The Frontline Impact Digest
Spring 2025
Welcome to the Spring Issue of The Frontline Impact Digest—your source for stories, updates, and highlights from Liberty Hill Foundation.
In this issue, we’re bringing you the latest updates from our Environmental & Climate Justice and Economic & Housing Justice initiatives and spotlighting the work being done at the frontlines of Youth & Transformative Justice. You’ll also get the chance to read insights and reflections from leaders in the field of philanthropy in our Funder Perspectives segment. This and so much more!
We will not rest until society provides justice and equality for all.
This quarterly e-publication will provide you with insight into our work in Los Angeles and bring you behind the scenes of the fights for Youth and Transformative Justice, LGBTQ and Gender Justice, Environmental and Climate Justice, and Economic and Housing Justice here in Los Angeles.
Spring 2025
Hear from the voices of the movement and our partners fighting for justice and equity in Los Angeles.
Fight Back and Fight On
In this time of political instability, deep federal funding cuts, and rising attacks on marginalized communities, frontline organizations across Los Angeles are not backing down. They are organizing, mobilizing, and winning. And Liberty Hill is standing with them—just as we have for nearly five decades. We call on our philanthropic partners to fight back—and fight on—with us. Invest in this moment. Invest in this infrastructure. Let’s protect what we’ve won and push forward together—toward a just, equitable Los Angeles for all.
The Price of Disinvestment: Why Philanthropy Must Act Now & Remain Steadfast
Across the country, vital federal funding in our communities has been frozen or withdrawn. Programs that once served as pillars of opportunity—affordable housing programs, environmental protections, public education, Medicaid and so much more—are being gutted. The impact is felt most by those who already face the steepest barriers: immigrants, trans people, low-wage workers, and communities of color.
Liberty Hill Partners with Southern California Grantmakers and Sierra Health Foundation to Host Leadership Roundtable
Recently, more than 40 leaders from philanthropy across Southern California gathered in downtown Los Angeles to discuss how to defend multi-racial democracy in an era of federal disinvestment and attacks on vulnerable communities. Nationally recognized author, community organizer, and president of the Freedom Together Foundation––Deepak Bhargava––called on funders and leaders in the philanthropic space to organize, strategize, and make space for difficult conversations as we take on today’s challenges together.
Young Women’s Freedom Center & the Liberation Fund
Los Angeles County paid a staggering $4 billion settlement—the largest of its kind in U.S. history—for nearly 7,000 childhood sexual abuse claims in its juvenile detention and foster care systems. The question for philanthropy is not if we act, but how and how fast. For Liberty Hill Foundation, the answer includes turning to and resourcing the leaders and organizations on the frontlines who understand the real impact of these systemic failures on children’s lives, and what happens when those children grow up to see these harms replicated across generations.
Q&A with Shawn Escoffery
Our Funder Perspectives segment highlights insights from dedicated leaders in the world of philanthropy and spotlight their work to improve Los Angeles. In this issue, we are proud to feature Executive Director of The Roy & Patricia Disney Foundation—Shawn Escoffery! “Ultimately, I see philanthropy as a way to scale community-based solutions and impact. It’s a powerful tool to shift resources back into the hands of community leaders—those who are closest to the issues and best positioned to drive change. That’s what excites me.”
Fund for Change Partners: On the Frontlines of Democracy
The start of 2025 has brought profound disruption—and even deeper clarity about what’s at stake. In the first 100 days of a new presidential administration, our frontline organizers have faced relentless political attacks, shrinking public dollars, and a chaotic national landscape. Closer to home, Los Angeles communities are still reeling from the devastating wildfires while navigating an uncertain economic climate that has hit working families the hardest. Amid these overlapping crises, Liberty Hill’s Fund for Change partners continue to rise.
EJ Ready: Maintaining Momentum Amid Setbacks
EJ Ready is providing technical assistance to federal grant awardees to help them fortify their programs and withstand heightened scrutiny under the new administration. We also continue to prepare small community-based organizations to collaborate on proposals and have broadened our focus to include a spectrum of public funding sources across local, regional and state agencies. To help demystify the web of funding streams, we are working with USC-Equity Research Institute to map out the funding opportunities that are most aligned with cohort members’ priorities and ripest for their engagement.
Why Codified Right to Counsel in LA City is within Arm’s Reach
After years of relentless advocacy, the Right to Counsel Coalition worked alongside the City of LA to get a "Right to Counsel" ordinance nearly passed into law. Unfortunately, one last minute roadblock created by the LA City Attorney has thwarted final passage. The City Attorney is requesting changes to the definition of who can be considered a tenant—which highly favors the landlord lobby. Eviction defense, outreach and education, rental subsidies, and tenant navigation services are a critical piece of a larger homelessness prevention strategy.