Happenings

June 7th is just around the corner and we have the deets on four ways you can #PartyatthePolls

RENT Poet & Melrose Poetry Bureau are bringing poets to your local polling station to write personalized poetry on typewriters in English and Spanish for voters waiting in line. Their goal is to engage the public in the generative, creative process we all know politics can be! Check out #PoetsatthePolls and their #WritetoVote social media campaign.

Venice Arts will serve not only as a polling place for the California Primary Elections on June 7th, they will also be hosting a professionally run photo booth to capture the many different reasons people vote. #VeniceVotes will not only be Venice Arts' first interactive photo booth project, but will become a living album of portraits that speaks to the uniqueness of Venice and the vital importance of civic engagement. Show Venice Arts why #VeniceVotes.

The Unique Space wants you to participate in local elections and is throwing a giant block party on election night to celebrate. After hitting the polls, head over to their space where they'll transform their 5,000 square foot parking lot into an outdoor block party with FREE food, drinks, a DJ, photo booth, games and interactive art installations. Don't forget to wear your “I Voted" sticker to be entered into really great contests, and the first 200 people through the doors get a bag full of swag! RSVP here.

Celebrate Election Day with KPCC's #WhyIVoted party. Bring your "I voted" sticker and join the KPCC In Person team at La Plaza de Cultura y Artes in downtown Los Angeles to celebrate your decision to vote in the election and, we hope, encouraging others to do the same. RSVPs not required but let KPCC know if you can make it here.

Three weeks ago, we asked Angelenos for event ideas to improve voter engagement and turnout in the upcoming primary election. Today, we are excited to announce that eight proposals will receive $3,500 apiece to pilot events between May 17th and June 7th.

These proposals represent a sample of the truly creative voter engagement ideas we received, ranging from using comedy to communicate about elections to conducting direct outreach to first-time voters and immigrants to encourage them to head to their polling locations. In all, these #PartyatthePolls events will spark conversation about civic engagement among thousands of members of our Los Angeles community.

We can't wait to report back on these events, so please stay tuned. You are also welcome to join the events where noted. Be sure to follow these and other great voter engagement activities all across Los Angeles using #PartyatthePolls. And, don't forget to vote! For information about voting in LA County, visit www.lavote.net.

• Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles will recruit 100 volunteers to participate in a day-long canvassing party on June 7th to educate the immigrant community in Pico-Union about the importance of their vote and to provide information about participating in the elections.

• Green Dot Public Schools will build excitement around the major milestone of voting for the first time for students at five of their 11 high schools. The GOTV effort, “Get on the Bus!" will build on the charter school network's registration of more than 1,000 students and will provide transportation and celebrations for 250 graduating students who will take their first act as adults by voting in a national election.

• Melrose Poetry Bureau (MPB) will take over the steps of the LA Central Library for a type-in where they will collaboratively write poems with Angelenos and interpret their feelings about voting, the elections, and civic pride into creative literary pieces. MPB will repeat these interactive events on the primary election day with typewriter poets on-hand to write and perform for voters waiting in line at four polling places throughout Los Angeles County. *

• As part of its election coverage and California Counts series about civic engagement in the state, Southern California Public Radio (KPCC 89.3) will host a #WhyIVoted primary party from 7am-8pm in communities traditionally underserved by public media and where voter turnout is low. The party will celebrate the decision of residents to participate in the election and encourage local residents to do the same. *

• Thank You For Coming, Frau Fiber, the Faux Fraus, and Cal State University Fashion students will help novice and experienced participants alike create their own handmade vote banners that will displayed at their homes and in their communities. Through monthly workshops of The Sewing Rebellion on May 28th and 31st, participants will receive training and materials to handcraft reusable, unique banners to help inspire continuous civic participation in their neighborhoods. *

• The Unique Space will host a block party on Election Night at their pop-up marketplace in the Arts District celebrating those who voted. Admission to the party will be your “I Voted" sticker. *

• The United Way of Greater Los Angeles will organize a “March to the Polls" for LAUSD students participating in their L.A. Youth Vote campaign, a yearlong effort to position local high schools as centers of youth engagement and advocacy. The march will culminate in an event that celebrates students for engaging in the democratic process.

• Venice Arts will serve as a polling place for the primary election and set up a photobooth at their gallery to engage voters in the VeniceVotes Photo Project. Voters will help create a gallery and visual story about why voicing their opinion and participating in the election is important. Follow #VeniceVotes to check out the photos. *

* indicates a public event. Feel free to join!

Together with the Angeleno community, we have outlined a goal to make Los Angeles the best place to connect and to make our region one where every resident is empowered to contribute to our civic processes. Los Angeles can be made better if all Angelenos are enabled and encouraged to use the power of their civic voice to create change in their community.

However, we know that voter participation as a measure of civic engagement has hit historic lows in LA, and the voter population is not representative of the diversity of the region. But you can help change that.

Are there barriers to voting in your community that you can help overcome? Can you help improve outreach and increase awareness of the election in your neighborhood? Or do you have a fun idea to encourage civic engagement that you're excited to test?

Apply for a $3,500 grant to host a #PartyatthePolls event that will promote voter engagement in the upcoming June 7th primary election. The application and additional details can be found here.

The events should be participatory and engaging, but the format and design are completely up to you. From pop-up parties at polling places to providing child care for families waiting in voting lines, the possibilities are endless.

Applications open on April 26th at 9:00 am and are due by midnight Pacific Time on May 10th. Email us at [email protected] with any questions.

