news

The Foundation Is Poured

posted on:
November 26, 2025
Subscribe to our weekly email newsletter!

Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat.

Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.
Jayla Thompson
November 26, 2025

There are moments in this work when everything slows down just enough for you to realize you’re not simply observing a shift,  you’re standing inside it.

Oakland Tech Week was one of those moments.

For seven days, the city pulsed with possibility. Not the hyper-polished, corporate brand of innovation but something grounded, cultural, and unmistakably Oakland. Rooms filled with organizers, creators, civic thinkers, technologists, and neighbors all imagining a future that includes everyone.

And this year, PosterChild wasn’t just present.

We were listening. Learning. Paying attention to what communities are actually asking for and how we can build the tools that help them be heard.

A Week Built With the Community, Not Just For It

What stood out most wasn’t the tech.
It was the people shaping it.

At panel discussions, meetups, and activations, attendees spoke openly about what excites them, what stresses them, and what they need technology to do differently. Whether it was a founder, a city employee, or a student, the themes were clear:

People want tools that:

  • Make storytelling effortless

  • Capture real experiences in real time

  • Reflect culture rather than sanitize it

  • Help organizations understand their impact, not guess at it later

These weren’t feature requests.
They were lived realities and the exact challenges PosterChild is built to solve.

Bottom-Up Innovation in Action

One moment in particular stood out during the AI for Civic Impact session.
A panel member lifted their phone and said:

“If I can take a picture of a pothole for the city, why can’t I share a moment that matters for my community just as easily?”

The room nodded, not because it was a clever question, but because it was true.

People already use technology for accountability.
But where’s the tool that helps them capture joy, pride, and impact with the same simplicity?

That question, that expectation,  reinforced what we’ve always believed:
Communities don’t need more complicated platforms.
They need intuitive ways to document what matters in the moment it happens.

HiiiWav: A Case Study in Community Energy

Among the most energizing activations of the week was HiiiWav’s space which was a celebration of culture, creativity, and community joy.

People didn’t just attend.
They reacted. Reflected. Shared.

Moments of nostalgia, connection, pride, and possibility spilled naturally across conversations and online feeds. PosterChild captured ten of those voices, not polished quotes, but real testimony from the people who were there.

For us, these weren’t “content assets.”

They were evidence.

Proof that:

  • When people feel something, they talk about it

  • When the environment feels welcoming, they share more

  • When organizations can capture that energy quickly, they gain insights they would have lost

HiiiWav didn’t just create a memorable activation.
They demonstrated product-market fit in motion.

Why These Signals Matter for the Future We’re Building

Oakland Tech Week sharpened a truth we’ve always held:

Innovation is strongest when it is community-authored.

But community-authored stories need infrastructure. Ways to be captured, understood, and amplified before they disappear into everyday noise.

That’s the gap PosterChild fills.
Not by replacing human voices, but by helping organizations hear them better.

What We’re Building Toward Now

Customer success isn’t about features,  it’s about understanding real people, in real environments, with real needs.

And this week gave us some of our clearest product direction yet:

  • Organizations need effortless, real-time ways to collect community feedback

  • Impact measurement shouldn’t rely on post-event detective work

  • People share most when the process feels natural, culturally aligned, and quick

  • Stories should move as fast as the moments they’re born from

These insights aren’t sitting in a notebook.
They’re shaping our roadmap.

The Foundation Is Poured: Now We Build With Intention

Oakland Tech Week wasn’t a typical conference.
It was a blueprint for a bottom-up tech ecosystem,  one where community truth guides innovation, not the other way around.

We’re leaving the week more committed than ever to building tools that honor voice, amplify impact, and help organizations understand their communities in real time.

The stories we captured are just the beginning.

The foundation is poured.
The insights are clear.
And the next version of PosterChild is being built with the communities who will use it and the people who power them.

22Beacon (formerly CSDC)

mission

To eliminate barriers to access, choice, and equity in under-resourced communities nationwide.

AfroPlay Oakland

mission

To achieve oneness and healing among all Black families in the African Diaspora by providing a sacred, supportive intergenerational gathering space that honors the Black experience and empowers Black families through fun, thoughtful, and educational Afrocentric programming.

Berkeley Public Schools Fund

mission

To champion equitable public education for students, families, and our community through grants, volunteers, and STEM programs that center equity for the benefit of all students.

Boys & Girls Clubs (BGCB)

mission

To enable all young people, especially those who need us most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring, responsible citizens.

