating schools and organizations, workshops delivered and volunteer hours contributed. Verified year-over-year figures are published in the Foundation Impact and Verified Impact sections.
Corporate partners access structured pathways for employee volunteering, mentorship, workshop facilitation and community-service days aligned to Foundation programming.
Each partnership is confirmed under an executed sponsorship agreement. Deliverables — including naming, visibility, hospitality and activation rights — are managed against defined production timelines and reported in a post-event partnership summary.
Custom partnerships begin with an executive conversation to align your organization's community-impact priorities, employees and brand with a defined youth or community outcome. The Foundation then develops a tailored proposal for review.
Partners can extend engagement through year-round program underwriting, ongoing employee volunteering, leadership participation and multi-year partnership agreements that compound impact over time.
Formal reports and partner materials are published here as they are finalized.
Full-year overview of Foundation programming and outcomes.
ForthcomingExecutive summary of partnership opportunities for corporate review.
ForthcomingPrior-year White Lotus recap and highlights.
ForthcomingBrand assets, imagery and approved language for partner communications.
ForthcomingShare a few details and Rasun Allah will follow up personally to schedule an executive conversation about aligning your organization with the Darryl Reed Foundation.