Liberty Hill Foundation

What Liberty Hill Foundation does

Liberty Hill Foundation is a 501(c)(3) social justice philanthropy organization founded in 1976 and headquartered in Los Angeles at 1001 Wilshire Blvd. It functions as an intermediary between funders (foundations, corporations, and individual donors) and 200+ grassroots organizations operating across Los Angeles County in priority areas including Youth and Transformative Justice, Economic and Housing Justice, Environmental and Climate Justice, Racial Justice, LGBTQ and Gender Justice, Electoral Power Building, and Immigrant Rights. Core programmatic offerings include the Fund for Change and Community Funding Board for direct grantmaking, a portfolio of Donor Advised Funds and eight named Giving Circles (including Angelenos for L.A., NextGen, OUT Fund, X Fund, Environment + Justice Donor Circle, Circle of Change, Susan's Circle, and Pobladores Fund), multi-year power-building vehicles such as the Liberation Fund and Bold Vision Initiative, and capacity-building programs including the Wally Marks Leadership Institute for Change, ELI Fellowship, and Commissions Training Program (the latter delivered in partnership with the LA County Board of Supervisors). Donor engagement is structured through a tiered Donor Activism Program (Sustainers; Changemakers at $1,200+/year; Advocates at $5,000+/year; Champions at $10,000+/year) and channels including the Anthem Award-winning podcast "Conversations from the Frontlines," the annual Upton Sinclair Dinner, and integrated workplace-giving platforms.

In 2025 Liberty Hill awarded $8.8M in program grants and $13M through DAFs and giving circles, while raising $14.8M from foundations and corporations and $2.7M from individual contributions. The foundation supports campaigns such as Stay Housed L.A. (serving roughly 160 tenants monthly with legal representation and 575 with legal advice), Liberty Vote, and Right to Counsel, and holds flagship partnerships with the LA Dodgers Foundation, Weingart Foundation, Ballmer Group, Sierra Health Foundation, Southern California Grantmakers, and the Roy Patricia Disney Foundation. Operationally it runs on standard nonprofit infrastructure (Every Action, Direct Connect PCI-compliant payments, Benevity/CyberGrants/Frontstream/YourCause workplace-giving integrations, Double the Donation matching-gift services, and FreeWill for planned giving), governed by a board and led by President & CEO Shane Murphy Goldsmith, with COO Manal J. Aboelata, VP of Philanthropy Nisha Randhava, and VP of Strategic Alignment Corey Matthews joining an expanded executive team in January 2026 as the organization marked its 50th anniversary.

Name

Liberty Hill Foundation

Legal name

Liberty Hill Foundation

Website

https://libertyhill.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1976

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Liberty Hill Foundation is a 50-year-old Los Angeles-based social justice philanthropy that funds and trains 200+ grassroots organizations across LA County in youth justice, housing, environmental, and racial justice through grants, donor advised funds, giving circles, and leadership training programs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Social Justice Philanthropy and Grantmaking Services

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Human Rights Organizations (813311), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321), Social Advocacy Organizations (8133)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Private Foundations (BPAGAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Community Foundations (BPAGAKAB), Family Offices & Philanthropic Advisors (Grantmaking) (BPAGAKAD), Civil Liberties & Constitutional Rights Advocacy (BPAGAFAA), Environmental & Climate Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAM), Youth Leadership, Civic Education & Service-Learning Nonprofits (BPAGADAI)

Keywords

• Social justice philanthropy
• Grantmaking services
• Donor advised funds
• Grassroots capacity building
• Community foundation giving

Headquarters

HQ city

Los Angeles

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Foundation & Corporate Grants: Liberty Hill receives grants from foundations and corporations to fund social justice programs and grassroots organizing efforts across Los Angeles.
2. Individual Contributions: Individual donors contribute through various programs including monthly sustainers, annual gifts, and major donor activism at various tier levels.
3. Donor Advised Funds & Giving Circles: Manages donor advised funds and giving circles that pool resources for strategic grantmaking to social justice causes.
4. Planned Giving & Legacy Gifts: Bequests and estate planning donations through the Circle of Angels Society for long-term sustainability.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Liberty Hill Foundation is a Los Angeles-based social justice philanthropy organization that channels foundation, corporate, and individual donor funds into grants, training, and capacity-building support for more than 200 grassroots organizations working on youth justice, housing, environmental justice, LGBTQ, and electoral issues across Los Angeles County. Its core offerings include multi-program grantmaking, donor advised funds and giving circles, leadership training institutes, advocacy campaigns such as Stay Housed L.A. and Liberty Vote, and a tiered donor activism program.

