As 2024 winds down, we’re celebrating all that the LA2050 community has accomplished over the past 12 months and pinning our favorite moments and milestones.

Check out our special Pinterest-inspired look back, below.

We launched our 11th LA2050 Grants Challenge, with the aim of encouraging collective action and service through our theme of “Who can? You can!” And, Angelenos answered the call! Almost 15,000 of you cast more than 105,000 votes in 12 languages for the issues that mattered most to you to determine our funding priorities. But, that’s not all: for the first time, we also highlighted opportunities to make a tangible impact on those same issues and partnered with 24 organizations all across LA to host diverse volunteer activations. We were so inspired that more than 3,500 of you joined, contributing 9,450 total hours of service. And, let’s not forget our 2024 Youth Ambassadors; 187 young people, ages 14 to 24, that dove headfirst into voting and volunteering as part of this year’s Grants Challenge.

Together with our funding partners, we granted more than $3 million to 68 organizations making LA better for all. The winners were selected from a record-breaking 872 applications in collaboration with 70 community evaluators. On October 2nd, more than 100 social impact leaders gathered at the Hammer Museum for the third annual LA2050 Grantee Showcase – the culmination of this year's Grants Challenge – to honor and encourage the nonprofits receiving grants. ⁠Speakers included Michael D. Smith, CEO of AmeriCorps; Jessica Yellin, founder of the nonprofit News Not Noise; LA County Supervisor Hilda L. Solis; California State Senator Lola Smallwood-Cuevas; and representatives of this year's funding partners.

We amplified opportunities to make an impact in LA through donating, gifting, and volunteering. On Giving Tuesday, we raised more than $30,000 for 78 different local nonprofits via our LA2050 Ideas Hub match – thanks to your generosity! Last month, we also published our LA2050 Social Impact Gift Guide, encouraging you to use your holiday shopping for good with 80+ products and experiences sourced from local nonprofits, sustainable makers, cultural establishments, and BIPOC-owned businesses. We even partnered with actor Andrea Savage to produce a video series featuring Andrea visiting four organizations from the gift guide, learning more about their work and products. And, throughout the year, we shared hundreds of volunteer opportunities for all ages, skills, and interests.

We sought to uplift local nonprofits through action-oriented events and helpful resources. In February, hosted an interactive, half-day workshop providing practical insight into how artificial intelligence (AI) can be leveraged in impact work; we followed that up with a series of six hands-on AI training sessions for grantees over the summer. In October, we programmed two panels for LA Tech Week – “Technology and Storytelling for Social Good” and “AI for Social Good” – to continue the conversation. And, in response to questions from a former LA2050 grantee, we released a guide to successful corporate-nonprofit partnerships based on interviews with leaders in the field.

We curated opportunities and resources for those interested in deeper engagement with our region’s impact sector. Over the past year, we posted hundreds of social impact job openings on the LA2050 Jobs Board and events on the LA2050 Events Board. We released maps to help us get to know our region better – from sites honoring Hispanic heritage and unique places to vote, to the best places to donate clothes and locations to go on dates for good. And, for our annual e-book celebrating LA’s birthday, we invited elected officials representing Los Angeles at the national, state, and local levels to share what they love about the city and their wishes for its future.

We continued to build our incredible LA2050 community, together. Our work to make LA the best place to live, learn, play, create, and connect is only possible because of YOU! To stay engaged as we move into 2025 together, be sure to connect with us on LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and Facebook and continue to engage with the LA2050 Newsletter.