BPA is located in the diverse community of Oakland, California, part of the San Francisco Bay Area. Located in a city and a region that contain a diverse mix of ethnic and socioeconomic classes, maintaining ties to University of California at Berkeley, a premier university, and several other institutions of higher learning that promote intellectual thought, rooted in a community with a legacy of innovative policies and social movements, and centered near Silicon Valley, home to technological research and advances, working in Oakland is an ideal setting for a company that researches public and private sector policies and programs. It is no surprise to us that Oakland was considered to be one of the top ten best cities for businesses according to an annual survey of the Best Places in America for Business and Careers, conducted by Forbes magazine. Other websites related to Oakland and its vicinity include Oakland A's Official Site (Oakland's Major League Baseball team), Oakland Raiders, Oakland's City Center business and retail center, Oakland's newspaper, Oakland Tribune, and the San Francisco Chronicle.

Our Community Involvement

As a company, we are highly committed to contributing to this vibrant city and the Bay Area. Our research as well as our enthusiastic involvement in community service events reflect BPA's commitment to increasing social and economic opportunities. BPA staff are actively involved in a number of service opportunities in Oakland and the Bay Area. Past company service activities have included the following:

- Annual food drive for Alameda County Community Food Bank,
- Donating gently-used business attire to Wardrobe for Opportunity, an organization serving economically disadvantaged women,
- Participating in the Adopt-an-Angel program for San Francisco's at-risk youth through Family Service Agency,
- Participating in a recycling program that supports Oakland's AmeriCorps volunteers,
- Purchasing office supplies from Give Something Back, a company that contributes a percentage of their profits to community-based organizations,
- Volunteering at a local Oakland Unified School District school,
- Volunteering with refugees as English language partners for the Caregivers Job Training and Placement program, a vocational training program preparing participants for careers in the child care field, at the International Institute of the East Bay,
- Cleaning Lake Merritt, a bird sanctuary, lake, and park located across the street from BPA's office,
- Participating in Rebuilding Together and Habitat for Humanity (programs that provide volunteers to rehabilitate houses for low-income people), and
- Periodic donations of food and office equipment to those in need.

Additionally, BPA often matches staff donations to non-profit organizations involved in everything from leukemia research to a dance troupe that combines disabled and non-disabled performers. BPA staff are proud of our contributions to the city of Oakland and the greater Bay Area.