Join LA2050 and the California Community Foundation for a twitter party about how we can come together to build the LA of our dreams. Follow #LAtogether on Feb 24th at 1pm to participate! Not sure how to join a twitter party? Check out our handy Twitter party guide--we've got you covered.

Congratulations to the winners of the My LA2050 Grants Challenge! It was a tough process choosing, as we received so many fantastic ideas. We are excited to announce the ten winning proposals to make Los Angeles the best place to learn, create, connect, play, and live.

Winners among the top voted are:

• LEARN: Citizens of the World will develop a model incorporating social-emotional learning into everyday curricula, emphasizing self-regulation and social connection for healthy child development and school safety.
• CREATE: Los Angeles Review of Books will profile an LA writer or artist each day of the year, bringing exposure, locally and globally, to the vibrant creative community in Los Angeles.
• PLAY: Grand Park will pilot the installation of permanent shade structures designed by a local artist at the park in Downtown Los Angeles.
• CONNECT: Los Angeles Promise Zone Initiative will provide students living in the Los Angeles Promise Zone with summer jobs as young ethnographers to conduct 1,800 surveys measuring how the Promise Zone is improving lives.
• LIVE: Heal the Bay, in partnership with Pacoima Beautiful and the Pacific American Volunteer Association, will launch a multi-language conservation project to improve Angelenos' understanding of water challenges and to introduce Angelenos to water-saving strategies.

The jury voted winners are:

• LEARN: Girls Academic Leadership Academy (GALA), LAUSD's first all-girls public STEM high school will create a makerspace to provide students with hands-on experience using new technologies and innovative processes.
• CREATE: Los Angeles Bioscience Hub, in collaboration with East Los Angeles College (ELAC), will create the Biotech Leaders Academy, establishing a pipeline for East LA's bioscience students to become biotech entrepreneurs.
• PLAY: People for Parks will unlock six new community school parks in 2016, providing more than 25,000 Angelenos access to a safe park within 1/4 mile from their homes.
• CONNECT: CASA of Los Angeles will recruit and train 250 new volunteers who will serve as court-appointed advocates on behalf of abused and neglected youth in the foster care system.
• LIVE: Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA) will provide at least 180 of LA's 320,000 veterans and their families with support as they transition to civilian life through referrals to critical resources and support systems.

We are thankful for our partner funders, the Annenberg Foundation and the Roy and Patricia Disney Family Foundation who have committed an additional $600,000 to support ideas submitted via My LA2050. Additional grant winners will be announced in 2016.

Los Angeles, you answered our call for ideas to make LA the best place to learn, create, play, connect, and live by 2050! Now the voting period for the 2015 My LA2050 Grants Challenge has come to an end, and we're hard at work selecting the winners. Thanks to everyone who participated in various ways:

304 applications were submitted,

Thousands of you spread the word and showed your support by tweeting, commenting, and emailing,

Tens of thousands of you voted!

We would especially like to thank all of those who submitted their ideas to the My LA2050 Grants Challenge this year. Your passion for innovation, opportunity, and change is what drives progress in our region. From climate solutions to college access and from job training to food justice, we are flooded with amazing solutions to tackle our greatest challenges.

Ten winning submissions will be selected based on their impact on the LA2050 goal areas, creativity and innovation, feasibility, and collaborative spirit. Five will be chosen from the top 10 voted of each category, and five more winners will be chosen from each category regardless of the number of votes they received. We cannot wait to announce the challenge winners and celebrate ALL of our submitters on December 8th!

We are grateful for the additional support from the Roy and Patricia Disney Family Foundation which will be providing an additional $500,000 in grant funding to My LA2050 submitters, along with $100,000 from the Annenberg Foundation. The additional $600,000 will be allocated based on feedback from the funders - it could mean extra bucks for larger projects, or divided amounts for more submitters.

In the meantime, we hope you will all continue to stay engaged with LA2050 and the amazing work that different organizations are doing in our community. Follow @la2050 on Twitter and Instagram, like LA2050's Facebook page, and sign up for our newsletter for updates and happenings in the LA area!

In our third year of the My LA2050 Grants Challenge, we are even more confident that Angelenos hold the most creative answers to creating a thriving, equitable, sustainable Los Angeles. Thanks to YOU, we are on our way to a #BetterLA.

Have questions about the My LA2050 Grants Challenge? Let's talk.

Join GOOD Maker and LA2050 for a Q&A about the My LA2050 Grants Challenge

Don't miss it. Two opportunities to participate:

Sept 22nd @ 3 pm: Call-in number: 1-323-556-6784; code 2671

Sept 24th @ 3 pm: Call-in number: 1-650-479-3208; code: 621897747

RSVP and submit questions to [email protected].

Designing the city of our dreams

How startups foster ideation and civic activation

Los Angeles represents opportunity, diversity, and the immense potential to pioneer innovative ideas that drive positive change in our community. Like many others, I moved to Los Angeles and was thrilled by the possibilities and uncertainty of a new beginning in a city that has a robust communications network, booming tech industry, an influential social justice and philanthropic industry.

After years of living in Los Angeles, I've fallen in love with the city, yet much change is still needed. Despite many successes, Los Angeles continues to be affected by issues that include high unemployment rates, low college matriculation rates, and environmental conditions, all of which threaten public health and LA's livability. What makes our city unique, however, is that it allows emerging ideas to manifest into world-changing solutions by fostering a culture of entrepreneurship and collaboration.

Read more at Vator.tv