2023 Impact Report
Liberty Hill’s Impact
North Star: To Achieve Justice and Equity by Building Power in Communities Most Impacted by Systemic Oppression
As L.A.’s Leader of Social Justice Philanthropy, we wield our collective power and mobilize our resources in support of grassroots organizers working in low-income communities of color to build their power to win lasting change.
To do this, we have put a stake in the ground around three wildly ambitious goals, and we will not rest until we win.
- Our Agenda for a Just Future
- End Youth Incarceration As We Know It.
- Fight for a Roof Over Every Head.
- Eliminate Toxic Neighborhood Oil Drilling.
- Secured policies leading to the expansion of youth development and alternatives to youth incarceration in LA County.
- Secured $20 million allocation dedicated to prioritizing youth development within the Care First Community Investment Spending Plan.
- Awarded approximately $300,000 in grants to 16 Ready to Rise youth development organizations for capacity-building work.
- Launched Liberation Fund to end the incarceration of girls and gender-expansive youth in Los Angeles County. Provided grants, convening, relationship-building and fund development support to 10 power-building organizations.
- Contributed $100K to fully fund the successful Measure J litigation strategy, resulting in the ballot measure being ruled constitutional.
- Won United to House L.A. ballot measure to provide more than $600M per year for tenant protections, affordable housing development, etc.
- Distributed $2.4M public dollars to Stay Housed L.A. partners.
- Reached more than 1.4 million tenants through Stay Housed LA public information campaign via phone banking, texting and door knocking.
- Hosted 1,095 free workshops on tenant rights, rent stabilization ordinances, rental assistance, and other tenant protections in partnership with Legal Services Provider partners.
- Supported 14 cities to advance tenant protections in incorporated cities throughout LA County.
- Secured tenant protection wins in eight cities including Maywood, Long Beach, Cudahy, Pomona, Burbank, Claremont, Pasadena, and South Pasadena.
- Facilitated and supported the coalition working to secure L.A.’s first Right to Legal Counsel for both LA City and County.
- Won policies in LA County and LA City to end neighborhood oil drilling.
- Published The Power of Persistence Report, authored by community leaders, organizers, researchers, and attorneys involved in the ongoing fight to end toxic oil drilling.
- Hosted EJ Ready Convening with the White House Council on Environmental Quality, positioning L.A. nonprofits and CBOs for funding that will provide disinvested, frontline EJ communities with multi-benefit, equitable projects.
- Participated in the first Just Transition Task Force in the country devoted to planning for a transition away from fossil fuels to clean energy.
- Leading grantmaking and capacity building for statewide Environmental Leadership Initiative – $11M over five years from two foundations, William & Flora Hewlett Foundation and the David & Lucile Packard Foundation, for 60 diverse EJ movement leaders.
- As part of a comprehensive equity assessment of County Public Works, designed and distributed a survey resulting in 2,094 LA County respondents and carried out 50 educational events reaching 4,000 individuals across all supervisory districts.
- Supported the formation of 100 worker-led Public Health Councils that build collective power in 13 high-risk industry sectors, reaching 27,000 workers and 1,600 employers.
- In partnership with Bold Vision, launched a countywide effort to distribute $10M to support organizations working to improve youth outcomes.
- Partnered with the Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation to award $100,000 in grants to youth development organizations focused on improving outcomes for boys and men of color.
- Collaborated with the Los Angeles Chargers to introduce a new fellowship program designed to inspire BIPOC young adults to pursue careers in the sports and entertainment industries.
- Received 1,041 unique gifts from individuals in FY23.
- Raised more than $2.5M in individual contributions.
- Launched new Donor Advised Fund (DAF) portal to better manage funds.
- In 2023 DAFs made 688 grants totaling $8.97M.
- DAFs contributed over $825k to Liberty Hill in FY23.
- 70% of DAF grants go to social justice organizations.
- Distributed 221 program grants totaling $7.46M.
- Distributed $1.8M to organizations supporting Public Health Councils that organize non-unionized workers in lower-paying, less-protected jobs in LA County.
- Distributed $1.1M in flexible foundation grants to community-based organizations supporting housing related organizing in L.A.
- Trained 36 individuals across 26 Rising Activist organizations through Rising Activist programming.
- Secured a 5-year, $11M commitment from William + Flora Hewlett Foundation and The David & Lucile Packard Foundation for Environmental Leadership Initiative.
- Through ELI initiative, LHF to train 62 diverse leaders to serve as movement builders in EJ, climate change and environmental justice organizations throughout the state.