What We Do
Four ways we invest in
Los Angeles.
Everything we fund lives inside four areas we care about: the people building small businesses, the organizations teaching practical skills, the nonprofits walking alongside young people through the hardest transitions, and the groups tackling problems the rest of the city hasn't figured out yet.
01 — Entrepreneurship
FOUND/LA supports local entrepreneurs who have been overlooked and underfunded.
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02 — Skill-Set Training
Funding nonprofits that teach young Angelenos how to do something.
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03 — Young People
Putting young people on a path to economic mobility.
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04 — Problem Solving
An annual grants challenge for LA's most pressing problems.
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01 — Entrepreneurship
Our signature program is FOUND/LA.
FOUND/LA offers funding, mentorship, education, and community to local business owners building something real on their block, their street, their side of town. This is where the majority of our grantmaking happens, and where our family's long history with small business shows up most directly.
We don't take applications for this program here on the foundation site — program eligibility, resources, and information on how to get involved live on FOUND/LA's own site.
Small businesses are the backbone of our city. FOUND/LA exists to back the people running them — especially those who've been overlooked and underfunded by traditional systems.
What FOUND/LA Provides
- Direct funding for local founders
- Incubator and cohort programs
- One-on-one mentorship
- Practical business education
- A community of LA business owners
02 — Skill-Set Training
We fund nonprofits teaching Angelenos how to do something.
As the demand for skilled labor continues to rise, skill-set training has become a powerful path to economic mobility, financial independence, and long-term career stability. By investing in organizations that deliver high-quality, accessible training, we give young people the necessary skills to build successful futures.
Our skill-set training grants are made by invitation only.
Not every path runs through a four-year degree. We support nonprofits that equip young people with practical, teachable skills — the kind that lead to living-wage careers and a real sense of mastery.
Fields We've Supported
- Career readiness training
- Culinary and food service
- Skilled trades and construction
- Caregiving and health services
03 — Young People
We back the organizations supporting young people.
Aging out of foster care. Coming out without support. The first months of a new job, or starting college while working multiple jobs. These are moments when a little bit of help can shape what the next decade of life looks like. We back the organizations who step in to provide that help.
Like the rest of our work, these grants are made by invitation.
Not every young person has someone steady in their corner. We support nonprofits walking alongside young people during their most challenging transitions — with a particular focus on transition-age foster and LGBTQ youth.
Who We Support
- Foster and former foster youth
- LGBTQ youth and young adults
- Mentorship and life-skills programs
- Mental health and identity support
- Transition-to-adulthood services
04 — Problem Solving
An annual grants challenge for LA's most pressing problems.
We keep the scope narrow and the cohort small. Past years have focused on issues like access to health care, education support, and youth mental health — always with an LA lens, always driven by the need we're seeing in the community.
Challenges are posted publicly on the foundation's website. Any nonprofit working in the area is welcome to apply. Full proposals will be requested by invitation only.
Each year we run a grants challenge to support organizations working on the city's biggest issues. The topics shift from year to year. The intent doesn't: fund the people closest to the problem, and trust them to know what's needed.
How the Challenge Works
- An annual theme, chosen by the family
- A small cohort of grant recipients
- Unrestricted funding
- Long relationships
The posture behind all four areas.
Trust-based and patient.
We practice trust-based philanthropy and favor unrestricted funding where possible. Once we pick our partners, we step back and let the people closest to the problem lead.
Los Angeles, period.
Our geography is LA County. We go deep in one city rather than broad across many, and we're not looking to change that.
By invitation only.
Most of our work is done by invitation only, with one exception: the annual grants challenge.
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