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LA2050, in collaboration with our funding partners, is granting $2 million to the issues that LA cares about most!

There’s still plenty of time to put together a successful proposal for up to $75,000 in grant funding. As the June 23rd application deadline nears, our team is answering some of the most Frequently Asked Questions.

Q: How does this year's LA2050 Grants Challenge work?

A: This year's LA2050 Grants Challenge will unfold in three phases:

First, we asked Angelenos to vote for the issues that matter most to them, online from April 6th to May 8th, 2023.

 on May 15th, 2023 and open grant applications to organizations working in those areas.

Finally, we will evaluate all of the proposals in collaboration with SJP Los Angeles and, along with our Funding Partners, award this year's grants on September 28th, 2023.

Q: How can our organization apply for funding?

We accept applications from registered non-profit, for-profit, fiscally-sponsored, or governmental organizations serving Los Angeles County and its residents. Both new or existing projects, programs, or initiatives are eligible for funding, as long as your work impacts one or more of 

Q: What's different about this year's LA2050 Grants Challenge?

A: This year, we held public voting first and asked Angelenos to determine which issue areas would be open for funding. That means applicants will no longer need to receive votes for their proposals from the public. Instead, all of the proposals will be reviewed by external evaluators and winners will be awarded grants of either $50,000 or $75,000.

Q: Is my organization eligible to apply for funding through the LA2050 Grants Challenge?

A: We accept applications from registered non-profit, for-profit, fiscally-sponsored, or governmental organizations serving Los Angeles County and its residents. Both new or existing projects, programs, or initiatives are eligible for funding, as long as your work impacts one or more of this year's 13 issue areas.

Q: Is the Grants Challenge restricted to nonprofits?⁠

A: No! While the majority of our applications come from 501(c)(3) nonprofits, we also accept funding proposals from fiscally-sponsored, for-profit, and governmental organizations.⁠⁠

A: We define LA as all of Los Angeles County. Your submission may serve the broader county or zero in on a particular neighborhood, community, city, or region. It’s up to you!⁠

Q: What if our organization's work impacts more than one issue area?⁠

A: On the application, you will select a primary issue area from the 13 available for funding this year. Then, you will have the opportunity to indicate any secondary issue areas that your work impacts. Our evaluators will review your submission across all of the issue areas selected. If you are curious if your organization’s work is a good fit, we suggest that you review our 

blog post explaining each of the 13 issue areas

Q: What kinds of ideas are LA2050 looking to support?

A: We’re open! We get most excited about bold ideas that will produce measurable wins for LA. Both new and existing projects, programs, or initiatives are eligible for submission as long as the activities associated with the grant will be completed during the period from October 2022 to October 2023. There are no limitations on administrative or operational expenses.

Q: Our organization has a small social media following, would we still be competitive for this grant?

A: We do not take your organization’s social media presence into consideration and there is no preference for organizations with large social media followings. You can see what our evaluators will consider on our 

. Furthermore, because public voting is no longer focused on the proposals, we want to emphasize that your organization will not need to do any sort of social media promotion during the process this year.

Q: What resources are available to us to assist with completing our application?

A: The LA2050 team is here to help! We are hosting virtual Information Sessions and open Office Hours for those who would like to learn more about this year’s Grants Challenge, and we invite you to 

. For those with questions about the application itself and how it will be evaluated, we have published a full 

Thank you for reading! We hope you will consider putting in an application to this year’s LA2050 Grants Challenge. If you have any additional questions, you can always reach out to us at connect@la2050.org.

If you have questions, Team LA2050 has the answers! 

After 80,000 votes from almost 12,000 people, our LA2050 Grants Challenge Voting Pop-Ups have come to a close!

To recap the last few weeks, we have experienced and engaged in iconic communities around Los Angeles county. It was a home-run at the Dodger’s Stadium, and we transcended realms at the Museum of Latin American Art (MOLAA). We sang our hearts out at Mariachi Plaza, and we danced in the sunshine at Leimert Park. To end it all, we felt the ocean breeze at the Santa Monica Pier, and enjoyed all the fruits and vegetables – and arepas and spanakopita – the Hollywood Farmers’ Market had to offer.

