Our Story
When LA Forward began, Los Angeles was full of people who cared about housing, immigrant justice, democracy, the environment, public safety, and local government — but too few clear ways for those same people to understand where power lived, how decisions were made, or where their time could actually matter. Across the region, strong advocates and coalitions were already doing serious work. But those campaigns needed more people behind them.
LA Forward was founded to fill that gap.
From the beginning, the vision was ambitious: help people move from concern to action to power. Los Angeles needed an organization that could connect people ready to create change with the campaigns, coalitions, and political fights that needed them.
LA Forward officially launched in September 2016 with its now renowned voter guide. Local elections shape so much of daily life in Los Angeles — housing, public safety, budgets, transportation, climate, and who has power in local government — but voters are often left with long ballots, confusing races, and very little trusted information. LA Forward’s guide gave people something clear, values-driven, and easy to share. It helped people feel less overwhelmed, more informed, and more capable of participating.
But information was only the beginning. LA Forward’s bigger question was: once people understand what is happening, how do we move them into action — and eventually into leadership?
In the early years, there were happy hours, small events, digital advocacy campaigns, working groups, and in-person meetings. One early city government reform campaign drove hundreds of messages to LA City Council. More than 70 people showed up to the first-ever organizing kickoff in Mid-City. Partner organizations came into the room. Volunteers came looking for a way to help. The model was taking shape: bring people in, connect them to real campaigns, give them structure, and help them take action.
That framework became one of LA Forward’s greatest strengths. The organization created clear roles, clear actions, and real pathways for people to take on more responsibility. Rather than treating volunteers as a list or an audience, LA Forward developed them into leaders who could organize, advocate, educate, meet with elected officials, support campaigns, and bring more people into the work.
That model allowed LA Forward to turn modest resources into major political impact.
In its first decade, LA Forward helped mobilize thousands of calls to decriminalize street vending and protect immigrants. It helped co-found and lead the Healthy LA Coalition, bringing together more than 375 organizations to fight for policies that kept people housed and protected workers during the pandemic. It has played a driving role in coalitions that have won major policy changes, including historic renter protections and the launch and expansion of unarmed crisis response in LA City.
LA Forward also helped strengthen the electoral infrastructure Los Angeles needs. The organization co-led work to expand LA’s matching funds program, giving grassroots candidates a much better chance to compete and win. It built voter education tools that became trusted resources across LA City and County. It raised hundreds of thousands of dollars, talked to tens of thousands of voters, and helped move people, volunteers, and resources into candidate and policy campaigns.
And it invested in the leadership pipeline behind those wins. LA Forward has run leadership development academies, graduating more than 120 participants, many of whom now serve as elected officials, City Hall and campaign staff, commissioners, and community leaders. It has hosted more than 700 public events and supported thousands of working group meetings and conversations with elected officials.
Just as importantly, LA Forward learned that power does not always mean being out front. Sometimes the organization’s role is to lead. Sometimes it is to bring people into a partner’s campaign, explain a complicated issue clearly, create public pressure, move volunteers, support a coalition, or ensure local government feels accountable to the people it serves.
That flexibility is part of what makes LA Forward so effective. It knows how to organize people. It knows how to organize information. It knows how to organize resources. And it knows how to move all three into the fights that shape Los Angeles. What began as a voter guide and a scrappy volunteer effort has become a political home, training ground, advocacy organization, and trusted source of civic information. It is a place where people learn how power works, volunteers become leaders, coalitions get stronger, voters can access trusted information, and progressive campaigns gain the people power they need to win. Because Los Angeles does not need more people watching from the sidelines. It needs more people organized, informed, trained, and ready to win.