Greetings, Russell City Community – 

The Russell City Redress Fund is moving forward with two significant accomplishments this month. 

On February 17, 2026, the Hayward City Council approved a resolution authorizing an agreement with Philanthropic Ventures Foundation (“PVF”) to serve as fiscal sponsor for the Redress Fund.

With the announcement on February 23, 2026, by District 3 Alameda County Supervisor Lena Tam that she will contribute $100,000, the Redress Fund stands at $1.3 million. Supervisor Tam joins her four colleagues on the Board of Supervisors in supporting the effort to mitigate the harm suffered when Russell City was seized in the 1960s.

PVF brings established expertise in rapid, community-centered grantmaking and a strong administrative infrastructure to securely receive, manage, hold, and disburse pledged funds. This partnership represents an important step in implementing the Redress Fund.

As fiscal sponsor on behalf of the three contributing public agencies:

• PVF will receive all committed funds and hold them in a dedicated account as part of the Russell City Redress Fund.

• The Hayward City Manager will serve as the Authorized Agent for disbursement on behalf of the three public agencies. PVF will only disburse funds upon the City Manager’s recommendation, in partnership with the Redress Fund’s elected representatives.

• PVF will charge a 2% annual administrative fee, totaling approximately $26,000 deducted from the $1.3 million Redress Fund.

• PVF will issue direct payments to eligible recipients but PVF will not evaluate or approve applications.

• The City of Hayward and County of Alameda will screen, review, and approve applicants based on agreed criteria. The Alameda County Office of Education will defer to the City of Hayward and County of Alameda in those decisions.

• The agencies will defend and indemnify PVF from claims or litigation arising from creation of the Redress Fund or policy decisions related to eligibility.

• Consistent with IRS rules, PVF must state that contributed funds become the property of the Foundation and are subject to its exclusive legal control.

To date, the following public agencies have pledged contributions to the Russell City Redress Fund:

Alameda County Office of Education: $100,000

The City of Hayward: $250,000

Alameda County: $950,000

• $400,000 from the Office of Alameda County District 2 Supervisor Elisa Márquez

• $250,000 from the Office of Alameda County District 4 Supervisor Nate Miley

• $100,000 from the Office of Alameda County District 1 Supervisor David Haubert

• $100,000 from the Office of Alameda County District 5 Supervisor Nikki Fortunato Bas

• $100,000 from the Office of Alameda County District 3 Supervisor Lena Tam

For a total pledged contribution of $1.3 million

The Alameda County Board of Supervisors is scheduled to consider approval of the PVF agreement in April, while the Alameda County Office of Education previously approved PVF.

The Redress Fund’s working group will move forward with finalizing eligibility criteria and will prepare application materials, with the goal of launching the application process in the near future.

(*District 2 Supervisor Elisa Márquez, Hayward City Council Member Julie Roche, and Hayward City Council Member Angela Andrews are the elected officials within the working group, along with County and City staff members.)

Please direct questions or concerns to City Attorney Michael Lawson at Michael.Lawson@hayward.ca-gov or (510) 583-4455.