Nonprofit Leadership Podcast: How the Hilton Foundation Is Addressing Homelessness in LA

Hosted by Dr. Rob Harder

Introduction

In the March 2, 2025 episode of the Nonprofit Leadership Podcast, host Dr. Rob Harder engages in a compelling conversation with Peter Lahorn, the head of the Hilton Foundation. The episode centers on the pressing issue of homelessness in Los Angeles (LA) and explores how the Hilton Foundation is innovatively addressing this challenge. Through a detailed discussion, listeners gain insights into the foundation’s strategies, resource allocation, policy formulation, and collaborative efforts with government and community partners to mitigate homelessness in LA.

Background of the Hilton Foundation

Peter Lahorn provides an extensive overview of the Hilton Foundation’s origins and mission. Founded by Conrad Hilton, the patriarch of the Hilton hotel empire, the foundation was established in 1944 with the broader mission of alleviating human suffering globally. Over the past 80 years, the foundation has grown significantly, awarding over $3.2 billion in grants to various causes worldwide, with $270 million allocated just in the previous year.

Peter Lahorn (03:50): “Conrad Hilton wrote into his will that Catholic Sisters would always be our largest program. So we've grown into the world's largest funder of sisters.”

The foundation operates both domestically and internationally, supporting initiatives such as ending homelessness in LA County, foster youth, youth employment, and early childhood education in Africa and Latin America. Conrad Hilton’s legacy emphasizes dignity, responsibility, and big thinking, principles that continue to guide the foundation’s work today.

Peter Lahorn’s Personal Journey in Philanthropy

Peter Lahorn shares his personal journey, highlighting his early commitment to service through the Peace Corps in Morocco and subsequent roles with Save the Children and the Firelight Foundation in California. His experiences in Mali, where he led efforts to increase educational access in rural villages, deeply influenced his approach to philanthropy by underscoring the importance of community-driven solutions and sustainable development.

Peter Lahorn (11:42): “We ended up helping 800 villages start schools... Nine girls for every 10 boys.”

These formative experiences reinforced his belief in the power of local communities and the necessity of strategic, high-leverage funding to create meaningful change—an approach he brings to his leadership at the Hilton Foundation.

Addressing Homelessness in Los Angeles

The conversation shifts to the homelessness crisis in LA, where Peter Lahorn explains that LA is home to 20-25% of the nation’s unsheltered population, totaling around 75,000 individuals nightly. This makes homelessness the number one political and moral issue in the county.

Peter Lahorn (16:52): “Los Angeles... has this element of homelessness that's becoming more and more associated with us.”

Lahorn emphasizes that while direct services to individuals are crucial, the foundation focuses on high-leverage strategies that address systemic issues, ensuring that philanthropic investments lead to tangible, scalable outcomes.

Innovative Solutions and Grantees

Strategic Approaches:

1. Prevention: Investing in predictive analytics and community-based identification to reduce the inflow of new homelessness cases.
2. Coordinated Entry Systems: Streamlining access to shelters and support services to ensure efficient and dignified assistance.
3. Affordable Housing Supply: Addressing the high costs of housing construction and preservation through innovative funding mechanisms and policy support.

Peter Lahorn (18:55): “The name of the game is helping government do its work better.”

Exemplary Grantees:

• St. Joseph Center in Venice, CA: Implemented a coordinated entry system that respects the dignity of individuals while addressing community concerns. This model focuses on personalized care plans and preventive measures to ensure lasting solutions.

Peter Lahorn (31:35): “It was really a textbook example of how you resolve an encampment in a way that respects the dignity of people...”

Collaborative Efforts: The Hilton Foundation collaborates closely with government agencies, nonprofits, and community leaders to implement and refine these strategies. By fostering partnerships and leveraging expertise, the foundation ensures that its initiatives are both effective and sustainable.

Measure A and Policy Advancement

Measure A is a significant policy initiative in California that builds upon previous measures (Measure H and Triple H) to provide sustained funding and accountability for homeless services. Peter Lahorn explains that Measure A includes accountability measures and incorporates successful strategies from past experiences, ensuring that funds are used effectively to make measurable progress.

Peter Lahorn (29:14): “Measure A has a lot of accountability measures built into it. And it also draws on the experiences that we've had that have been successful.”

