Viewpoint, FireAid: What Did They Really Do?

(Editor’s note: A reader, who wished to remain anonymous send her analysis of the L.A. Times Article regarding Fire Aid click here.)

At first glance, the Los Angeles Times article makes an impressive case for FireAid grants to nonprofits and the benefits to wildfire victims.  However, if one reads between the lines, there is very little if any quantifying of this support directly received by wildfire victims. There remains a number of critical questions.

The nonprofits in this article have declared significant support but in very general terms. Each organization is responsible for tracking wildfire victims that benefited from the FireAid funding. There are confidentiality issues but it is reasonable to expect that each nonprofit has the ability to identify recipients of support using a system other than names and/or addresses.

With the L.A. Regional Food Bank, they referenced demand was especially high in January through March and demand for food relief rise 30%. While this is not direct monetary support, the amount of food distributed can be quantified monetarily and tied to wildfire victims. The CEO states that demand is still high.

Following the first $1 million grant from FireAid, the L.A. Regional Food Bank received an additional $250,000 that they describe as paying for extra drivers, forklift operators and warehouse workers to help process and distribute donations after the fires. How many of the food recipients benefitting from this investment in workers and equipment were wildfire victims?

When one types in the Palisades zip code to find closest locations for food distribution, this screen pops up. This nonprofit is based in 41st Street L.A., City of Industry and Long Beach.

The nonprofit, Inclusive Action, distributed $500 cash grants to landscapers, street vendors and other outdoor workers who lost jobs or homes in the fires. How many received this financial support? How were recipients identified/qualified? And how were they notified of this available support?

A direct-aid group, Change Reaction, received $2 million from the first round of FireAid grants and they have reported providing 2,500 recipients with grants up to $15,000 for immediate rent and transportation needs. What was the total spent, how was individual amounts determined, and how were recipients identified as being wildfire victims? The one exception based on this article was a Palisades yoga studio – White Lotus – where twelve employees received $1,000 each for lost income and the owner was given money to replace lost equipment.

Team Rubicon received a $250,000 grant for working on debris removal, flood prevention and vegetation clearing. How many lots did they work on? What areas of the Palisades and Altadena did they conduct flood prevention?

Free veterinary care was provided to wounded and displaced pets by Pasadena Humane Society and Community Animal Medicine Project. How many animals received care?

A Pasadena foster care and youth mental health facility was damaged by smoke and a FireAid grant supported the relocation of clients to hotels. How many clients were served and what was the monetary value of each hotel stay?

Jewish Family Services received $250,000 to provide comprehensive disaster case management work to manage the FEMA bureaucracy. Other grants went to Legal Aid, Bet Tzedek Legal, Public Counsel and others to help with insurance claims. How many clients were served and what was the monetary value of services received?

YMCA of Metropolitan Los Angeles, MusiCares, the Black LA Relief and Recovery Fund, and every other nonprofit that received support from FireAid and the over $100 million raised, should be required to report on distribution of grant monies and specific details about the number of wildfire victims served.

All of the concert and fundraising promotional material referenced support for wildfire victims.  Had FireAid promoted that their contributions will help fire survivors as a top priority and they will try their very best to provide tangible information on how the money will be spent, I sincerely doubt that fundraising would have been as successful.