Winning the Vote Was Only the Beginning: What Measure J—and Now Measure E—Can Teach Philanthropy About Lasting Change

Measure J helped create a pathway for hundreds of millions of public dollars to flow back into Los Angeles communities. Its six-year fight to implement the measure offers a larger lesson for funders: government can finance services at scale, but philanthropy must support the organizing, advocacy and accountability that makes policy a reality and systemic change possible.

In November 2020, more than 2 million Los Angeles County voters approved Measure J, requiring the County to dedicate at least 10 percent of locally generated unrestricted revenue to community investment and alternatives to incarceration. This victory grew from years of organizing by residents and frontline groups demanding an approach to community safety rooted in prevention, care, opportunity and community voice.

But the work had just begun. 

Creating systemic change often follows a familiar pattern. Campaigns are visible with the spotlight on organizers, rallies, voter outreach, media coverage, and Election Day hype. 

But implementation is quieter and harder, unfolding through budgets, county department meetings, advisory bodies, procurement rules, and legal challenges. Often, just when a bold public commitment is at risk of withering, supporters stop paying attention. But the story of Measure J provides a hopeful alternative.

The leverage of flexible philanthropy

With philanthropy following community’s leadership, Measure J helped create the pathway for Los Angeles County's Care First Community Investment (CFCI) framework. According to the County's Justice, Care and Opportunities Department, nearly 400 community organizations have received more than $350 million in CFCI Grants. The County reports $376 million in total CFCI investment through Year 3, and more than $73 million has been approved for Year 5 grants.

That scale matters. Philanthropy can rarely invest hundreds of millions of dollars in a local system. Government can, but private dollars are indispensable. 

In the case of Measure J, philanthropic dollars supported the organizers, coalitions and movement infrastructure that built demand for the measure, shaped implementation, monitored the County, and protected community decision-making. 

This funding became especially critical when Measure J faced legal challenges. Defending it required lawyers, policy expertise and sustained community participation. Flexible support from funders, including us here at Liberty Hill, as well as the Heising-Simons Foundation and the Rosenberg Foundation, helped partners move from organizing to legal defense urgently. Philanthropy filled the crucial role needed to preserve Measure J.

A victory can still be lost

Measure J's current chapter continues to call for continued vigilance. Changes associated with Measure G, the 2024 charter reform measure, created an unintended conflict that put Measure J's long-term status at risk, which brings us to Measure E, which will be on the ballot in November. Measure E will ask voters to protect and restore the Measure J framework while reconciling it with governance changes previously approved through Measure G. In effect, voters are being asked to safeguard a community investment mandate they already approved six years ago.

For philanthropy, Measure E is not simply another ballot measure. It is a test of our persistence. 

Real change requires a different lens

For lasting change, funders can shift from only asking, "How many people did our grant directly serve?" and also ask, “how will our support make impact over the long term and prime us for the next inevitable fight?”

When nearly 400 organizations can access more than $350 million in public Care First grants, the philanthropic dollars that support the organizing, advocacy and implementation have an exponential impact, helping build the infrastructure that makes public investment more equitable, accountable and durable.

Frontline groups working to protect Measure J (through Measure E) continue to need flexible support now. And funding for this type of work over the long term is needed to build and sustain power in our communities. Movements do not need funders only at the starting line. They need partners who remain when history is actually being made through implementing, financing, defending, and protecting the community's voice.