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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), housing assistance to families displaced by the Eaton fires (Union Station Homeless Services), and after-school culinary education in Compton schools (Lunch Bunch Community Foundation).

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 further down in this blog post.

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 returning LA2050 Grants Challenge funding partners: 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.

Grant recipients gathered this morning at The Huntington for the LA2050 Grantee Showcase, joined by civic leaders including Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger, who delivered keynote addresses. 

'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 14-year-old 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.

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.

"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 & 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."

Below is information about each of the projects receiving grants from each of the funding partners in the 2025 LA2050 Grants Challenge:

, supporting young parents in foster care through legal advocacy, case management, and resource connections to break cycles of separation and build stable, thriving families.

, equipping in-home caregivers with multilingual, paid training in emergency and disaster readiness to strengthen support for vulnerable older adults and people with disabilities.

, building community wealth in Skid Row through employment social enterprises and a free Peace and Healing Center that fosters dignity, health, and belonging among unhoused residents.

, preventing long-term homelessness for families displaced by the Eaton Fire through low-barrier housing assistance, care coordination, and direct support services.

, transforming organic waste into nutrient-rich compost for schools, gardens, and parks while providing hands-on STEAM education in soil science and sustainability.

, transforming the lives of chronically ill children through free, high-quality STEAM programs that blend technology, creativity, and consistent mentorship.

, expanding San Pedro’s free electric trolley system with new stops, driver training, and visitor-ready infrastructure ahead of the 2026 World Cup and 2028 Olympics.

, creating career pathways in wildland firefighting for formerly incarcerated individuals while building a diverse workforce to combat Southern California’s wildfire crisis.

, supporting refugee and migrant families with legal advocacy as well as culturally-rooted education, enrichment, and community programs that promote healing and resilience.

Access to tech & creative industry employment

, supporting refugee and immigrant women through flexible textile arts employment, trauma-informed care, and entrepreneurship training.

, providing older adults and adults with disabilities in East LA with culinary training, business coaching, and paid opportunities to strengthen food security and economic resilience.

, building a pipeline of diverse teachers through a teacher village model that integrates subsidized housing, therapy, mentoring, and wraparound support for transitional-age foster youth and young leaders.

, expanding after-school culinary education in Compton schools to teach cooking, nutrition, and workforce skills while empowering families with lifelong healthy habits.

, creating transitional employment for unhoused individuals in the Antelope Valley through coffee roasting and greenhouse farming social enterprises that provide income, skills, and stability.

, leading the Restaurant Equity Alliance in partnership with Inclusive Action to raise labor standards, support immigrant-owned small businesses, and strengthen our region’s restaurant industry ahead of the 2026 World Cup and 2028 Olympics.

, launching a news and digital literacy program that helps adults spot misinformation through workshops, multilingual resources, and an online toolkit.

, empowering Black students at CSU Dominguez Hills through the CEED Project, a civic engagement and leadership initiative.

, strengthening communities through the RISE program combining civic education, leadership development, block clubs, and job readiness training.

, guiding justice-involved veterans and military-connected young adults into healthcare careers through stabilization, training, internships, and job placement.

, training systems-impacted youth in skilled trades and green energy while providing mentorship and career pathways.

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

This year was another record-breaker for the LA2050 Grants Challenge!

As we move closer to announcing our grant winners on October 8th, we’re excited to publish our annual 

, which highlights the 2025 Grants Challenge’s voting numbers, applicant demographics, issue areas, and more.

Now in its 12th year, this year's Grants Challenge carried the theme "LA, Together" – a call to collective action that Angelenos embraced. Nearly 140,000 votes set our funding priorities, and local organizations answered with a record 1,182 ideas for creating a brighter future. This report dives into the submission results, explores the proposal data and submissions trends, and highlights what’s possible when we all come together.

Each year, the Grants Challenge offers a window into how local organizations are tackling our region's most urgent challenges and opportunities. These are a few highlights of the many findings in this year’s voting and submissions:

60 percent of all voters identified “Affordable housing and homelessness” as one of the top issues – 20 percent higher than any other issue

82 percent of submitters included young adults (18 to 29) as part of their target population

61 percent of proposals came from organizations with annual budgets less than $1 million

Among this year’s submissions, we saw powerful trends emerge, including: rebuilding Los Angeles after the wildfires; developing LA’s workforce from potential to paycheck; developing bold, creative solutions to LA’s housing crisis; and creating mobile resources to meet Angelenos where they are.

. Here’s to creating a brighter future for Los Angeles, together.

Record-Breaking LA2050 Grants Challenge Reveals Key Insights Into Los Angeles Community

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 organizations were honored at the LA2050 Grantee Showcase, where Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger, and Goldhirsh Foundation President Tara Roth were all speakers.

Read more about the celebration, speakers, and winners 

News organizations that covered the Grantee Showcase include:

LA2050 Blog

News Media Covers LA2050 Grantee Showcase