Initiatives

• 1. Civic capital

  Promoting mobilization and disruption within existing infrastructures.

  • Stockton Economic Empowerment Demonstration

    Piloting basic income as a mechanism to provide economic security and create opportunity.

    Launched by the Economic Security Project, and under the leadership of then-Mayor Michael Tubbs, the Stockton Economic Empowerment Demonstration (SEED) was the nation’s first mayor led guaranteed income demonstration.

  • Los Angeles Mayor’s Fund

    Developing civic pride by showcasing Los Angeles as a world-class creative capital.

    Through the Brand LA initiative, the Mayor’s Fund developed a consistent, revitalized brand identity for Los Angeles. The resulting program, LA Original, celebrates LA as the creative capital of the world and showcases the city’s LA’s manufacturers, makers, and entrepreneurs.

  • Transportation Technology Strategist Fellow

    Designing the future of transportation in Los Angeles.

    With our support, Los Angeles became the only municipality in the nation with a staff person dedicated to developing a citywide transportation technology strategy that promoted shared mobility and supported a safe, sustainable, and tech-enabled transportation network.

  • White House Fellowship in Entrepreneurship and Access to Capital

    Advancing sustainable economic growth and creating quality jobs.

    This fellowship within the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy was designed to support inclusive entrepreneurship and expand business opportunities in the technology field, especially to women and formerly disinvested communities.

  • Fund for Guaranteed Income

    Furthering catalyzing the guaranteed income movement through launching the largest city-based pilot.

    The Fund for Guaranteed Income launched Compton Pledge, a landmark guaranteed income initiative distributing recurring cash relief to low-income residents for two years. It marks the largest city-based guaranteed income pilot in the United States.

• 2. Seed capital

  Seeding social innovation in Los Angeles.

  • Accion Opportunity Fund

    Building capacity for women entrepreneurs.

    We were proud to support Accion Opportunity Fund, investing in targeted outreach and technology to reach and engage women entrepreneurs who are seeking to build sustainable small businesses.

  • The Imagination Foundation

    Fostering creativity and entrepreneurship in youth.

    Inspired by Caine’s Arcade, we provided seed funding to build an organization that would support more kids like Caine. We followed the words of Imagination’s founder, who sought to “help kids not only to learn how to build the things they imagine, but to also imagine the world they can build.”

  • Crop Swap LA

    Piloting microfarms as a solution to food insecurity.

    Through the 2020 LA2050 Grants Challenge, we supported Crop Swap LA in piloting the Asanta Microfarm – a front yard microfarm in South Los Angeles that captures and recycles rainwater to grow regenerative, organic, local food.

  • On The Go LA

    Supporting food entrepreneurs in growing and formalizing their businesses.

    As a 2021 winner of the LA2050 Grants Challenge, On The Go LA received funding to expand its full-service food truck rental operations and help more local food entrepreneurs take the next step in growing and formalizing their businesses.

  • Everytable

    Transforming the food system to make fresh, nutritious food accessible to everyone, everywhere.

    We were early investors in Everytable, a social enterprise seeking to make fresh, nutritious food accessible by offering neighborhood-specific meal pricing at its storefronts. Locations can be found in food deserts, underserved communities with little or no access to nutritious food, and affluent areas.

  • FAVES

    Solving the climate crisis by preventing food waste and upcycling produce.

    As an early-stage investor in PurePlus, the company behind FAVES, we supported their vision to transform imperfect fruits and vegetables that would otherwise be food waste into delicious climate candy.

• 3. Expansion capital

  Bringing proven solutions from other regions to Los Angeles.

  • Peer Health Exchange

    Giving teenagers the knowledge and skills they need to make healthy decisions.

    We helped Peer Health Exchange launch, expand, and deepen its operations in Los Angeles specifically within USC, UCLA, CSU Northridge, and Occidental College – training more college students to teach its health curriculum to 9th-grade students in public schools that lack health education.

  • LIFT

    Combating poverty and expanding opportunity so all can pursue their life goals.

    We worked with LIFT to bring their transformative work to Los Angeles. We provided funding for a feasibility study and organized meetings with public officials, social service organizations, funders, and other local leaders to learn where LIFT could do the most good.

  • City Year

    Leveraging service to make a difference in education.

    We led City Year’s expansion to Los Angeles and then supported their growth in local schools. We also provided seed funding for their LA-based education conference on how service can drive education reform.

  • Homeboy Electronics Recycling

    Providing economic opportunity and responsible e-waste recycling.

    We provided support for the merger of Homeboy Industries and Isidore Recycling, two nonprofits focused on reducing barriers to employment and recidivism while eliminating e-waste.

  • SEED School of LA County

    Offering an outstanding, intensive, college-preparatory educational program.

    Through the 2021 LA2050 Grants Challenge, we funded the SEED School’s expansion to South Los Angeles. SEED is a college-prep boarding school for career readiness in transportation infrastructure, STEM, and the humanities.