. And keep reading below for recaps of our final seven, and check out 

to find out how to participate in the LA2050 2023 Grants Challenge and 

 on Tuesday, June 13, and Wednesday, June 21st.

We celebrated not two but four wins on April 28th and May 3rd, by being able to invite baseball fans to our LA2050 booth each time we attended a game thanks to LA2050 Grants Challenge funding partner, the Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation. Fans were able to vote on how to actively change Los Angeles into a better place for all, either at our voting booth, or via the QR codes printed on LADF raffle tickets sold throughout the club’s six-game homestand. On our first night there – see the video, embedded above – actor, writer, producer, and Dodgers fan Andrea Savage was on hand to help out.

Ever had free conchas for helping make LA a better place? More than 100 Boyle Heights residents and visitors can say they have! On a Saturday at Mariachi Plaza, amongst the sound of trumpets piercing the warm air, community members stood at our #LA2050GrantsChallenge pop-up booths to let us know which issues matter to them. As a small thank you, we shared nearly 100 pieces of pan dulce, plus our LA2050 X tote bags, with voters from in and around the 90033! One of our Youth Ambassadors, Aaron Diaz, also stopped by to re-up on voting materials! Some community mariachi band members even sang for us after they voted.

The community choir, in their first gig ever, sang, so angelically, "Let the sunshine in, on you." And guess what? The sun must have been as moved as the rest of the crowd. The midday marine layer melted away and the April 30th edition of the monthly Leimert Park Art Walk — always a hot spot — warmed right up.

The LA2050 team was on hand, posted up in front of the storefront of our partner for the day, Kaos Network, asking neighborhood residents and visitors alike to let us know what issues matter most. CD-10 Los Angeles City Councilwoman Heather Hutt stopped by, kids painted masks and learned about robotics, a dance class, and a drum circle were down the way, and vendors sold foods and wares.

To kick off the last 2023 LA2050 Grants Challenge Pop-Up Tour weekend, we took to the end of Route 66 and spent a sunny Friday at the iconic Santa Monica Pier. Joined by our friends from Heal The Bay Aquarium, scores of people hit the polls to "Vote For a Tote!"

After petting sea stars in the Heal The Bay touch tank, voters engaged with the issues at our three voting booths. A big thank you to the Heal The Bay team and volunteers, as well as all of YOU who Joined The Movement #ForABetterLA.

People come to MOLAA to look at meaningful and often beautiful works of art. On this recent day, those museum-goers also had the opportunity to see an additional vibrant and interactive form of art: our custom, colorful trio of LA2050 Grants Challenge voting booths. (Built for us by our friends at ArtCenter College of Design.)

We were even joined by a special guest: Montserrat Pineda, the Community Engagement Deputy from the Office of Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson. In addition to voting, younger visitors enjoyed coloring-in drawings of our various pop-up locations. We also handed out LA2050 X tote bags and temporary tattoos.

What better place to engage with Angelenos that care about their community, and end our 2023 Pop-up LA Tour, than at the Hollywood Farmers’ Market? Early risers grabbed pastries, families shopped for groceries, and hundreds of votes were cast here on the penultimate day of the 2023 LA2050 Grants Challenge.

To show our appreciation, we passed out market bucks and our LA2050 X tote bags. As many shoppers are already primed to care about where their food comes from, or supporting local businesses, it is no surprise that our team had many wonderful conversations about how we can improve Los Angeles, together. Thank you the Sustainable Economic Enterprises - Los Angeles for partnering with us and providing us with the perfect place to set up our voting booths at the corner of Ivar and Selma.

Recapping our final seven Grants Challenge voting pop-ups around LA!

Help us create a better LA! Take five minutes to vote for the issues you care about to receive $1 million via the LA2050 Grants Challenge.

Join the Movement

This report presents the data and social impact trends gathered through the 285 submissions received in the 2020 My LA2050 Grants Challenge — bright spots of hope and encouragement in stark contrast to the difficulties of this year.

LA2050 Blog

Bright Spots: 2020 My LA2050 Submissions Report