Snap Foundation

The Snap Foundation’s mission is to develop pathways to the creative economy for underrepresented youth in Los Angeles. This mission is centered in the creative economy for a number of reasons. First, to support the art and cultural practices fostered in Los Angeles. Second, because the intersection of visual communication and technology are a powerful mode of creative expression. And third, because the creative economy can transform individual lives and society at large, especially when centering racial equity.

The Snap Foundation was created through the tremendous support of Evan Spiegel, Bobby Murphy, the founders of Snapchat, and Snap Inc. Beginning operations in 2018, the Foundation’s goal is to engage in systems-level thinking and its work has focused on experimentation, exploration, and learning. Every decision made is held up to four primary values: transformation, innovation, collaboration, and creativity. 

The Foundation has focused initial efforts on testing and learning in a few discrete project areas. These include an experiment in participatory grantmaking: engaging directly with youth from the Los Angeles community to identify the matters that are most important to them and making small grants to support those causes. The Foundation has also identified a number of collaborative funding opportunities and recently started a process for responsive grantmaking to address our community’s most time-sensitive needs.

The Snap Foundation is an independent legal entity separate from Snap Inc.’s corporate social responsibility division, Snap Philanthropy. For more information about the Snap Foundation’s recent grantmaking please visit: www.snapfoundation.org.