LA2050 Grants Challenge

Voting is open!

We’re giving away $1 million to improve Los Angeles, but first, we need to know what issues YOU care about most.

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The winning issues for the 2023 LA2050 Grant Challenge.

Keep scrolling to learn more about what we are looking for in each issue area.

  • Sponsored Issues

    • Access to Creative Industry Employment
    • Play Equity to Advance Mental Health
    • Youth Economic Advancement
  • LEARN

    • Support for Foster and Systems-Impacted Youth
    • K-12 STEAM Education (Science, Tech, Engineering, Arts, Math)
  • CREATE

    • Income Inequality
    • Opportunities for People Who Have Been Incarcerated
  • PLAY

    • Green Space, Park Access, and Trees
    • Community Safety
  • CONNECT

    • Public Transit
    • Immigrant and Refugee Support
  • LIVE

    • Affordable Housing and Homelessness
    • Health Care Access

We're funding the best ideas to address the issues that Los Angeles cares about most.

  • Sponsored Issues

    • Access to Creative Industry Employment

      Sponsored by the Snap Foundation

      The Snap Foundation is seeking ideas that will develop pathways to employment in the creative economy for underrepresented youth in Los Angeles, ages 6 to 24. The creative economy encompasses architecture, arts and crafts, design, fashion, film, video, photography, music, performing arts, publishing, research and development, game design, advertising, engineering, TV/radio, and other fields that draw on human ingenuity.

    • Play Equity to Advance Mental Health

      Sponsored by the Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation

      There is a strong connection between physical health and mental well-being. For its sponsored issue area, the Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation is looking to fund organizations that leverage the benefits of sports and recreation to improve mental health outcomes for youth ages 18 and under, particularly from marginalized communities.

    • Youth Economic Advancement

      Sponsored by the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation

      In partnership with the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, we are looking for submissions from organizations working with young people to decrease income inequality, find quality jobs, or advance within careers. There is a special preference for organizations working with Opportunity Youth, those ages 16 to 24 and not in work or school.

  • LEARN

    • Support for Foster and Systems-Impacted Youth

      We are looking for submissions that focus on improving the well-being of youth ages 24 and under who have been impacted by the mental and behavioral health system, the child welfare system, the youth justice system, or other similar systems. We are open to all channels of support – academic, professional, social, legal, personal, and beyond.

    • K-12 STEAM Education (Science, Tech, Engineering, Arts, Math)

      High-quality K-12 STEAM (Science, Technology, Education, Arts, and Math) education is essential. Submissions to this issue area can take the form of school-based curriculum support, after-school program activities, extracurricular opportunities, or other initiatives that encourage school-age students to succeed in STEAM.

  • CREATE

    • Income Inequality

      Addressing income inequality comes in many forms, whether directly offering resources to those who need them or implementing projects, programs, and initiatives that address the root causes in our communities. This might include supporting first-generation college students, providing jobs to individuals who have been incarcerated, or giving direct cash payments to low-income families.

    • Opportunities for People Who Have Been Incarcerated

      We are looking for submissions that aim to increase opportunities for people who have been incarcerated, through the provision of economic, social, or emotional assistance. This issue area would include any work related to both supporting people who are currently incarcerated and reducing recidivism and providing resources for those re-entering communities.

  • PLAY

    • Green Space, Park Access, and Trees

      Submissions are also open to the green space, park access, and trees issue area. We welcome any ideas that increase the availability of, expand equitable access to, or encourage more frequent use of these outdoor areas for all residents of Los Angeles. We also welcome ideas that inspire creative interaction with these spaces.

    • Community Safety

      Community safety encompasses any work that protects people from violence in all its forms and makes them feel safer. Submissions can support physical safety, such as policies that protect pedestrians and cyclists, or emotional safety, such as a program that deters bullying. This issue area includes not just the prevention of harassment, discrimination, and violence but also the active promotion of belonging, inclusion, and peace.

  • CONNECT

    • Public Transit

      Applications to the public transit issue area can address expanding access to, increasing the effectiveness of, or improving the quality of public transit options around Los Angeles. This issue area also encompasses ideas for enhancing multimodal access to public transit hubs through walking, biking, scooting, and more for all people, including those with disabilities.

    • Immigrant and Refugee Support

      The Los Angeles region should embrace and offer holistic support to immigrants and refugees. We are looking for submissions with ideas for how to best protect the rights of these populations or provide the housing, educational, health, legal, social, personal, and economic resources for them to thrive.

  • LIVE

    • Affordable Housing and Homelessness

      It is likely no surprise that affordable housing and homelessness received more votes than any other issue area. These submissions might focus on improving the quantity and quality of affordable housing, assisting vulnerable tenants, or providing support to unhoused individuals.

    • Health Care Access

      Access to comprehensive, high-quality health care is essential for individual thriving and overall community well-being. We are looking for submissions that connect Angelenos to mental and physical health services, especially those from uninsured and underinsured populations.

  • Funding Partners

    • Goldhirsh Foundation

      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.

    • Conrad N. Hilton Foundation
    • Elbaz Family Foundation
    • Fox Foundation
    • John N. Calley Foundation
    • Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation
    • Snap Foundation
    • R&S Kayne Foundation
  • Evaluation Partner

    • Social Justice Partners Los Angeles

      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.

  • Media Partners

    • KCRW
    • LAist
    • Upworthy