50 Years Strong: Inside Philanthropy Spotlights Liberty Hill's Legacy of Community Power
Since 1976, Liberty Hill Foundation has been a Southern California trailblazer, championing community-based funding approaches the field of philanthropy is now beginning to embrace.
A new Inside Philanthropy feature highlights Liberty Hill’s 50-year legacy of centering the people closest to the issues and putting power in the hands of communities across Los Angeles, underscoring its role as the region’s “Home of Progressive Philanthropy.” This national recognition is both an honor and a testament to the bold vision that has guided the organization for half a century.
As the feature recounts, Liberty Hill was founded by Sarah Pillsbury, Larry Janss, Win McCormack and Anne Mendel, who set out to move beyond traditional charitable giving. Inspired by early pioneers in social justice philanthropy, they sought to direct resources to grassroots movements tackling urgent inequities.
“It was a pretty revolutionary idea then, and it’s still pretty revolutionary…philanthropy does not operate like that, and so I am amazed by just how visionary they were and how deeply they believed,” said President & CEO, Shane Murphy Goldsmith.
That vision remains core to our mission today. Liberty Hill operates as a public foundation, raising funds to support organizations through grantmaking, training and capacity-building across issues including youth and transformative justice, environmental and climate justice, housing and economic justice, and LGBTQ+ and racial justice.
As Liberty Hill looks ahead, its impact continues to resonate across the region and the broader field. Under the leadership of President and CEO Shane Murphy Goldsmith, the foundation has continued to push boundaries, emphasizing community power and participatory grantmaking. The approach remains as visionary today as it was five decades ago.
Joanna Jackson, President & CEO of the Weingart Foundation, shared, “As we look to the next 50 years, we know Liberty Hill will continue to be a vanguard in pushing philanthropy to move more resources, shift power and walk alongside communities closest to the pain to build a Los Angeles where everyone can truly thrive.”
