CEO Reflections: LA City Council Honors Liberty Hill’s 50-Year Legacy & Community Impact
Dear Supporters,
This month, as Summer came to a close, Liberty Hill was still basking in the glow of our 50th anniversary celebrations.
Over the past year, we have brought our community together to reflect on how much progress we have made over these first five decades, and to look ahead to the future we want to build in Los Angeles in the next fifty years.
As part of these celebrations, we were honored to be invited to City Hall by the L.A. City Council to receive a proclamation recognizing our impact on Los Angeles and our 50 years of support for the LA organizing community.
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We honor Liberty Hill for recognizing that philanthropy itself can be transformed. Its model asks donors not to simply give but to become participants, to learn, listen, build relationships, and engage beyond their gifts.
I want to thank Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson, Councilmember Bob Blumenfield, and Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martinez for making this monumental recognition possible. And a special thanks to our dear supporter former Councilmember Jackie Goldberg who stood beside us on the dais to emphasize the importance of our role in bringing people power into the halls of power.
The personal reflections of the councilmembers spanned Liberty Hill’s decades and showcased the many ways this organization has nurtured future leaders like Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez and has been a part of the leadership journeys of so many of our current and past government officials.
As I stood there in the council chambers, side-by-side with members of our beloved community–from our Founder Sarah Pillsbury, to our dedicated donor activists, Board Members, and staff who have supported us through the years and made this work possible—I felt profoundly grateful.
I’m grateful to our Founders for taking a leap of faith and creating and nurturing an organization that was focused on the radical concept of “Change, Not Charity.”
I’m grateful to all the people who believed in this vision for community-centered philanthropy that elevated the voices of those closest to pain and injustice.
I’m grateful to our community partners who have carried the torch forward on the frontlines through five decades of progress, setbacks, rebounds, and systemic change in Los Angeles and across the country.
And I’m grateful to all of you—our community of supporters, donor activists, and friends, who have stood beside us as we worked to make our vision for a more just future a reality.
Fifty years is an incredible milestone to celebrate. And it’s a reminder that we are standing on the shoulders of giants who paved thew way for us to be here. Liberty Hill puts resources and trust in the people who are organizing every single day in their communities. People who don’t have access to big foundations, big institutions, and many times, not even a seat at the table here at City Hall—and that matters.
Liberty Hill’s story is a fundamentally LA story.
From a small, but mighty organization rising from humble beginnings at a picnic in Topanga Canyon, to our role as a regional leader and stalwart supporter of community-driven change and people-powered solutions—all driven by a diverse community from all walks of life who have come together to fight for a more just future for all of us.
Together, we have supported movements challenging school segregation and housing discrimination, we’ve organized in response to the AIDS crisis and support for Central American refugees, we’ve fought for an end to youth incarceration and an investment in youth development, we’ve stood up against big oil interests to protect communities from toxic pollution, and after the Los Angeles fires we came together to support our affected neighbors however we could.
You have been a key part of those movements. Your support has made our work possible for the past 50 years.
At the end of the day, Liberty Hill is you.
Liberty Hill is all of us standing together.
And as we look ahead to the future of L.A. in 2076, I’m so inspired by this community and your unwavering dedication. Your support has given us the strength to stay in the fight all these years, and it will be that same support that carries our work forward into the future.
I’m so proud to be standing next to you all as we forge ahead together.
Shane
Thank you for honoring Liberty Hill and those who have made a half-century commitment to the people of the City and County of Los Angeles. And thank you for honoring people who understand that organizing is a critical part of social change.