Applications open now!
More than 21,000 Angelenos voted for the most pressing issues facing our region. Now, we need your best ideas address them. Submit now through June 6th at 5:00 pm.
START WITH AN INFO SESSION
Join an Information Session to get started!
We are hosting six virtual Information Sessions with all that you need to know to put together a successful application. Register now!
This year, interested organizations are required to have at least one representative attend an Information Session on their behalf. We will send the application link directly to attendees following each session.
If you have specific questions, you can also sign up to join us for Office Hours on Tuesdays at 1:00 pm PT.
Application Reference Materials
FAQs
What is the LA2050 Grants Challenge?
The LA2050 Grants Challenge awards a total of $1 million in grants to local social 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. Then, we will give $1 million in grants to organizations making meaningful progress on the top-voted issues. We will also help to coordinate a projected $2 million in grants from our philanthropic funding partners, bringing the total fund pool to more than $3 million.
How does this year's LA2050 Grants Challenge work?
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 September 15th, 2025.
What are the benefits of applying to the LA2050 Grants Challenge?
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
What's different about this year's LA2050 Grants Challenge?
While the process has remained the same since 2022, the focus on issue area voting does represent a departure from the first eight years of the LA2050 Grants Challenge. In this newer process, 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.
How does LA2050 define “LA”?
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!
How can our organization apply for funding?
Applications are open from April 28th to June 26th, 2025 here on LA2050.org.
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.
What kinds of ideas are LA2050 looking to support?
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.
Is the Grants Challenge restricted to nonprofits?
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.
What if our organization's work impacts more than one issue area?
On the application, you will select a primary issue area from the 12 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.
Can we submit multiple applications?
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.
Is my organization eligible to apply for funding through the LA2050 Grants Challenge?
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.
We were a previous applicant or a previous Grants Challenge winner. Can we still apply?
Of course! We welcome repeat applications, including from previous winners, to the LA2050 Grants Challenge.
What do we need to do to qualify for support from a specific funding partner?
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.
We have been funded by one or more of this year’s funding partners. Can we still apply?
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.
We were a Grants Challenge outreach partner. Can we still apply?
Yes! Outreach partners are eligible to apply for this year’s LA2050 Grants Challenge.
What resources are available to us to assist with completing our application?
The LA2050 team is here to help! This year, interested organizations are required to have at least one representative attend an Information Session on their behalf prior to opening an application. We will send the application link directly to attendees following each session; the link will not be made available on our website. We will also be hosting 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.
Our organization has a small social media following, would we still be competitive for this grant?
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.
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.
Can we receive feedback on our grant application?
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.
Do you receive inquiries or answer questions about the Grants Challenge via telephone?
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 Information Session in order to receive the application link, which will not be posted publicly.
We are also offering drop in office hours on Tuesdays at 1 pm for additional support.
For any questions in the meantime, please email us at connect@la2050.org.
Are there examples of past winners somewhere?
Yes, just head to our LA2050 Ideas Hub!
How do I vote?
Voting is now closed for the 2025 LA2050 Grants Challenge. It was available at LA2050.org 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.
You can click here to learn more about this year's voting results.
I have feedback on the LA2050 goals, issues, and/or metrics. How can I share that with you?
We welcome community input. Email us at connect@la2050.org with your feedback.
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 voting and putting in an application to this year’s LA2050 Grants Challenge.
Funding Partners
The Goldhirsh Foundation, founder and organizer of the LA2050 Grants Challenge, providing $1 million in grant funds to organizations working on the top-voted issue areas.
Evaluation Partner
Social Justice Partners Los Angeles (SJP), serving as our external evaluation partner. SJP is a membership organization that connects community leaders to nonprofits to tackle Los Angeles’ toughest challenges. All proposals are reviewed, scored, and evaluated by members of SJP.