LOS ANGELES – A benefit concert featuring big names like Billie Eilish and Lady Gaga garnered around $100 million in January to assist victims of the La Wildfire. However, local residents claim they haven’t seen any of that money in the eight months since the event.
The glitzy affair, which attracted prominent figures including former Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband, Doug Emhoff, allocated funds to 197 different charities.
Some of these charities focused on initiatives like buying uniforms for children’s choirs ($100,000), while others aimed to provide pet healthcare ($250,000).
Organizers, facing backlash for their perceived disconnect, asserted that they never promised that Fireaid Inc.’s funds would go directly to assist victims.
An audit released this week by the Annenberg Foundation, which oversees the funds, detailed the distribution of the donations. Beneficiaries included various groups, such as the Buddhist TZU CHI Foundation ($100,000) and several others focused on community and environmental recovery.
Significant amounts have also been funneled toward organizations advocating for political rights of minority groups, such as the NAACP Pasadena ($100,000) and the Los Angeles Black Worker Center ($250,000).
Among the more unusual fund uses was a $500,000 grant for a project that aims to repopulate burned forests with resilient fungi. Another $500,000 went to a group dedicated to providing mental health care for affected musicians.
What’s notably absent from these allocations are direct supports for individuals who have lost their homes.
“In our group chat, a lot of folks are asking, ‘What is happening with the Fireaid money?’ None of us seem to see it,” said Ben Einbinder, who became an activist after losing his home in Pacific Palisades.
How Fireaid funds have been spent:
- Music Health Alliance ($500,000) – For mental health care for musicians affected by the fire
- Applied Ecological Repair Center ($500,000) – For environmental restoration efforts
- Home-grown ($500,000) – For hygiene initiatives in preschools
- Non-profit management center ($250,000) – For training nonprofits
- Los Angeles Children’s Chorus ($100,000) – For choir uniforms
- Woodcraft Tranger ($100,000) – For camping trips for teen survivors
- Camp (Community Animal Wild Fire Project) ($100,000) – For veterinary services for affected animals
- Altadena Talks Foundation ($100,000) – For wildfire-themed podcasts
More than 10,000 residents in Southern California were displaced in what has become one of the state’s costliest natural disasters, and many are outraged about the opaque handling of Fireaid’s funds.
“Honestly, this is frustrating,” said Pacific Palisades resident David Howard. “People are already suffering.”
As concerns about the allocation of the $100 million mounted, a report from the concert’s organizers and the Annenberg Foundation was released. It examined how the funds were utilized but concluded that there was no evidence of mismanagement.
While some locals have noted that Fireaid’s contributions could be seen in actions like the distribution of toys by the organization Baby2Baby to young fire victims, details about how exactly many organizations are using their funds remain unclear.
Einbinder commented on the ambiguity, stating, “Some organizations… it’s hard to tell if the money is actually going to help wildfire victims.”
Howard believes this entire situation misrepresents the intent behind the concert. “Even the artists said the funds would be going straight to the victims,” he added. “But that hasn’t happened.”
He expressed that the actual problem lies not solely with individual organizations but with how too many groups are receiving funding without ensuring it directly supports those in need.
The new group, Pali Strong, received $500,000 from Fireaid and claims to offer recovery resources for residents. However, questions linger regarding the effectiveness and transparency of such initiatives.
In response to inquiries, the Annenberg Foundation stated that their audit found no signs of deceptive practices in the fundraising efforts.
Howard pointed out a significant gap in communication, noting, “When an artist tells you that money will go straight to survivors, and then that doesn’t happen, it’s a problem.”