C4ES (Exceptional Community Connections)

mission

To empower community-centered organizations by providing innovative solutions that enhance equity and social justice in urban areas.

Climate Health Now

mission

To organize and mobilize the California health community to advocate for equitable systems-level climate action that supports health for all.

Colorwave (The Colorwave Project, Inc.)

mission

To help reduce America’s racial wealth gap by connecting underrepresented professionals to opportunities across the innovation economy.

Community Catalyst

mission

To build the power of people to create a health system rooted in racial equity and health justice, and a society where health is a right for all.

DevColor

mission

To empower Black software engineers, technologists, and executives to help one another grow into industry leaders, advance careers, and transform the tech ecosystem.

Dr. Huey P. Newton Foundation

mission

To preserve and promote the legacy of the Black Panther Party through exhibitions, public programming, public art, education, and archival preservation.

East Bay Community Foundation

mission

To transform political, social, and economic outcomes for all East Bay residents by partnering with donors, social movements, and the community.

HiiiWAV

mission

To help Black musician-entrepreneurs of all genders benefit from their music, build lasting businesses, and uplift their communities by growing profitable, culturally rich, and socially impactful companies that create generational wealth and timeless music in the Black community.

Hispanic Heritage Foundation

mission

To identify, inspire, prepare, and connect Latino leaders in the community, classroom, and workforce, advancing education, workforce development, societal impact, and leadership with culture at the core.

Houston LEAD

mission

To prepare youth from underserved neighborhoods for success by providing life skills and exposure to new opportunities.

Hyde Park School of Dance

mission

To cultivate a love of dance and strength of body, mind, and character that will benefit students throughout their lives.

KaiXR

mission

To narrow the digital divide by giving students hands-on opportunities to in-demand technologies, preparing them for future careers, and fostering a culture of innovation, critical thinking, and collaboration.

Kingmakers of Oakland

mission

To reimagine systems of education, culture, and wellness while driving narrative change from deficit to asset-framing, celebrating Black boys' inherent greatness and improving educational and life outcomes from Pre-K to PhD through evidence-based programs and community storytelling.

New Media Ventures

mission

To invest in entrepreneurs and activists building progressive power in the United States by supporting media and tech startups that disrupt politics and catalyze societal change.

Oakland Ed Fund

mission

The Oakland Public Education Fund leads the development and investment of community resources in Oakland public schools so that all students can learn, grow, and thrive.

Oakland School For the Arts

mission

Oakland School for the Arts is a diverse and inclusive public 6-12 charter school that blends immersive, robust arts with comprehensive academics, providing integrated opportunities for collaboration, expression and personal growth.

SMASH

mission

To build a strong, diverse, and socially conscious tech workforce by leveling the playing field through academic learning and experiential engagement for high school and college students.

Shared Harvest

mission

To disrupt the student lending industry by offering innovative opportunities for professionals to earn debt relief while reinvesting in building stronger communities through service and volunteerism.

Stiles Hall

mission

To create pathways to self-determination, promote racial justice, democratic values, and uplift community, while welcoming students from all backgrounds.

Talk A Mile

mission

Talk A Mile elevates the voices of young leaders in conversations about policing, public safety and community. When people engage in 1:1 conversations while walking together, then they build bridges, connection and agency.

The Color of Autism Foundation

mission

Championing Inclusion by Design and Empowering the Autism Community. The Color of Autism Foundation is dedicated to fostering a more inclusive and equitable society where autistic individuals—particularly those from underserved communities—are empowered to thrive. It offers education and support to African-American families affected by autism, addressing inequities in healthcare, education, and societal acknowledgment.

The Hidden Genius Project

mission

To train and mentor Black male youth in technology creation, entrepreneurship, and leadership skills to transform their lives and communities.

Town Nights

mission

To provide consistent, safe spaces for community healing, restoration, and engagement, with the goal of reducing violence and supporting the well-being of all community members.

UC Berkeley

mission

To support and advance the mission of the University of California, Berkeley by encouraging private philanthropy, serving as a community ambassador, and advising campus leadership on specific issues.

Urban League of Greater San Francisco Bay Area

mission

The Urban League of Greater San Francisco Bay Area is focused on the economic empowerment, knowledge, access, and equity for African-Americans and other underserved communities. The organization aims to join other leaders, organizations, and corporations in the Bay Area in developing and continuing social, financial, housing, health, and professional programs, as well as policies that enhance and improve equity.

