The submissions are in!

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.

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.

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 September 26th, 2024.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

We are hosting several virtual information sessions and office hours for those interested in submitting a proposal.

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

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

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.