About Us

A suspension bridge with tall towers, backlit by the fading sun
Willie L. Brown Jr. Bridge (formerly SF-Oakland Bay Bridge - West Span), San Francisco County

The van Löben Sels/RembeRock Foundation is a private foundation based in San Francisco whose mission is to promote social justice in Northern California by means of legal services and advocacy. The Foundation views the law as a bridge to justice that can be used to right social wrongs, effect social change, and contribute to reducing human suffering.

The board and staff of the Foundation deplore our country’s history of systemic bias and discrimination against targeted populations that permeates every part of American society. We condemn all hate-based violence, state-sanctioned violence, and white supremacist intimidation which jeopardize our country’s democratic process and the full participation of all communities. We stand in solidarity with Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) – and, in this moment, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) – and all who have experienced the ugly realities of racism, hatred, and violence due to their perceived otherness.

We reject the racist practices embedded in our country’s institutions, especially those in our legal system, and align our actions with community partners who are working to dismantle systemic racism and abolish practices of unequal treatment and dehumanization of these individuals and communities. This, together with our core value of equitable access to justice, will continue to guide our work moving forward.

In 2020, the Foundation made several grants to lift up and recognize organizations fighting for racial justice through advocacy and systemic change. These particular grants were made to BIPOC-led organizations with whom we have a longstanding relationship and were made to support their work to build power and address systemic racism for the communities they serve. Visit our Grants List to see our grantee history.

To learn the process to apply for a grant, please refer to the Grants section of the website. To begin a grant application, please log on to apply.