Mayor’s Fund for Los Angeles

OVERVIEW: This fund supports grantmaking toward economic prosperity, community resilience, quality of life, and city government efficiency in the Los Angeles area.

IP TAKE: This fund only makes grants to support Los Angeles and will not consider grants from outside the area.

PROFILE: Established in 2014, the Mayor’s Fund for Los Angeles was created by Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti to support a variety of civic projects in the city. It was modeled after Michael Bloomberg’s Mayor's Fund in New York City and seeks to bring “together the best of private, philanthropic, non-profit and government resources to take on the city’s most pressing challenges.” The fund only supports grantmaking in Los Angeles. Collaboration among donor groups is at the heart of this fund's strategy. Upon the fund’s creation, Mayor Garcetti emphasized that he has no control over the fund’s money and that its purpose is to serve future administrations as well as his own.

Grants for Los Angeles and SoCal

The fund’s grantmaking priorities are economic prosperity (job access and creation), community resiliency/disaster preparedness, quality of life (neighborhoods, public space and traffic), and city government efficiency. In a past year, it held $19 million in assets and made grants of about $42.8 million.

Grantmaking decisions are made by the fund’s board, not the mayor’s office. Grant seekers can view a list of current board members and supporters on the fund’s website. Supporters include big-name L.A.-area foundations like the Annenberg Foundation and the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation, as well as community foundations, bank funders, sports team foundations, corporate donors and individual philanthropists.

The Mayor’s Fund has supported issues like water conservation, domestic abuse prevention, crime reduction and job creation. Past grantees include the Leonard Hill Arts Plaza, Save the Drop, Hire L.A.’s Youth, Homes for Heroes, and Immigrant Integration/Step Forward L.A. Grant seekers can learn about many programs that have caught the Mayor’s Fund’s attention on its Program Spotlight page.

Important Grant Information

Unfortunately for grant seekers, the Mayor’s Fund for Los Angeles does not accept unsolicited grant proposals or solicitations. However, contact the staff with general questions at information@mayorsfundla.org or 213-545-2058. Follow this funder on Facebook and Twitter to keep up with current events.

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