Product overview

Liberty Hill Foundation operates as a social justice philanthropy organization offering a portfolio of integrated grantmaking, training, and campaign programs. The core offering consists of grantmaking programs including the Fund for Change & Community Funding Board, supplemented by Donor Advised Funds and Giving Circles for collective philanthropy. Capacity building is delivered through training programs like the Wally Marks Leadership Institute for Change, ELI Fellowship, and Commissions Training Program. The organization supports advocacy campaigns including Stay Housed L.A., Liberty Vote, and Right to Counsel, while the Liberation Fund and Bold Vision Initiative provide multi-year power building support. Donor engagement is managed through a tiered Donor Activism Program, with the Conversations from the Frontlines Podcast serving as a content platform and the annual Upton Sinclair Dinner as the flagship fundraising event.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Grantmaking Programs Multi-program grantmaking portfolio that funds and supports grassroots organizations leading social change organizing across Los Angeles County, awarding $8.8M in program grants in 2025.
• Fund for Change and Community Funding Board Featured pooled grantmaking initiative that directs resources to grassroots organizing and community-led initiatives for social justice across Los Angeles County.
• Donor Advised Funds Philanthropic vehicles that allow donors to contribute to a fund and recommend grants to nonprofits over time, with $13M in DAF and Giving Circle grants awarded in 2025.
• Giving Circles Self-directed donor groups including Angelenos for L.A. Giving Circle, NextGen Giving Circle, OUT Fund, The X Fund Giving Circle, Environment + Justice Donor Circle, Circle of Change, Susan's Circle, and Pobladores Fund that pool donations for collective impact on social justice causes.
• Wally Marks Leadership Institute for Change Leadership training program providing capacity building to ensure the future success of grassroots leaders representing their communities within movement campaigns and local government.
• ELI Fellowship Program Fellowship program developing environmental justice leaders through training and capacity-building initiatives across Los Angeles County.
• Commissions Training Program Training program that prepares community members to serve on government commissions and represent their communities within movement campaigns and local government, including a partnership with the LA County Board of Supervisors in District 2.
• Donor Activism Program Tiered donor program offering Sustainers (base monthly or annual giving), Changemakers ($1,200+/year), Advocates ($5,000+/year), and Champions ($10,000+/year) levels, each with recognition, event access, and dedicated support to connect donors to grassroots organizations.

Quantifiable outcome

• $8.8M in Program Grants Awarded (2025)
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments8 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration9 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.

• Los Angeles County Board of SupervisorscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with LA County to bring the Commissions Training Program to District 2, supporting development of community leaders in local government
• Los Angeles Dodgers FoundationflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerMulti-year partnership supporting social justice initiatives and youth development programs, with Dodgers Foundation providing grants to Liberty Hill-supported organizations
• Southern California GrantmakerscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership hosting leadership roundtables and collaborative philanthropy initiatives in Southern California
• Sierra Health FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative partnership for leadership roundtable initiatives and regional philanthropy efforts
• My Brother's KeepercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational initiative partnership supporting boys and young men of color through local programming and capacity building
• PDG ConsultingminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCorporate giving partner that channels philanthropy through Liberty Hill, with employee matching gift programs and workplace giving initiatives

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• California Community Foundation: Large Los Angeles community foundation managing donor-advised funds and making place-based grants across LA County. Closely comparable as a community-rooted grantmaker with DAFs, giving circles, and civic leadership programs.
• Borealis Philanthropy: Social justice grantmaking intermediary that pools resources from multiple funders and regrants to movement infrastructure, including racial and immigrant justice. Comparable as a progressive pooled-fund intermediary supporting grassroots organizations.
• Tides Foundation: National social justice philanthropy infrastructure organization that operates donor-advised funds, giving vehicles, and capacity-building programs for progressive movements. Highly comparable model to Liberty Hill's DAF and giving-circle approach.
• Weingart Foundation: Major LA-based private foundation funding nonprofit capacity building, social justice, and community organizing. It is a flagship financial partner of Liberty Hill and the most direct local comparable in scale and geographic focus.

Broad incumbents

• Ford Foundation: Major national foundation with significant LA presence funding racial justice, economic opportunity, and civic engagement. Comparable in mission and grantee overlap though operates at far larger scale.
• Ballmer Group: Large national philanthropic organization funding economic mobility and social justice initiatives, including work Liberty Hill partners with. Acts as a flagship funder and broader incumbent operating in overlapping issue areas.
• The California Endowment: California-focused health foundation that funds community organizing and power-building across LA, including for many of the same grassroots grantees Liberty Hill supports. Overlaps on place and movement-building approach.
• Open Society Foundations: Global grantmaking foundation supporting human rights, racial justice, and democratic participation. Operates at much larger scale with overlapping priorities including criminal justice reform and economic justice advocacy.

Emerging players

• Foundation for Black Communities: Emerging pooled fund by and for Black communities redirecting philanthropic resources to Black-led organizations. Comparable mission overlap on racial justice grantmaking and movement building.
• Haymarket People's Fund: Progressive grantmaking fund pooling donor resources for grassroots organizing and movement infrastructure. Smaller in scale but closely comparable in pooled-funding model supporting social justice organizing.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/liberty-hill-foundation
• Xx.com/libertyhill
• Facebookfacebook.com/libertyhill

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Liberty Hill Foundation