Many Palisades residents were left without anything after the Palisades Fire.
It has become obvious to Palisades Fire Victims that although the more than $100 million that was raised through FireAid Concerts was intended for those who lost their homes, their property, lost everything – money has not gone to them.
The money given out so far has gone to a long list of nonprofits, many of which do not have any affiliation with the Palisades or with fire victims.
A resident wrote: “Re-building lives cost money, a lot of it.” Currently, only about 30-50 percent of residents can afford to rebuild and money is desperately needed.
Another reader wrote “there is a very strong case for California Attorney General’s office to get involved in this fundraising effort. Donors believed they were helping victims directly. I have seen or been directly involved with charities where they are required to call every donor after the fact and at all donor levels – $10 to $10M – to ask permission to change gift restriction.
“In this case, the gift restriction would go from direct relief to victims to supporting organizations. The charity would then be required to return donations where a gift restriction is not lifted.”
The resident explained one case study was the American Red Cross that raised tons of money during the 2001 Alpine-Viejas Fire. For the most part, the majority of those funds did not go directly to victims.
That led the California Attorney General to implement changes. These included fundraising messaging as well as the concept of oversubscribing or notifying public that enough funds had been raised for the particular disaster. Language was added that gave donors the option to release the restriction from disaster victims and to give to a disaster response in general.
“The American Red Cross did a phenomenal job during the recent wildfires,” the resident said. “I was very impressed. And while I don’t consider myself destitute, the cash support really helped.”
Another resident also pointed out that “It’s important to note that if a charity accepts money designated for fire victims but does not use the funds for that purpose, it may constitute charitable fraud or a breach of donor intent. This could lead to investigations by the California Attorney General and potentially result in loss of nonprofit status or other legal consequences.”
Residents, you need the money to rebuild, to replace your belongings. Take a minute, write a note and sent an email to the California Attorney General Rob Bonta charities@doj.ca.gov and to Governor Gavin Newsom https://www.gov.ca.gov/contact/. Also fill out the online complaint form https://oag.ca.gov/charities/complaints
(Editor’s note: A resident compiled a list of people to contact about funds not going directly to victims. Tomorrow CTN will run it, that too.)
That’s a good idea and I’m wondering if a class action lawsuit naming everyone from Irving Azoff to the Annenberg Foundation to all of the c 501-c3’s that received funding is called for. There’s got to be a couple of local attorney’s who would be willing to give a little pro-bono time.
The Red Cross? They did a great job as did thee Buddhists and did Boys and Girls Club of Malibu.