55 Los Angeles Nonprofits Receive Nearly $3 Million Through Community-Driven LA2050 Grants Challenge

Collaborative of 12 local foundations celebrates innovative solutions; process began with 140,000 votes from the public about issues that matter most

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 8, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Fifty-five Los Angeles-area nonprofit organizations have received grants totaling nearly $3 million through the 2025 LA2050 Grants Challenge, an annual demonstration in participatory grantmaking and open call for ideas to build a more vibrant, thriving, and equitable Los Angeles.

The funded initiatives span from firefighting careers for formerly incarcerated individuals (Forestry & Fire Recruitment Program) to adult media literacy workshops (Los Angeles Reporting Collective), a free electric trolley system in San Pedro (Downtown San Pedro Community Foundation), a Magic Soil Bus educating youth about reuse (LA Compost), and housing assistance for families displaced by the Eaton fires (Union Station Homeless Services).

LA2050 is an initiative of the Goldhirsh Foundation. This year's LA2050 Grants Challenge theme, "LA, Together," proved especially resonant following the devastating wildfires that struck the region in January. The funded initiatives reflect the same spirit during and since of resilience, communal care, and collective action.

"This has not been an easy year for Los Angeles," said Goldhirsh Foundation President Tara Roth, whose own family was displaced for seven months by the wildfires. "The Goldhirsh Foundation's commitment to experimentation, collaboration, and responsiveness to the needs of the community remains stronger than ever."

In the LA2050 Grants Challenge model, Angelenos drive funding decisions through a three-phase process. First, nearly 140,000 votes were cast by community members on the issues that mattered most to them. Then, a record-breaking 1,182 organizations submitted proposals addressing the 10 highest-priority issues identified by voters. (For the fourth consecutive year, "affordable housing and homelessness" was the top-voted issue.) Lastly, all of the proposals are evaluated in collaboration with SJPLA and Grants Challenge funding partners.

A complete list of all of this year's grants is available here.

Funders Collaborative

The nearly $3 million in total funding comes from a collaborative of a dozen Los Angeles-area foundations led by the Goldhirsh Foundation (contributing $1,000,000), with additional support from The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation, Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation, Snap Foundation, John N. Calley Foundation, Elbaz Family Foundation, R&S Kayne Foundation, Fox Foundation, and first-time participants Brunswick Foundation and OpenAI Academy.

Celebration and Recognition

Grant recipients gathered this morning at The Huntington for the LA2050 Grantee Showcase, joined by civic leaders including Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger, and California State Senator Ben Allen, who each delivered keynote addresses, and U.S. Congresswoman Judy Chu, who shared a video. Bloomberg's Sarah McGregor served as emcee, while Snap Foundation executive director Joel Arquillos moderated a panel featuring previous LA2050 Grants Challenge recipients (Lost Angels Career Center, LA Más, Birthworkers of Color Collective, and Grid110).

The program included presentations by teenager Rummy Goodyear, founder of The Seed Bomb Project, and two LA2050 Youth Ambassador leaders, Keiko Rakin and Samuel Avendano, representing the more than 700 young Angelenos who have participated in this civic engagement and leadership development program. Youth Ambassadors also play a hands-on role in grantmaking for several participant foundations – reviewing proposals, deliberating in committees, and helping to select grant recipients.

Expanding Impact Beyond Grants

The Goldhirsh Foundation also announced a pilot leadership development program, where seven nonprofit executives received week-long residencies in Nosara, Costa Rica, designed to foster innovation and collaborative problem-solving away from daily operational pressures.

The Goldhirsh Foundation further announced that nearly 300 impact organizations have now received free AI (artificial intelligence) consulting, training, and workshops from the Foundation's AI EIR (executive-in-residence) and our partnership with OpenAI Academy.

Beyond financial support, the Foundation provides grantees with technical assistance, networking opportunities, and ongoing mentorship – recognizing that sustainable impact requires more than funding alone.

Supporting Quotes

"The Broad Foundation is proud to join LA2050's community-powered vision and grants challenge to support innovative projects in civic and media literacy, and to expand accessible pathways to good jobs," said Suzy Jack, chief strategy officer, The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation. "These efforts equip Angelenos – especially young people – with the tools to participate and thrive."

"Congratulations to this year's LA2050 Grants Challenge winners," said Joel Arquillos, executive director, Snap Foundation. "Your bold, purpose-driven work embodies the power of community and creativity to lift up Angelenos across all of Los Angeles County. At the Snap Foundation, we believe that opportunity should be available to everyone, regardless of background, and that supporting underrepresented young people in forging their own creative journeys is how we catalyze a brighter, more equitable future together."

"We are committed to helping youth and young adults thrive in their careers and communities," said Christie Cardenas, program officer of the Opportunity Youth initiative at the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation. "Partnerships with peer funders like the Goldhirsh Foundation and community organizations are essential to driving meaningful change for young people. Congratulations to the inspiring organizations recognized through the LA2050 Grants Challenge."

About LA2050

LA2050  is an initiative of the Goldhirsh Foundation, driving and tracking progress toward a shared vision for the future of Los Angeles. LA2050 has been named Nonprofit Organization of the Year (Growing) by the Los Angeles Business Journal and received various national awards. We are centered around five unique goals that in 2050 Los Angeles will be the best place to learn, create, play, connect, and live.

About the Goldhirsh Foundation

The Goldhirsh Foundation seeks to advance human life and well-being, and catalyze human potential. We achieve this by connecting the best emerging innovations with the financial, social, and human capital to make them thrive. We think of ourselves as a fund for social good.

SOURCE Goldhirsh Foundation