Giving Tuesday 2023

Over the years we’ve written about many wonderful non-profit organizations, large and small, that are doing great things in our community. We’ve also profiled some groups further away that are especially relevant to our readers. As you think about making a donation on this Giving Tuesday, we offer these suggestions of worthy organizations, some of which may be familiar to you, and some new and worth exploring.

Inspired by our bee, we are naturally community- and climate-focused so we have grouped the list into three sections, generally serving people, places, and planet.

People

Alexandria House – Provides safe and supportive housing for women and children experiencing homelessness and trauma.

Anderson-Munger YMCA – Puts Christian principles into practice through programs that build healthy spirit, mind, and body.

Big Sunday – Organizes more than 2,000 local volunteer opportunities every year, from service projects to collecting and packaging materials for food, book, and school supply drives, school beautifications, and many more.

Boys and Girls Club of Hollywood – Provides academic enrichment, leadership skills, physical activity and athletics, computer literacy, music lessons and fine arts programs for more than 1,000 underserved students in Hollywood and surrounding communities.

The Center in Hollywood – Connects people to community, healthcare, and housing with dignity.

Ebell of Los Angeles – A philanthropic organization founded by women, for women, which supports dozens of non-profits and scholarships, and hosts special events, live music, dinners, and community forums.

Everwalk – Builds community and promotes physical and mental health through a variety of walking events both local and national.

Food Forward – Fights hunger and prevents food waste by rescuing fresh surplus produce, connecting this abundance with people experiencing food insecurity, and inspiring others to do the same. (Also coordinates with the Greater Wilshire Neighborhood Council in the monthly food gleaning and redistribution at our Larchmont Farmers Market.)

Genesis STEAM – Provides free STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math) programming to the students, schools, and communities that need it the most.

Hollywood Food Coalition – Feeds and serves the hungry every day of the year so they can build better lives; rescues and redistributes food daily to other organizations.

HopeNet – Provides direct services to communities throughout the Metro Los Angeles Area to break the cycles of food and housing insecurity.

Imagine LA – Works to prevent first-time and repeat homelessness and to equip families to maintain housing stability and thrive long-term.

J Los Angeles (Westside Jewish Community Center) – Builds community based on Jewish values by creating opportunities for gathering and learning, including educational, social, cultural, recreational, and communal programs and activities.

Jewish Free Loan Association – Provides interest-free loans, instead of charity, for needs such as emergency medical and dental bills, auto and small business loans, infertility, and more, to promote self-sufficiency with dignity for borrowers.

LA Family Housing – Helps people transition out of homelessness and poverty through a continuum of housing enriched with supportive services.

LAPD Olympic Division’s Shoes from Santa – Provides new shoes for local children who need them, and a big holiday celebration event where the shoes are distributed.

Project Angel Food – Prepares and delivers more than 1.5 million medically tailored meals each year, free of charge to homes of men, women, and children affected by life-threatening illnesses.

PTA/PTO/Booster clubs at your local schools – Includes Third Street PTA, Friends of Third, Wilshire Crest PTA, Wilshire Park PTA, and Van Ness PTO. All support the welfare, lives, and education of their school’s students in a variety of ways.

Saban Community Clinic – Provides whole-person, compassionate health care services to anyone regardless of their circumstances.

Serving Up Hope – Changes the lives of children around the world through the sport of tennis.

Thrive in Joy Nick Fagnano Foundation – Encourages young people to discover their character strengths and the joy of service through programs inspired by the life of Nick Fagnano.

Wilshire Rotary – Local chapter of the international organization that provides service to others, promotes integrity, and advances world understanding, goodwill, and peace through a fellowship of business, professional, and community leaders.

World Harvest Food Bank – Collects and distributes an average of 25 million pounds of food each year through its local storefront and more than 200 partner agencies including food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters, and after-school programs for children.

Places

Academy Museum – The largest museum in the United States devoted to the arts, sciences, and artists of moviemaking.

Art Deco Society of Los Angeles – Promotes public awareness of the Art Deco era through the advocacy for historic preservation and celebration of its art, architecture, fashion, design, and culture.

California Science Center –  Promotes science as an indispensable tool for understanding our world, accessibility and inclusiveness, and enriching people’s lives, and stimulates curiosity and inspires science learning by creating fun, memorable experiences.

Fountain Theatre – Provides a nurturing, creative home for multi-ethnic theatre and dance artists.

