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LA2050, in collaboration with our funding partners, is granting an anticipated $3 million to organizations in Los Angeles County.

If you represent a nonprofit, social enterprise, or government agency and you have an idea for how to make an impact on one or more of the issue areas, don’t miss your chance to apply.

This year, interested organizations are required to have at least one representative attend an Information Session to receive the application link. If you haven’t participated yet, make sure to join us at our final session on 

. The link will be sent directly to verified attendees following the session.

There’s still time to put together a successful proposal for up to $75,000 in grant funding. As our application deadline nears – June 6th at 5:00 pm (PT), don’t forget! – our team is responding to some of our most Frequently Asked Questions, including many raised directly by Information Session attendees.

A: The LA2050 Grants Challenge awards grants to local impact organizations that are working toward a brighter future for Los Angeles.

Since 2013, almost 4,000 creative and innovative proposals have been submitted to the grants challenge. With the guidance of hundreds of thousands of voters, the LA2050 Grants Challenge has provided more than $20 million to hundreds of impactful organizations.

For the fourth year, we asked Angelenos to share which 10 local issues matter most to them, two in each of the five goal categories. Now, we are giving $1 million in grants to organizations making meaningful progress on the top-voted issues. We are also helping to coordinate a projected $2 million in grants from our philanthropic funding partners – bringing the total fund pool to more than $3 million.

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 March 12th to April 18th, 2025. Then, we announced the top-voted issues on April 28th, 2025 and opened grant applications to organizations working in those areas from April 28th to June 6th, 2025. 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 October 8th, 2025.

A: We define LA as all of Los Angeles County – all 88 cities and unincorporated areas. 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 are the benefits of applying to the LA2050 Grants Challenge?

A: Beyond the potential to receive a grant for your work, we believe that applying to the challenge will provide additional benefits including:

The opportunity to participate in a first-of-its-kind regional effort

Increased awareness and exposure via our public platform

Increased understanding of LA’s social impact landscape

The opportunity to cultivate and build new relationships with peers

The chance to build a coalition of committed Angelenos and organizations to support important work in LA

The opportunity to learn how to tell a compelling story about your organization’s impact

Inspiring the creation of videos, photos, tweets, and pithy messaging to promote your proposal

Visibility in front of other foundations and potential alternative funding sources – past challenges have resulted in more than $6.5 million in grants from outside funders using the LA2050 platform for their grantmaking

‘Volunteer’ and ‘Donate’ buttons on each submission page to drive resources to your organization

, a database of all organizations that have applied to the LA2050 Grants Challenge and their proposals

Access to matching grants available to organizations on the LA2050 Ideas Hub – 

A: Organizations are invited to submit up to five applications, as long as each proposal addresses distinct and different components of your work (e.g., two separate programs). These can be within the same issue area or separate areas; however, it is important to ensure that each application is thoroughly developed. The five application limit does not apply to fiscal sponsors; however, each individual project of that fiscal sponsor would still be subject to the five application limit.

Q: Can I attend an Information Session on behalf of multiple organizations?

 If you are working with multiple organizations to complete the application – perhaps as a consultant – you can count attendance for all organizations. That being said, because we are verifying Information Session attendance, we ask that you write out the names of all of the organizations you’re representing in your registration or email us at at 

Q: Are we eligible if we are still awaiting tax-exempt status (nonprofit) or not currently incorporated (business)?

No, we can only accept applications from registered and active non-profit, for-profit, fiscally-sponsored, or governmental organizations. Pending status or application paperwork will not be accepted. If your non-profit organization is awaiting tax-exempt status, we recommend applying through a confirmed fiscal sponsor.

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

A: The Grants Challenge has followed the same process for the past four years; however, the focus on issue area voting does represent a departure from the first eight years.

In this newer process, first launched in 2022, we hold public voting first and ask Angelenos to determine which issue areas should 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 up to $75,000.

Q: How can our organization apply for funding?

A: Applications are open from April 28th to June 6th, 2025.

To get started with your application, register for 

. This year, we added a new step to the process: interested organizations first must have at least one representative attend an Information Session on their behalf. We will then send the application link directly to attendees following each session; the link will not be made available on our website.

We will 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 issue areas.

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

A: We’re open! We get most excited about bold, innovative 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 2025 to October 2026.

