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 our application deadline nears – June 28th at 5:00 pm (PT), don’t forget! – our team is responding to some of our most Frequently Asked Questions.

Q: What is the LA2050 Grants Challenge?

A: The LA2050 Grants Challenge is an open call for ideas to make Los Angeles the best place to learn, create, play, connect, and live. A total of $1 million will be awarded to 15 organizations to implement their ideas to address the issues that Angelenos care most about. Additional grants will also be awarded from this year's Funding Partners, to be announced.

LA2050 will also commit to a one-year partnership with the winners – leveraging its resources, assets, and networks to help the projects succeed. Together, the winning organizations, LA2050, and Angelenos will make progress for the region that will change the course of our future.

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 2nd to May 8th, 2024. Next, we announced the top-voted issues on May 15th, 2024 and have opened 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 October 2nd, 2024.

Q: How do I vote?

A: Voting for the 2024 LA2050 Grants Challenge was available at LA2050.org from April 2nd, 2024 to May 8th, 2024.

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, and a Visual Assisted version.

Q: How can our organization apply for funding?

A: Applications are open now, online at this link, via Submittable. 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 issue areas.

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

A: The process is the same as it was in 2022 and 2023, representing a departure from the first eight years of the LA2050 Grants Challenge. In this newer process, 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 up to $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 issue areas.

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 issue areas 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: 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: How does LA2050 define “LA”?⁠

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 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 issue areas.

Q: What kinds of ideas are 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 2024 to October 2025.

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

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: 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 Official Scorecard. 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: 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 register. For those with questions about the application itself and how it will be evaluated, we have published a full Annotated Application Guide and the Official Scorecard.

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

A: We do not take phone calls or individual meetings during this time due to the number of inquiries we receive.

During the application period (May 15th to June 28th, 2024), we will host several virtual information sessions for those interested in submitting a proposal. Stay tuned!

We are happy to answer your questions any time via email at connect@la2050.org.

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: Can we submit multiple applications?

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). It is important to ensure that each application is thoroughly developed and tailored to the specific issue area.

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 page on our Ideas Hub, a database of all organizations that have applied to the LA2050 Grants Challenge and their proposals

Q: Are there examples of past winners somewhere?

A: Yes, just head to our LA2050 Ideas Hub!

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.

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.