Friends of the Library – Individual non-profit groups serving and supporting our local LAPL branch libraries, including Fairfax, John C. Fremont, Memorial, and Wilshire.

Greenway Arts Alliance – Unites communities through art, education and social enterprise, including its Greenway Court Theater, Greenway Institute for the Arts, and weekly Melrose Trading Post flea market.

Hollywood Fringe Festival –  Celebrates freedom of expression and collaboration in the performing arts community through its annual open-access, community-derived theatre event hosting hundreds of productions by independent performers and local, national, and international arts companies in fully equipped theaters, parks, clubs, churches, restaurants and other unexpected places.

Hollywood Heritage – Preserves and protects the historic built environment of Hollywood by actively interacting with city, state and federal agencies, and by educating the public through the operation of the Hollywood Heritage Museum (the Lasky DeMille Barn) and sponsoring and presenting programs on preservation and film history.

Holocaust Museum LA – Teaches students and visitors to think critically about the lessons of the Holocaust and its social relevance today through customized tours, artifact-rich exhibitions, creative educational programs, and intergenerational conversations with survivors.

LA Conservancy – Educates and advocates to recognize, preserve, and revitalize the historic architectural and cultural resources of Los Angeles County.

LACMA – The largest art museum in the western United States, with a collection of nearly 152,000 objects that illuminate 6,000 years of artistic expression across the globe.

Library Foundation of Los Angeles – Provides critical support to the Los Angeles Public Library to help maintain its free programs, resources, and services for the millions of adults, children, and youth in Los Angeles, and to promote greater awareness of its valuable resources.

Natural History Museum (including the La Brea Tar Pits and William S. Hart Museum) – The largest natural and cultural history collection in the western United States, protecting and sharing more than 35 million specimens and artifacts, and exploring nature and culture in both L.A. and the world.

Petersen Automotive Museum – Educates and builds passion around the automobile, and studies the crucial role that Los Angeles, and California as a whole, has played in the development of the automobile and its establishment as a cultural artifact.

Theatre of Note – Ensemble-based theatre organization dedicated to providing a creative environment in which to collaborate and develop maverick theater.

West Adams Heritage Association – Devoted to the preservation of the historic West Adams section of Los Angeles through the creation of HPOZs and designation of Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments; supports beautification activities, block club initiatives, neighborhood councils, and education about the area’s cultural heritage, as well as possible restoration techniques.

Windsor Square Hancock Park Historical Association – Preserves, collects, and promotes through special events the rich and illustrious history of the Greater Rancho La Brea, including architectural landmarks, historical sites, and finely appointed homes, while generating a supporting community spirit.

Planet

California Native Plant Society – Dedicated to conserving California native plants and their natural habitats while increasing the understanding, enjoyment, and horticultural use of native plants.

EnrichLA – Builds and cares for edible gardens in Los Angeles schools, based on the belief that every child in every school in Los Angeles should experience the joy of growing, harvesting, preparing and eating simple whole foods.

Friends of Griffith Park – Promotes the enlightened stewardship of Griffith Park so it can survive and thrive well beyond the 21st century.

Garden Conservancy – Preserves, shares, and celebrates America’s gardens and diverse gardening traditions for the education and inspiration of the public.

Garden School Foundation – Provides in-depth garden-based education to youth at Title I schools in Los Angeles, strengthening connections between food justice, environmental stewardship, and community health.

Homegrown National Park – A grassroots call to action to regenerate biodiversity and ecosystem function by planting native plants and creating new ecological networks.

LA Neighborhood Land Trust – Addresses Los Angeles’s park inequities by creating urban parks and community gardens in communities of color that otherwise have little to no access to green space.

LA Parks Foundation – Enhances, expands, preserves, and promotes public recreation, parks, and open space for the diverse people of Los Angeles.

Lange Foundation – Saves impounded companion animals and prepares them for their adoption journeys to new, safe, and loving homes.

The Rescue Train – Works to drastically reduce the number of animals living on the streets of Los Angeles and/or in kill shelters through rescue and rehoming, shelter intervention, dedication to spaying and neutering, and collaboration with other like-minded organizations.

Theodore Payne Foundation – Inspires and educates Southern Californians about the beauty and ecological benefits of California native plants.

Tortoiseland – Local tortoise rescue and small inner city sanctuary that has saved hundreds of tortoises of all shapes, sizes, and species.

Trust for Public Land – Creates parks and protects land for people, ensuring healthy, livable communities for generations to come.