In collaboration with our funding partners, LA2050 is granting an estimated $3 million to the issues that LA cares about most.

Now through June 6th at 5:00 pm (PT), non-profit, for-profit, fiscally-sponsored, or governmental organizations serving Los Angeles County can apply for up to $75,000 in funding via this year’s LA2050 Grants Challenge.

The LA2050 Grants Challenge is an open call for ideas to make Los Angeles County the best place to connect, create, learn, live, and play. Since 2013, we’ve given more than $20 million in grants to local impact organizations and supported hundreds of winning ideas to make our region better for all.

During the voting period, more than 21,000 Angelenos cast almost 140,000 votes for what matters to them – now, we’re looking for the best ideas to make an impact on those top-voted issue areas, as well as those sponsored by our funding partners.

Curious if your organization’s work is a good fit? Below, take a deeper dive into the 12 issue areas open for grants this year and learn more about what we’re looking for.

Keep in mind: we are defining each of these issue areas expansively. These descriptions are intended to spark imagination but do not capture all of the ideas that are eligible for submission. We invite you to be creative as you consider how your organization might impact one or more issue areas.

Access to Tech and Creative Industry Employment – Selected by voters, and sponsored by the Snap Foundation!

Los Angeles is home to thriving tech and creative sectors but securing employment in those areas can be more difficult for some groups. We are looking for submissions that support access to tech and creative industry employment for groups that are traditionally underrepresented – including women, Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color (BIPOC), people with disabilities, and LGBTQ+ Angelenos. This can be accomplished through internships, educational opportunities, training, networking, job placement, and more.

+ Sponsored! Under this same umbrella, the Snap Foundation is seeking ideas that will specifically develop pathways to employment in the creative economy for underrepresented youth in Los Angeles, ages 6 to 24. The creative economy encompasses architecture, arts and crafts, design, fashion, film, video, photography, music, performing arts, publishing, research and development, game design, advertising, engineering, TV/radio, and other fields that draw on human ingenuity.

Affordable Housing and Homelessness

It is likely no surprise that affordable housing and homelessness received more votes than any other issue area – now for the fourth year in the row. These programs, projects, or initiatives might focus on improving the quantity and quality of affordable housing, assisting vulnerable tenants, or providing support to unhoused individuals.

Community Safety

Community safety encompasses any work that protects people from harm of all kinds and allows them to feel safe. Submissions can support physical safety, such as policies that protect pedestrians and cyclists, or emotional safety, such as a program that deters bullying. This issue area includes not just the prevention of harassment, discrimination, and violence but also the active promotion of belonging, inclusion, and peace – from “know your rights” training to teaching about healthy relationships, building support systems for marginalized groups, and more.

Green Space, Park Access, and Trees

Submissions are also open for the fourth time to the green space, park access, and trees issue area. We welcome any ideas that increase the availability of, expand equitable access to, or encourage more frequent use of these outdoor areas for all residents of Los Angeles. We also welcome ideas that inspire creative interaction with these spaces.

Health Care Access

Access to comprehensive, high-quality health care is essential for individual thriving and overall community well-being. We are looking for proposals that connect Angelenos to mental and physical health services, especially those from uninsured and underinsured populations.

​​Immigrant and Refugee Support

The Los Angeles region can, and should, embrace immigrants and refugees. We are seeking submissions with ideas to protect their rights and provide holistic support, including access to housing, education, healthcare, legal services, and social, personal, and economic resources to help them thrive. This issue area rose to the top 10 for the second time, last appearing in 2022.

Income Inequality

Addressing income inequality comes in many forms, whether directly offering resources to those who need them or implementing projects, programs, and initiatives that address the root causes in our communities. This might include supporting first-generation college students, providing jobs to individuals who have been incarcerated, or giving direct cash payments to low-income families.

K-12 STEAM Education

High-quality K-12 STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math) education is essential. Submissions to this issue area can take the form of school-based curriculum support, after-school program activities, extracurricular opportunities, or other initiatives that encourage school-age students to succeed in STEAM.

Public Transit

Applications to the public transit issue area can address expanding access to, increasing the effectiveness of, or improving the quality of public transit options around Los Angeles. This issue area also encompasses ideas for enhancing multimodal access to public transit hubs through walking, biking, scooting, and more for all people, including those with disabilities. This is the fourth year that public transit is in the top 10; however, in the previous cycles, it was also the one with the fewest applications.

Support for Foster and Systems-Impacted Youth

We are also looking for submissions that focus on improving the well-being of youth ages 24 and under who have been impacted by the mental and behavioral health system, the child welfare system, the youth justice system, or other similar systems. We are open to all channels of support – academic, professional, social, legal, personal, and beyond.

Wildfire Relief – Sponsored by the Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation

The Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation is seeking proposals from organizations working with youth and families who were directly impacted by the Los Angeles Wildfires, including those in Pasadena, Altadena, Pacific Palisades, and Malibu.

Youth Economic Advancement – Sponsored by the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation and R & S Kayne Foundation!

In partnership with the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, we are looking for submissions from organizations working with young people to decrease income inequality, find quality living-wage jobs, or advance within careers. There is a special preference for organizations working with Opportunity Youth, those ages 16 to 24 and not in work or school.

And, in collaboration with the R & S Kayne Foundation, we are looking for proposals from organizations that foster economic inclusion through creating career pathways for NEET Youth (Not in Education, Employment or Training) ages 18 to 26. There is added value if the proposal is for a program, project, or initiative that incorporates youth power, co-designing with and embracing the input of young people.

If you have an idea to address one or more of these issue areas… register to attend one of our upcoming virtual Information Sessions now!

• April 28th, 2025 at 3:00 pm
• April 30th, 2025 at 4:00 pm
• May 6th, 2025 10:00 am
• May 14th, 2025 1:00 pm
• May 22nd, 2025 at 12:00 pm
• May 30th, 2025 at 11:00 am

This year, interested organizations are required to have at least one representative attend an Information Session on their behalf prior to opening an application. We will send the application link directly to attendees following each session; the link will not be made available on our website.

The application will ask you to identify the primary issue area your work impacts, along with any secondary issue areas you would like to be considered under.

Questions?

Reach out to us via email any time at connect@la2050.org.