The Year 21 Match is complete. Thank you!

$21,000 in 21 Days: Every Gift Doubled. Complete!

Thank you! You can still give here: https://charity.pledgeit.org/publicmatters

A group of anonymous donors committed $21,000 in matching funds to launch Public Matters' twenty-first year, available for 21 days only.

You met the challenge. Every contribution during the window was matched dollar for dollar, turning $50 gifts into $100 and $250 gifts into $500.

They didn't attach their names. They didn't attach conditions either. They attached a deadline, and you beat it.

The result: $42,000 toward Year 21, and counting. That's a floor, not a ceiling. Checks are still arriving by mail, and donor-advised fund gifts move on their own schedule.

The match is now closed, but Year 21 is just getting started. You can still support our work with a one-time or monthly gift.

Support Year 21: https://charity.pledgeit.org/publicmatters

What you're actually funding
Most funds come with strings attached. A long list of deliverables, a pre-determined methodology, definitions of success that might not match community values or needs. It stifles creativity and the ability to have lasting relationships and lasting impact.

Public Matters is a social enterprise—a studio, not an institution—and charitable gifts reach us through our fiscal sponsor, Fulcrum Arts. The structure is deliberate: it keeps us small enough to decide quickly and independent enough to decide for ourselves.

These funds carry no restrictions, which means they pay for the part that makes Public Matters unique: we take big swings that are needed to make meaningful change. We invest into creativity, into people and places, into systemic change.

Public Matters doesn't ever do "just enough" to satisfy a grant or contract. When we work in communities, we dedicate additional time and labor into capacity building for neighborhood self-determination. That’s not the contractual or grant language; it’s in our social contract to do good. 

Funds support our ability to initiate projects and programs like the Boo-Boo Bandage Brigade and Urban Futures Lab. Market Makeovers changed the game of how to address healthy food access in LA County through education, art, and youth leadership. Slow Jams showed how joyful participation with a few simple props and some crosswalk choreography changes how to address street safety. Urban Futures Lab set new standards for teaching and training emerging young adult creative leaders. The Boo-Boo Bandage Brigade is gleefully making an impact on LA's failing infrastructure.

Public Matters leads because your support enables us to make these moves.

Giving Levels
Pick the one that sounds like you. These are portraits, not line items—every gift is unrestricted, which is exactly the point.

$50 = The Neighbor Small acts, real attention. Fund the everyday work of showing up.
$100 = The Good Mischief Maker Rules are guidelines. Fund the tools of neighborhood self-determination.
$250 = The Slow Jammer Fund traffic calming that feels like a block party.
$500 = The PAW-litician Democracy, but furrier. Fund the parades and rituals that make showing up joyful.
$1,000 = The Fixer The detail nobody asked for but everybody remembers. Fund the extra mile.
$1,500 = The Explorer Chart what’s next. Fund the discovery work—new routes, new ideas, new adventures.
$2,500 = The Urban Futurist Somebody has to do this after us. Invest in the next generation of community leaders.
$5,000 = The Avant-Gardener Underwrite what endures. Plant things that outlast us.

FAQ
Who are the anonymous donors? A group of longtime supporters who asked not to be named. They put no restrictions on how the money is used — their only ask was that we make it urgent and make it collective.

What will my gift pay for? Honest answer: Honest answer: unrestricted gifts fund the judgment about where the work goes next—which neighborhood, which method, which young person gets handed real responsibility. Twenty years of that judgment is what's produced the work on this page.

How does the match work? Every dollar contributed during the 21-day window is matched dollar for dollar until the $21,000 goal is reached. Matching funds are applied in order of receipt.

What if the match runs out before 21 days? Then it runs out—and we'll have done something remarkable together. Gifts after that point fund at full value and go straight to work. This is why early gifts matter.

Does the match apply to monthly gifts? The match applies to one-time gifts made during the window. If you'd like to become a monthly donor, we'd love that—recurring support is the most reliable fuel we have, and the closest thing to real autonomy a small organization gets. Recurring gifts aren't doubled.

I gave earlier this month. Does that count? Yes, the clock starts on September 9 when we announced our 20th anniversary. Thank you for getting there first—you're the reason this happened.

Can I give by check? Yes, and every dollar goes to work with no card fees. Make checks payable to Fulcrum Arts with "For Public Matters" in the memo line, and mail to 145 N Raymond Ave, Pasadena, CA 91103.

Can I stack this with my employer's matching program? In most cases, yes—which can triple your gift. Check your employer's policy, or contact us and we'll help.

Can I give by ACH of Wire Transfer? Yes. Please complete this short form: fulcrumarts.org/wire-transfer-request
Where the form asks for the name of the fiscally sponsored project, enter Public Matters. This is how your gift reaches us, so please don't skip it. Once your request is received and processed, Fulcrum Arts — our fiscal sponsor—will send you their banking information directly. Wire transfers are matched dollar for dollar, just like online gifts.

Can I donate stock, bonds, or other cash equivalents? Absolutely. Provide your brokerage firm with the following information: 

Merrill Lynch DTC No. 8862
Account Name: Fulcrum Arts
Account No.: 250-02731

Please notify Fulcrum Arts at support@fulcrumarts.org when you make the transfer so they can properly account for the donation. And be sure to tell them the donation is for Public Matters. Please also notify us: mike@publicmattersgroup.com. 

You will be credited with the value of the securities at the time of the donation, and Public Matters will be credited with the value of the actual sale of stock. 

Is my gift tax deductible? Yes. Public Matters is a project of Fulcrum Arts' Emerge fiscal sponsorship program, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization. Donations are tax deductible to the full extent of the law. Tax ID 95-2540759.

About Public Matters
Public Matters is an award-winning Los Angeles-based creative studio for civic engagement. Founded as a social enterprise in 2006, we've spent two decades implementing large-scale, socially engaged art and creative community engagement projects in Los Angeles’ communities of color, reaching groups that are historically difficult to engage. Public Matters forges long-term interdisciplinary collaborations that bring together large institutions, municipal agencies, local businesses, and schools with residents and grassroots organizations or informal neighborhood groups. We connect people to their neighborhoods; foster a sense of belonging and social purpose; and build the capacity of residents and local organizations to shape their communities.