Thank you for your interest in Liberty Hill Foundation’s Fund for Change (FFC) program. Through FFC, Liberty Hill funds LA County-based community organizing that advances our North Star: to build power in communities most impacted by systemic injustice to achieve social justice and equity.

Liberty Hill recognizes that racism operates through “power over” systems that uphold inequity, extraction, and exclusion. Undoing these institutionalized harms requires cultivating “power with” — collective, community, and systemic power. We believe that lasting social change is driven by community organizing and social justice movements, and therefore we apply a Racial Justice lens across our grantmaking and programming to advance equity and liberation.

Liberty Hill supports models of organizing within existing and emerging organizations in low-income, communities of color that: 
  • are driven by a broad and growing base of people directly impacted by injustice; 
  • develop and cultivate leaders from the membership base to further the organization’s mission;
  • advance a justice-oriented mission inclusive of advocacy and achievement of legislative and policy wins;
  • have a clear strategy to win systemic and institutional changes to policies and practices, regulations and laws in the public and private sectors;
  • utilize multiple organizing strategies such as coalition building, inside-outside strategy, grassroots research, policy advocacy, communications, and voter or civic engagement;
  • advance racial justice by addressing institutional policies and practices that result in racial inequities;  
  • connect local organizing efforts to broader social movements; and
  • are representative of the geographic and ethnic/racial diversity of Los Angeles County

Fund for Change grantees are community-based organizations that:
  • Are dedicated to changing policies and practices in Los Angeles that advance social and economic justice through an intersectional framework with highest consideration for organizations centering LGBTQ, Immigrant, Disability Justice, Black, Native communities and/or systems-impacted individuals through community organizing.
  • Demonstrate evidence of vision, leadership, basic organizing skills, and programmatic work that has already been conducted either on a voluntary basis or with limited resources.
  • Have an annual budget of less than $1,000,000 on average over the past three years. Organizations that have fiscal sponsorship or are still seeking sponsorship and 501c3 status are eligible.
  • Prioritizing geographies that are historically under invested in through Liberty Hill's and the broader philanthropic landscape.
  • Are navigating and responding to transitions as a part of the organizing ecosystem in Los Angeles County such as:
    • Emerging and/or newly established organizations
    • Navigating budget cuts due to philanthropic funding changes
    • Budget is being impacted by the reduction in city, county, state, and/or federal funding
    • Niche organizations building power for hyperlocal or with a population-based approach
    • Responding to community needs by launching new or creative community organizing approaches
    • Restructuring or shifting strategic priorities

Liberty Hill Foundation is committed to radical accommodation in trust based philanthropic practices (see link here). Living in this value, we aim to increase transparency and reduce the time and labor burden of grant applications. We replaced a previously standard LOI (letter of interest) process with an alignment survey.

Please spend about 15 minutes completing the alignment form. Organizations whose missions and survey responses align most closely with the Fund for Change grantmaking program will be invited to apply via a short application.

Please review the timeline below before completing the alignment survey.  
  • December: Some organizations not previously funded the through Fund for Change may be invited to meet with Liberty Hill staff to deepen understanding of the organization’s mission
  • January 4th at 11:59 PM: Alignment Survey closes
  • Early – Mid January: all organizations that completed the alignment survey will be notified of their eligibility and, if eligible, will be invited to apply
  • Early February Applications due
  • End of February – Early March: site visits will be conducted throughout with Liberty Hill staff and members of the Liberty Hill Community Funding Board, an advisory board comprised of community members and activists that guide our grantmaking decisions. This is a body separate from the Liberty Hill Board of Directors. 
  • Late March: Organizations will be informed of grant decisions

For questions, please contact: Magdalena Mireles Corzo at mmireles@libertyhill.org
Definitions
  • Community organizing: Community organizing is a strategy rooted in power building that brings people directly impacted by problems together to drive change. We know that those who are closest to problems are the ones who are also closest to the solutions. Community organizing empowers people to take control of their lives and destinies. It provides a toolbox for everyone to develop leadership skills, gain confidence, and become active participants in shaping their communities. Organizers don’t just make statements, we make a difference in the lives of people. It’s all about people and their power. People, power, progress (CoCo South LA).
  • Base-building describes another central aspect of community organizing: the development of relationships into an organized network, typically in a member-led organization, to yield power for social change. The cycle of power-building is about developing volunteer leaders who can organize others, developing lead organizers who can train new organizers, and ensuring the development of volunteer leaders, new organizers, and lead organizers (Peoples Action).
  • Organization Membership: non‐staff members who actively support and engage with your work. This can be a paid membership group, collective, or core group of volunteers (Ex: Tenants organizing for their housing rights, student members advocating for student rights
  • Organization Leader: non‐staff leadership who play a critical role in your organizations mission, including coalition leaders, trainers, community advocates, key leadership roles from within the membership
  • Inland Empire: this metropolitan region begins in Pomona (LA County) and extends to Riverside and San Bernardino Counties and is characterized economically by a large manufacturing, distribution, and logistics bases.
  • Antelope Valley: this northern most region of Los Angeles County includes Palmdale and Lancaster and is economically characterized by aviation, military, and logistics industries.
  • Systems-impacted individuals: individuals directly or indirectly impacted by the state’s control over individual agency, particularly in the criminal justice or foster care systems. Such as those who have been incarcerated or detained in a prison, immigration detention center, local jail, juvenile detention center, or any other carceral setting.

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