Goldhirsh Foundation: LA2050 Grantee Showcase

On October 2nd, Goldhirsh Foundation held its third annual LA2050 Grantee Showcase, in a gathering that brought together more than one hundred social impact leaders.  

The celebration marked the culmination of their 11th LA2050 Grants Challenge – and the official announcement of the 60 organizations awarded almost $3 million in funding. The LA2050 Grants Challenge is an annual participatory grantmaking program, funding ideas to make Los Angeles the best place to connect, create, learn, live, and play. The theme of this year’s Grants Challenge was volunteerism. The campaign slogan – “Who Can? YOU Can!” – underscored the importance of individuals contributing their time, talents, and resources to collective action. 

A panel discussion about Building Community Through Volunteerism exchanged views on the importance of service and gave actionable advice on how to create engaging volunteer programs.  

Goldhirsh Foundation and LA2050 President, Tara Roth, reflected on the central role of collaboration in the LA2050 Grants Challenge, as they celebrated nine funders coming together to provide grants. Speakers included LA County Supervisor Hilda Solis; California State Senator Lola Smallwood-Cuevas; Lucia Knell of UPWORTHY; representatives of this year's funding partners; and Josh Fryday, Chief Service Officer for the State of California, via video message. 

Then, on November 4th, the Goldhirsh Foundation and LA2050 announced that eight Los Angeles-area nonprofit organizations will receive a total of $200,000 in funding for non-partisan voter engagement work for the 2024 election. Now, 68 Los Angeles County impact organizations have received funding totaling more than $3 million, from a coalition of 10 foundations. 

Pictured above: photo from the Empowering LA Students for STEM Success project by the Partnership for Los Angeles' Schools, one of this years' grantees.