STories

Turn your community stories into predictable funding.

Ready to unlock your community stories and grow predictable funding? See how PosterChild can transform your nonprofit's impact.

The Foundation Is Poured: What Oakland Tech Week Taught Us About Community-Authored Innovation

Jayla Thompson
November 26, 2025
8
min read

There are moments in this work when everything slows down just enough for you to realize you’re not simply observing a shift,  you’re standing inside it.

Oakland Tech Week was one of those moments.

For seven days, the city pulsed with possibility. Not the hyper-polished, corporate brand of innovation but something grounded, cultural, and unmistakably Oakland. Rooms filled with organizers, creators, civic thinkers, technologists, and neighbors all imagining a future that includes everyone.

And this year, PosterChild wasn’t just present.

We were listening. Learning. Paying attention to what communities are actually asking for and how we can build the tools that help them be heard.

A Week Built With the Community, Not Just For It

What stood out most wasn’t the tech.
It was the people shaping it.

At panel discussions, meetups, and activations, attendees spoke openly about what excites them, what stresses them, and what they need technology to do differently. Whether it was a founder, a city employee, or a student, the themes were clear:

People want tools that:

  • Make storytelling effortless

  • Capture real experiences in real time

  • Reflect culture rather than sanitize it

  • Help organizations understand their impact, not guess at it later

These weren’t feature requests.
They were lived realities and the exact challenges PosterChild is built to solve.

Bottom-Up Innovation in Action

One moment in particular stood out during the AI for Civic Impact session.
A panel member lifted their phone and said:

“If I can take a picture of a pothole for the city, why can’t I share a moment that matters for my community just as easily?”

The room nodded, not because it was a clever question, but because it was true.

People already use technology for accountability.
But where’s the tool that helps them capture joy, pride, and impact with the same simplicity?

That question, that expectation,  reinforced what we’ve always believed:
Communities don’t need more complicated platforms.
They need intuitive ways to document what matters in the moment it happens.

HiiiWav: A Case Study in Community Energy

Among the most energizing activations of the week was HiiiWav’s space which was a celebration of culture, creativity, and community joy.

People didn’t just attend.
They reacted. Reflected. Shared.

Moments of nostalgia, connection, pride, and possibility spilled naturally across conversations and online feeds. PosterChild captured ten of those voices, not polished quotes, but real testimony from the people who were there.

For us, these weren’t “content assets.”

They were evidence.

Proof that:

  • When people feel something, they talk about it

  • When the environment feels welcoming, they share more

  • When organizations can capture that energy quickly, they gain insights they would have lost

HiiiWav didn’t just create a memorable activation.
They demonstrated product-market fit in motion.

Why These Signals Matter for the Future We’re Building

Oakland Tech Week sharpened a truth we’ve always held:

Innovation is strongest when it is community-authored.

But community-authored stories need infrastructure. Ways to be captured, understood, and amplified before they disappear into everyday noise.

That’s the gap PosterChild fills.
Not by replacing human voices, but by helping organizations hear them better.

What We’re Building Toward Now

Customer success isn’t about features,  it’s about understanding real people, in real environments, with real needs.

And this week gave us some of our clearest product direction yet:

  • Organizations need effortless, real-time ways to collect community feedback

  • Impact measurement shouldn’t rely on post-event detective work

  • People share most when the process feels natural, culturally aligned, and quick

  • Stories should move as fast as the moments they’re born from

These insights aren’t sitting in a notebook.
They’re shaping our roadmap.

The Foundation Is Poured: Now We Build With Intention

Oakland Tech Week wasn’t a typical conference.
It was a blueprint for a bottom-up tech ecosystem,  one where community truth guides innovation, not the other way around.

We’re leaving the week more committed than ever to building tools that honor voice, amplify impact, and help organizations understand their communities in real time.

The stories we captured are just the beginning.

The foundation is poured.
The insights are clear.
And the next version of PosterChild is being built with the communities who will use it and the people who power them.

Jayla Thompson
November 26, 2025
Our blog

Latest blog posts

Tool and strategies modern teams need to help their companies grow.
Design

Our Customer's Mission

How do you create compelling presentations that wow your colleagues and impress your managers?
Leandrew Robinson
January 14, 2026
min read
Design

Introducing Your New Fundraising Agent

How do you create compelling presentations that wow your colleagues and impress your managers?
Leandrew Robinson
December 2, 2025
8
min read