Impact of Measure A:

• Extended Funding Horizon: Ensures continuity of resources beyond the sunsets of previous measures.
• Enhanced Accountability: Tracks the effectiveness of funded programs to ensure they meet their objectives.
• Community Engagement: Encourages transparency and maintains public support by demonstrating measurable improvements.

This policy advancement gives hope that LA can achieve sustainable reductions in homelessness through consistent and well-coordinated efforts.

Lessons for Other Cities

Peter Lahorn shares valuable lessons from LA’s experience that can be applied to other cities facing similar challenges:

1. Government Coordination: Ensuring seamless collaboration between multiple jurisdictions and government agencies is crucial.

   Peter Lahorn (33:34): “Often different parts of government are not coordinating in the way they need to. Here in LA, the county provides the services, the city provides the housing. If they don't work together, it ain't going to work.”

2. Data Integration: Addressing fragmented information systems to enable efficient service delivery.

   Peter Lahorn (35:18): “Jennifer Palka... written a book called Recoding America that is about fixing that issue...”

3. Cash Flow Management: Navigating governmental cash flow constraints to enable nonprofits to support governmental efforts without financial strain.

   Peter Lahorn (35:45): “Governments will not advance money to a nonprofit. So essentially the nonprofit is subsidizing the government...”

4. Replication of Successful Models: Adapting LA’s strategies to smaller scales can help other cities manage their homelessness issues effectively.

Peter Lahorn (36:33): “We're a funder of the wiring and the plumbing. We're a funder that helps solve problems so that systems can deliver.”

These insights underscore the importance of strategic collaboration, efficient systems, and financial agility in addressing complex social issues like homelessness.

Conclusion

The episode concludes with Peter Lahorn emphasizing the Hilton Foundation’s ongoing commitment to collaboration, innovation, and sustainable impact. He encourages listeners to engage with the foundation for more information and to learn from their experiences.

Peter Lahorn (37:18): “The foundation is more important. So that's the hiltonfoundation.org and we have lots of information on the website about strategies, about experience, about grants we've made, about successes and about failures.”

Dr. Rob Harder thanks Lahorn for his invaluable insights and reiterates the importance of collective efforts in making the world a better place.

Key Quotes

• Peter Lahorn (03:50): “Conrad Hilton wrote into his will that Catholic Sisters would always be our largest program. So we've grown into the world's largest funder of sisters.”
• Peter Lahorn (11:42): “We ended up helping 800 villages start schools... Nine girls for every 10 boys.”
• Peter Lahorn (18:55): “The name of the game is helping government do its work better.”
• Peter Lahorn (29:14): “Measure A has a lot of accountability measures built into it. And it also draws on the experiences that we've had that have been successful.”
• Peter Lahorn (31:35): “It was really a textbook example of how you resolve an encampment in a way that respects the dignity of people...”
• Peter Lahorn (33:34): “Often different parts of government are not coordinating in the way they need to. Here in LA, the county provides the services, the city provides the housing. If they don't work together, it ain't going to work.”
• Peter Lahorn (35:18): “Jennifer Palka... written a book called Recoding America that is about fixing that issue...”
• Peter Lahorn (35:45): “Governments will not advance money to a nonprofit. So essentially the nonprofit is subsidizing the government...”
• Peter Lahorn (36:33): “We're a funder of the wiring and the plumbing. We're a funder that helps solve problems so that systems can deliver.”
• Peter Lahorn (37:18): “The foundation is more important. So that's the hiltonfoundation.org and we have lots of information on the website about strategies, about experience, about grants we've made, about successes and about failures.”

Final Thoughts

This episode of the Nonprofit Leadership Podcast offers a comprehensive look into how the Hilton Foundation is tackling homelessness in Los Angeles through a blend of strategic funding, policy advocacy, and community collaboration. Peter Lahorn’s insights provide a blueprint for other cities and organizations aiming to address similar challenges, emphasizing the importance of coordinated efforts, innovative solutions, and sustained commitment.

Listeners are encouraged to visit the Hilton Foundation’s website for more information and to stay engaged with the ongoing efforts to make the world a better place through effective nonprofit leadership.

For More Information:

• Hilton Foundation Website: hiltonfoundation.org
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Stay Connected:

• Join the Community: Visit nonprofitleadershippodcast.org for additional resources, past interviews, and community engagement opportunities.

By summarizing the podcast episode in this structured format, the key points, discussions, insights, and conclusions are clearly presented, offering a comprehensive overview for those who haven’t listened to the episode.