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.⁠⁠

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 

 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 issue areas

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

A: We will accept applications from registered non-profit, for-profit, fiscally-sponsored, or governmental organizations serving Los Angeles County and its residents. Individuals are not eligible to apply. 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 issue areas.

Q: We were a previous applicant or a previous Grants Challenge winner. Can we still apply?

A: Of course! We welcome repeat applications, including from previous winners, to the LA2050 Grants Challenge.

Q: Will the application portal allow us to save our work and return to it later?

Yes, once you open an application in Submittable you can save your progress and return to complete it before the June 6th deadline. That being said, we recommend preparing your responses in a word processor using our 

Q: Can we apply in collaboration with another organization?

 Yes, we welcome joint or co-led projects. You must select one organization as the Lead Applicant and then in the application’s “Collaborator” section, list those additional organizations with which you’ve confirmed a formal partnership 

 plan to share LA2050 funding. Potential or informal partners should not be listed as collaborators.

Q: What do we need to do to qualify for support from a specific funding partner?

A: There is nothing special that you need to do to qualify for support from one or more of our funding partners. Simply complete the application, as written, being sure to mark all of the 

 that align with your work and providing responses to any optional questions that are applicable to your organization. From there, we will make sure that you are considered for awards from any relevant funding partners.

Q: We have been funded by one or more of this year’s funding partners. Can we still apply?

A: Yes, there are no restrictions on applying to the Grants Challenge if you’ve been funded by one of our partners. That being said, partners have final discretion on their funding decisions.

Q: We were a Grants Challenge outreach partner. Can we still apply?

A: Yes! Outreach partners are eligible to apply for this year’s LA2050 Grants Challenge.

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

A: The LA2050 team is here to help! This year, interested organizations are required to have at least one representative attend an 

 on their behalf prior to opening an application. We will also be hosting open 

 on Tuesdays at 1:00 pm for those who would like to learn more about this year’s Grants Challenge, and we invite you to register.

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

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 as it was before 2022, we want to emphasize that your organization will not need to do any sort of social media promotion during the process this year.

Q: Are there restrictions on administrative, indirect, or operational expenses?

A: No, there are no limitations on administrative, indirect, or operational expenses. We just ask that the budget you submit reflects thoughtful resourcing related to the program, project, or initiative represented in your application.

Q: Can we receive feedback on our grant application?

A: Feedback is provided to applicants upon request. Our team will send out a feedback request form to all listed application contacts once our grant decisions are made. If you do not receive that form at that time, please contact us at connect@la2050.org.

Q: Do you receive inquiries or answer questions about the Grants Challenge via telephone?

A: We do not answer inquiries or offer support via telephone due to the high volume of interest.

This year, we are requiring that organizations have at least one representative attend an 

 in order to receive the application link, which will not be posted on our website.

drop in office hours on Tuesdays at 1:00 pm

For any questions in the meantime, please email us at connect@la2050.org.

Q: Are there examples of past winners somewhere?

A: Voting is now closed for the 2025 LA2050 Grants Challenge. It was available at 

 from March 12th, 2025 to April 18th, 2025.

Any person, of any age, in the United States was eligible to vote. Voting was available this year in 12+ languages: English, Spanish, Korean, Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Armenian, Russian, Tagalog, Thai, French, Arabic, and a Visual Assisted version.

Q: I have feedback on the LA2050 goals, issues, and/or metrics. How can I share that with you?

A: We welcome community input. Email us at connect@la2050.org with your feedback.

Q: I have another question, not answered here!

A: Send us your questions! If you have any questions that aren’t answered on this page, send us an email at connect@la2050.org.

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.

Questions about the LA2050 Grants Challenge application? Team LA2050 has the answers!

After more than a decade of reviewing applications for the 

 have identified some common themes in the 

With the June 6th application deadline approaching, we’ve compiled some of these tips and tricks below, to help you craft the most compelling application for funding.

Remember: this year, you must attend an Information Session to apply! Don’t miss your final opportunity on 

. Our team is also available to answer additional questions during 

Take a look at our eligibility screener to avoid surprises.

Be sure your organization meets all baseline eligibility requirements before starting your application. You can review the screener in our 

. Key criteria include attending an Information Session, operating within Los Angeles County, aligning with one of this year’s 

, and proposing an early-stage or innovative program, project, or initiative.

