Karma grew in 2024 with a budget that more than doubled, expanding in house projects Bici Libre and Roots in Motion as well as adding fiscal sponsored projects. The increased budget was mostly due to receiving bigger grants as well as increased funding from program services. The increased funding expanded programing, offered more material support to participants and opened up the opportunity to compensate people who had so often worked as volunteers.
Outdoor Accessibility and Education
Roots in Motion’s biggest accomplishment of the year was putting on three events to promote mental health resources as well as reduce stigma associated with seeking help for mental health needs. These events were funded by the County of Los Angeles Department of Mental Health CALMHSA and in partnership with Hearts for Sight. We led a Hike to Flat Top, a bike ride along the LA River and an urban walk from the Eco Village.
Roots in Motion also held naturalist walks led by knowledgeable instructors at local parks.
Bicycle Repair and Safety Education
Bici Libre repaired bikes at six CicLAvia events, helping cyclists with minor repairs during the event. These events brought in revenue directly from CicLAva as well as donations from event participants. CicLAvia is also a great way to engage with the community and outreach to new partners and volunteers.
Bici Libre was awarded a $5,000 grant from the Silver Lake Neighborhood council for bike repair and giveaway at SELAH homeless services. Every Saturday Bici Libre volunteers help fix bikes as well as give away bikes, lights, locks while SELAH offers other resources such as food, clothes, showers and case management at the Silver Lake Community Church. The first Sunday of the month SELAH has an outreach program in Los Feliz. Volunteers with Bici Libre even help gather some of the clothes donations and food donations that are distributed at SELAH.
Bici Libre began repairing bikes at the Hollywood Food Coalition on Wednesdays at the Salvation Army Hollywood location.
Through these projects, Bici Libre assisted over 600 people and gave away 42 bikes with helmets, lights, locks to participants of SELAH homeless services that demonstrated an understanding of bike safety and traffic laws. After receiving their bikes, many returned for maintenance, shared that the bike was helping them commute, as well as helping others with bike repair.
Bici Libre also began a partnership with the Bikerowave, a bike co-op in Marvista to give away lights, locks and helmets at their location with a $2,800 grant from the Mar Vista Neighborhood Council that will start in 2025. This partnership has the Bikerowave distributing the safety items purchased by KARMA through the grant. The Bikerowave has been helping people get bikes, and bike repair help but didn’t have the resources to also provide the accessories that greatly improve the safety and utility of the bicycle in an urban setting.
Fiscal Sponsorship Projects:
The School for the Ecocene grew into its own LLC and became more financially independent in 2024, only relying on KARMA for receiving donations, verses all financial activities that previously were handled by KARMA
Ballet Foclorico
All Power Books joined KARMA in late 2024 in order to receive donations for their community food distribution, community clinic and other philanthropic projects at All Power Books, a volunteer-run book store in the West Adams neighborhood of Los Angeles.
Food Rescue Grant The Food Rescue grant was completed in the early part of the year, ending the fiscal sponsorship of DTLA Food Not Bombs, LAFNB and Lincoln Heights Food Distro. KARMA continues to play a role in Gorilla Food Not Bombs, which has become more of a project of KARMA than just a fiscal sponsorship relationship.
