Before we bid farewell to 2023, we want to take a look back.

This was a special anniversary year for LA2050, as we launched our 10th LA2050 Grants Challenge and celebrated all that we have accomplished so far. We could not have done it without the support of our LA2050 community – our grantees, partners, friends, and social fam. Collective action and engagement have always been at the heart of our work, and 2023 was no exception. So, in that same spirit, we are proud to share some highlights from our year together.

In January, on the occasion of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, our President Tara Roth reached out to her friend Michael Tubbs to ask him about Dr. King’s vision for guaranteed income and how it relates to Tubbs’ ongoing work to end poverty. And, to provide Angelenos with their own options to honor Dr. King’s legacy on MLK Day, a recognized national day of service, we also compiled a guide with 19 different volunteer opportunities.

We launched a new LA2050 Events Board in February to share local events hosted by nonprofits, government agencies, cultural institutions, and other social impact organizations. Then, in celebration of Valentine’s Day, we released our first digital VaLAntine’s Day Cards in collaboration with KCRW. The cards were inspired by our love of Los Angeles and featured iconic local sites and scenes.

As we began our 10-year anniversary reflections in March, we released “Through the Lens of Social Innovation,” an analysis of previous LA2050 Grants Challenges prepared by Professor Christine Beckman and Claire Zhang. We also began preparing for the launch of our 10th LA2050 Grants Challenge, welcoming 140 Angelenos between ages 14 and 24 into the second cohort of the LA2050 Youth Ambassador program. Plus, we published blog updates from our 2022 Grants Challenge cohort, providing insight into the implementation of their winning programs, projects, and initiatives.

On April 6th, we kicked off our 10th LA2050 Grants Challenge with a huge celebration at Las Fotos Project. We also premiered our new short film, “Join the Movement,” which celebrated the origins of LA2050 and its accomplishments over the first nine years. The film then went on to win a Gold Telly Award and a Silver Shorty Impact Award. Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Business Journal named us as Los Angeles’ Nonprofit Organization of the Year, in the “growing” category. (Learn more about all of our awards.)

And, of course, we launched our 10th Grants Challenge voting period April 6th to May 8th. We introduced more than 50 voting outreach partners, expanded our voting form to include 11 languages, and launched a pop-up voting experience that transported colorful voting booths to 11 iconic locations across Los Angeles. Each location featured its own special guests, giveaways, and activities – from a free treat at Randy's Donuts to a wildflower hike at Theodore Payne Foundation and market bucks at the Hollywood Farmers’ Market. Our friend Andrea Savage joined us at Dodger Stadium and made this video.

In May, we closed the public voting period in our 10th LA2050 Grants Challenge. In total, we received more than 80,000 votes from almost 12,000 people, representing 94 percent of ZIP codes in Los Angeles County and participating in 11 languages. This was a 50% rise in the number of voters from the year prior. We shared the top-voted issue areas and opened up applications to organizations with ideas to make an impact. 

To start June, we hosted a panel for LA #TechWeek on Technology and Storytelling for Social Good in collaboration with Creative Visions Foundation. The panel was moderated by our president Tara Roth, and featured members of our LA2050 community as expert panelists including: Alexis Cabrera of 9 Dots, Laura Gonzalez of Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI), Sabra Williams of Creative Acts, and Paul Lanctot of The Debt Collective.

Also over the summer, in collaboration with our friends at Social Justice Partners Los Angeles, we began the difficult task of reviewing the 615 proposals we received to the 2023 LA2050 Grants Challenge – a record-breaking number. The submissions were added to our website’s LA2050 Ideas Hub, alongside all of the other ideas we received in previous years.

Every September, we celebrate the birthday of the City of Los Angeles and publish an original e-book. This year’s book, “Global Ideas For A Better LA,” featured the words of two dozen diplomats as well as leaders from the social impact community. Together, they shared concepts from abroad that could benefit Los Angeles, and also acknowledged international ideas that are already flourishing here.

As we closed the 10th LA2050 Grants Challenge, we announced that 42 organizations, including our own 15 grantees, would receive a total of more than $2.5 million. This accomplishment was made possible by the collaboration of six funding partners: Goldhirsh Foundation, Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, Snap Foundation, John N. Calley Foundation, Elbaz Family Foundation, and Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation.

We gathered to celebrate the winners at our LA2050 Grantee Showcase on September 28th. The event featured inspiring speakers like California State Senator Anthony J. Portantino, Los Angeles City Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez, and Sam Polk, CEO of Everytable, a social enterprise supported by the Goldhirsh Foundation.

Also in September, we collaborated with the American Democracy Summit to create the first-ever LA2050 Awards. Our president, Tara Roth, presented honors to three past winners of the LA2050 Grants Challenge, Sabra Williams of Creative Acts, David Levitus of LA Forward Institute, and Molly Ford on behalf of Laura W. Brill of The Civics Center, for their ongoing contributions to a more democratic, and just, society.

This fall, as we onboarded our newest grantees, we also bid farewell to our 2022 Grants Challenge cohort. ⁠These organizations have worked hard over the past year to implement their winning programs, projects, and initiatives to make Los Angeles better for all. From establishing safe routes to school for students to connecting low-income tenants to eviction defense, each of them give us so much hope for the future. ⁠⁠We will be sure to continue to follow their work, and we hope that you will too!

In November, we uplifted opportunities to make a positive impact in Los Angeles through donations, gifting, and volunteering. Our Giving Tuesday Match raised over $24,000 for local nonprofits from 138 donors. Our annual Social Impact Gift Guide showcased over 60 products and experiences from local nonprofits, sustainable makers, cultural establishments, and BIPOC-owned businesses. And, we curated a list of more than 100 local volunteer opportunities featuring LA2050 grantees, partners, and other social impact organizations.⁠ Bonus: We were also featured by the Los Angeles Times and LATimes 404.

Over our year together, we also shared digital resources and content to deepen your engagement with LA's social impact sector, including over 900 social impact job openings on the LA2050 Jobs Board and more than 500 virtual and in-person events on our LA2050 Events Page. In honor of our 10th LA2050 Grants Challenge, we embarked on a 10-week journey, sharing snapshots of our remarkable community over the years. Two of our social media campaigns – "Visions for LA" and "Angelenos for Change" – showcased advice and insights from our 2022 grantees. And, to help you get to know our region better, we published seven unique maps of Los Angeles, from outdoor picnic areas and skateparks to local historic sites.

Now, as we reflect on these achievements, our hearts are filled with love and gratitude for our incredible LA2050 community. None of this would be possible without you! We look forward to continuing our efforts to make Los Angeles the best place it can be in 2024. Connect with @LA2050 on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, YouTube, and LinkedIn for all the updates.

Cheers to another year of impact!