To reduce stress and ensure clarity, we recommend preparing your responses in a separate word processor (e.g., Microsoft Word or Google Docs) using the questions from our 

 before starting the application in Submittable. Doing so will allow you to best outline answers, stay within character limits (remember: spaces are included!), take advantage of spell and grammar check software, and avoid any possible tech issues.

LA2050 is always looking for new ideas with potential to spark transformation in Los Angeles, and we believe that solving our region’s biggest challenges will require innovation. The most successful applications either pitch a new idea or present an existing program, project, or initiative that departs from business-as-usual – something that makes people say: “Wow! That’s a great idea!”

While brevity is appreciated, we recommend using as much detail as possible to give evaluators a clear picture of your work. Our winners often take advantage of the entire space, or close to the entire space, to answer the questions.

You want to write it so that someone who has never encountered your organization or the work that you do could read it and then explain it to someone else. Sometimes, applicants make the mistake of assuming that evaluators have prior knowledge or using jargon specific to their work. Make sure to present the full A to Z, don’t start at K.

Create a cohesive narrative that flows through the application.

The most successful applications read as one narrative, with smooth transitions from one question to another. We recommend that you identify one main theme, and craft responses that build on one another to reinforce that theme. Be sure to pay close attention to 

, which form the heart of the application.

Be clear about shared or collaborative work.

If you are partnering with another organization, be sure to explain how you will collaborate. Only include an organization as a “Collaborator” if you have a confirmed partnership and will be sharing the grant funds. Do not include informal or aspirational partners in the “Collaborator” section, but feel free to reference them in other areas of the application.

It is often more impactful to share one or two stories rather than listing out all of the various functions of your organization. Some applicants prioritize showing the breadth of their work over the depth, leaving the evaluator without a clear sense of your impact. While lists might seem impressive, we recommend zooming in on a few tangible examples of your work.

Be specific about your activities when you write the timeline. If you find yourself running out of characters on 

 is the perfect chance to provide details for your program, project, or initiative and how it will unfold over the grant period. This helps evaluators to understand exactly what you will do, and how you will do it.

Present a clear solution that connects your problem.

The best applications provide an in-depth explanation of the problem that is being addressed through the organization’s work. Be sure to describe the problem as it exists in our region, outside of you 

. Then, once you provide that background, present the program, project, or initiative you are requesting funding for 

 and highlight how it is the right solution.

Be intentional when selecting issue areas.

First, you’ll choose one primary issue area that best aligns with the intended impact of your application. Then, you’ll have the option to select multiple secondary issue areas to capture additional breadth. Your application will be evaluated across all of the issue areas you select – primary and secondary. While you can choose as many as you'd like, more isn't always better. To keep your application focused and compelling, we recommend selecting no more than four secondary issue areas. Not sure which ones are the best fit? Check out our 

 every Tuesday at 1:00 PM PT to talk it through with our team.

With the name LA2050, it is no surprise that we are always thinking about the future of Los Angeles. It is crucial that you explain how your program, project, or initiative will create thriving in Los Angeles not just during the one-year grant period, but five, 10, and 20 years into the future.

Another thing that grant winners have in common: making a strong case for why their particular organization is in the best position to address their identified issue. Don’t be shy! Highlight what is unique about your organization, share your qualifications, and show off your successes to prove that you are the best candidate for funding.

Do not assume that evaluators have an intuitive sense of the importance or urgency of your work. Make sure to communicate why your program, project, or initiative needs to be funded now. This can be integrated throughout the application, starting with how you present the problem 

We hope that these tips and tricks are helpful to you as you complete your application.


How to Write a Winning LA2050 Grants Challenge Application

LA2050 has been honored with multiple awards. 

Our team is humbled to be in such good company with the other finalists and winners.

Nonprofit Organization of the Year (Growing), 

Tara Roth named one of 20 Most Influential Civic Leaders – and one of the 500 Most Influential People, 

Winner - General-Non-Profit, Excellence (Film & Video), 

Silver - Social Video for Social Responsibility, 

Silver - Community Outreach for Human & Civil Rights, 

Bronze - Branded Content - Not For Profit, 

Bronze - Best Local Awareness Program for Human & Civil Rights, 

Finalist - Most Innovative Awareness Campaign, 

Los Angeles Business Journal Citizenship Awards

Distinction - Campaign-Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, 

Distinction - General Charitable Organization, 

Honorable Mention: Social Good Partnership – Local, 

State of California Senate Certificate of Recognition, 

LA2050 Blog

LA2050 is an award winning initiative!