President Obama has had a busy 24 hours in Los Angeles. So far, he's spoken at two fundraising dinners in Hancock Park, eaten some classic SoCal fare, and is now heading to NBC studios to tape a segment with Jay Leno. We won't know what he says to Leno until later, but CBS News reports that during his dinners, the President laid out what he's accomplished so far during his tenure in the Oval Office. more ›

Were you one of the estimated 30,000 participants who took part in the the 27th annual AIDS Walk Los Angeles on Sunday? The West Hollywood event was bolstered by the appearance of well-known AIDS activists, celebrities, and the fundraising walkers, whose dedication helped bring in a total of $3,005,014 to fight AIDS and provide vital care for people living with HIV in Los Angeles. more ›

Election 2012 approaches, and with possible candidates just now making declarations of their intent to (not) run, those who are already in the race have been making appearances and raising bucks. Now the California Democratic Chairman John Burton has released a statement on Texas Governor Rick Perry’s California Fundraising Swing, and he says Perry is not what our state wants. more ›

Presidential hopeful Jon Huntsman is hitting the campaign trail in SoCal today, holding fundraising dinners in Los Angeles and Newport Beach, reports the Daily Breeze. The GOP candidate, who formerly served as the governor of Utah and announced that he was throwing his hat in the ring for president on Tuesday, spoke at a lunch at the Jonathan Club in downtown LA and will speak a dinner at The Island Hotel in Newport Beach. more ›

Michelle Obama visits L.A. on Monday to to raise money for her husband's reelection campaign and to "boost support for military families," starting with a guilds-hosted, J.J. Abrams-moderated discussion in Beverly Hills about "how Hollywood can tell stories of today's military families through film and television," says the White House, according to the L.A. Times. more ›

Frankie C takes iconic photos of the people he encounters on the streets of Skid Row and surrounding neighborhoods against a black backdrop. An L.A. native, he likes to "keep it street" but now he has an opportunity to show his photos in a gallery and is looking to raise $1,000 to fund the exhibition using Kickstarter. Check out his work in this video. more ›

Actor Colin Hanks (son of Tom) could have begged dear ol' dad for a loan to get his movie made, but instead has turned to the crowdsource cash flux of Kickstarter, raising the money he needs to make a documentary on the now-defunct Tower Records music store chain. more ›

Two years ago Max Lugavere decided to combine two of his passions -- world-changing and music -- to create an event called Rockdrive. Two years later, the event has grown into an entire night of music and fundraising at Troubadour on December 11. With an expanded team of co-producers and advisors, Lugavere has big ambitions for Rockdrive and envisions it turning into a broadly distributed DIY-style event in the coming year. We caught up with him to learn more about Rockdrive 2010. more ›

In a quirky fundraising plea, the main proponent behind the legalizing marijuana proposition on November's ballot today introduced their grassroots fundraising efforts. "Today, I'm asking you to set up a fundraising page and raise $100 or more by April 20 for the Control & Tax Cannabis 2010 campaign," asked Richard Lee in an e-mail. more ›

Yesterday evening, cyclist Lance Armstrong rallied friends, the bike-friendly, and local leaders as they took to the streets of Hollywood as part of his Livestrong: Hope Rides Again promotion. Armstrong was joined on two wheels by local civic leaders like Councilmembers Eric Garcetti and Tom LaBonge, and later by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and artist Shepard Fairey all to raise funds and launch a global art exhibition called "Stages, which features the work of 21 artists and will help support the Lance Armstrong Foundation. Fairey's iconic work can be see emblazoned on the buildings of Hollywood; although "Hope" is a key term for Armstrong's exhibit, it's also one that Fairey has used elsewhere--maybe you've seen it? Here he's making do with "Defiance," "Courage," and "Action!" more ›

Saturday afternoon on the Pine Meadows Lawn of the Autry National Center in Griffith Park will turn into the site of the "Brew Haw Haw" beer tasting festival to raise money ($50/tix) for the SoCal chapter of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. There will be microbrews, food, comedy and bands. And in case you missed it, yesterday's weekly PhiLAnthropist post featured the Skid Row Neighborhood Watch Walk, a Venice Beach clean-up and an event with High School Musical at Hollywood & Highland. more ›

This upcoming weekend is probably the biggest weekend the LA Derby Dolls have had so far. In a first tournament of its kind, the best skaters from Los Angeles, San Diego and Orange County are having it out on a banked track. Not only will there be tons of games throughout Saturday and Sunday, there will be bands, food, beer and general awesomeness. What the Derby Dolls do is very special and unique to Los Angeles. If you were making a list of thing to do before you move out of town, this is a must and here's two days of opportunity (and while available, there's a discount code [ladd2day] for $10 off here). more ›

You say Angelino, I say Angeleno. more ›

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February may well be the month of the year we think about love the most, but our local schools are banking on us sharing our love with them right now, too. more ›

The annual Lunar New Year Festival continues today in Chinatown. Catch pan- Asian entertainers including Chinese acrobats, as well as Thai dancers and Taiko drummers. Food, games, children’s activities, and more will also be on tap during the free festival. more ›

The 4th annual international food bloggers holiday fundraiser, Menu For Hope, kicks off its twelve day run Monday. The virtual event is hosted by Pim Techamuanvivit, who runs the food blog Chez Pim and whose desire to help out those devastated by the tsunami five years ago in Southeast Asia led her to devise Menu For Hope. Last year US$62,925.12 was raised through the event, and was donated to the UN World Food Programme. Here's... more ›

I've had some frustrating jobs in the past--mostly in retail--but there is nothing quite like the pain and humiliation of stumping for a cause and a minimum wage paycheck. When I was a mere young'un, at 18, I spent six months working as a door-to-door canvasser for Greenpeace. Yes, I was one of those annoying neo-hippie crusader types (mind you, I bathed and shaved and did not spread any funk, unlike some of my... more ›