When wildfires devastated communities in Los Angeles in early January, we mobilized to support people affected. Over the following 3 months, via the incredible generosity of over 42,000 donors, we raised more than $8.3 million into the Wildfire Relief Fund and delivered over 7,500 grants in total.
In addition to the 4,500 emergency cash grants given to people fundraising for recovery on GoFundMe, we provided support to individuals and business owners through strategic partnerships with four nonprofit organizations–Inclusive Action for the City, 211LA, The Change Reaction, and 11:11 Media Impact. Working with these incredible organizations, we were able to distribute nearly $3M in grants to their community members.
A bit about these organizations and the specific LA communities we supported:
Inclusive Action for the City is an LA-based nonprofit organization dedicated to serving underinvested communities and building thriving local economies.
Founded in 2008, the organization fosters innovation and business development as a means to alleviate poverty and improve the quality of life of residents in low-income neighborhoods.
Inclusive Action launched the Open Air Worker Emergency Fund immediately following the outbreak of the fires to help outdoor workers in Los Angeles county, such as street vendors, landscapers, and recyclers. This fund distributed one-time cash support of $500 to help this population afford fresh water, masks, food, and housing.
GoFundMe.org was proud to support this Fund, granting $670,000 in support– $550,000 of which went directly into the hands of impacted community members. The remainder of the grant helped Inclusive Action for the City expand their staffing capacity and resources for maintaining the fund. With the additional capacity, IAC staff were able to provide more individual assistance to fund recipients, helping the Los Angeles community to recover, one person at a time.
“Inclusive Action is extremely grateful for GoFundMe’s generous donation and dedicated partnership. Without your support, our Open Air Worker Emergency Fund would not have reached and supported nearly as many people. We were able to support over 5,000 people, over 1,000 of those as a direct result of GoFundMe’s grant funding. Thank you GoFundMe.org!”
211 LA is a Los Angeles 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to connecting people with nearby health, human, and social services. Founded in 1981, 211 LA uses a database of over 50,000 community services to match people to their needs, from food stamps to housing assistance.
In response to the fires, 211 LA created their own relief initiative, the Wildfire Recovery Program, to provide direct financial assistance to communities impacted by the Eaton and Palisades wildfires.
With support from GoFundMe.org, 211 LA was able to meet urgent recovery needs by helping families access temporary shelter, food, and other essential items during a critical time. It also allowed the nonprofit to scale staffing and coordination efforts, expand case management, and deliver more timely, personalized support to wildfire-impacted households.
"Our partnership with GoFundMe.org was essential to helping wildfire survivors when they needed it most. Their support enabled 211 LA to provide not just financial relief, but hope and stability to hundreds of families."
Executive Director, 211 LA
The Change Reaction is a Los Angeles nonprofit organization that mobilizes a network of social workers, nurses, doctors, faith leaders, police officers, lawyers, city council members, and community champions to connect with Angelenos who need financial support at critical moments.
The Change Reaction created the Wildfire Direct Giving Fund to provide essential workers, wildfire victims, and those indirectly affected by the fires with much-needed financial assistance.
With support from GoFundMe.org, The Change Reaction’s Wildfire Direct Giving Fund was able to greatly enhance and broaden their support to survivors, bringing hope to over 1,800 people within just 2 weeks of the fire. Recipients of their outreach and support include two disabled sisters who are now in an apartment with new furniture after being in the shelter and Fema hotels, a gardner and father of four who needed to replace his truck and all of his tools, and a senior citizen who taught Pilates out of her trailer in the Palisades needed a new pilates reformer in order to continue teaching.
“We are so thankful for GoFundMe.org, their rapid support has been invaluable. They are an amazing partner. Those that use GoFundMe are fortunate that it exists and so are we and the other beneficiaries of their generosity and commitment to helping people see better days ahead.”