When the Palisades and Eaton wildfires ravaged Los Angeles in January 2025, philanthropists and everyday donors alike responded with an outpouring of generosity. As leaders involved in those philanthropic efforts, we have been studying—along with outside experts—the nature of giving in response to a disaster, the focus of relief efforts and impact on long-term recovery, and the lessons the entire philanthropic community can learn for responding to future disasters.
According to a recent report by the Milken Institute, charitable commitments in the first year after the fires totaled nearly one billion dollars, an apparent record for generosity in response to a natural disaster. Those donations came from a broad range of sources—from large corporate and philanthropic organizations to individual donors—and sparked new collaborations and strategies for deploying assistance to survivors.
Where the Funding Went: Short-Term Emergency Response vs. Long-Term Recovery
Milken analyzed how charitable dollars were allocated and what those choices reveal about philanthropy’s strengths and limitations in disaster response. The largest share of funding (approximately 70%) flowed to immediate relief and emergency response, including housing assistance, food aid, cash grants, and support for first responders.
That deployment of disaster funding reflected donors’ understandable desire to address urgent, visible needs in the immediate aftermath of the fires. At the same time, funding for longer-term recovery efforts—such as housing reconstruction, small business support, workforce recovery, and mental health services—represented a far smaller portion of total giving.
That imbalance is not unique to Los Angeles. The latest State of Disaster Philanthropy report by the Center for Disaster Philanthropy found that in 2023, only 12.7% of the $1.2 billion total philanthropic disaster funding went toward reconstruction and recovery. Resilience and mitigation saw an even smaller share, at 6%. Although higher than in the previous decade, these numbers show that only a small fraction of philanthropic support by private and community foundations, corporations, public charities and other grantmaking organizations and individuals typically go toward helping communities rebuild from and prepare for disasters or humanitarian crises.
More recently, while communities affected by natural disasters in Laihana, Hawaii and Western North Carolina face long-term rebuilding efforts, they are developing new methods to leverage the flexibility of limited philanthropic capital. As the Milken report notes, “charitable giving tends to peak quickly following a disaster and then decline sharply, even as recovery needs persist for years.” Sustaining large investments over the long arc of recovery must remain a priority, especially as the federal government continues to back away from its historic role in funding long-term assistance.
In Los Angeles, philanthropic leaders established new organizations and increased collaboration among philanthropies to strategically deploy resources for long-term recovery. In addition, the private sector devised innovative solutions. For example, Bank of America announced a commitment of $10 million in zero-interest loans to three community development financial institutions that will in turn acquire and stabilize fire-affected property lots.
Lessons from the Field: The Importance of Collaboration and Flexibility
The wildfires forged new forms of collaboration in response to overwhelming needs to coordinate response and cross-sector partnership from the very beginning. This took the form of new “tables,” such as the LA Wildfires Philanthropy Working Group of philanthropic executives, the LA Wildfires Civic Leaders Council made up of business and philanthropic leaders to share innovative ideas, accelerate efforts and align activities in support of short- and long-term community needs, and the SoCal Grantmakers’ LA Wildfire Recovery Funders Collaborative, which connects funders with frontline community organizations.
In addition, new organizations were established to fill gaps and to address specific needs. For example, Snap, Inc. and the California Community Foundation launched the Department of Angels, a new nonprofit that informs, connects, and organizes communities to support survivor-led recovery. Steadfast LA, launched by businessman Rick Caruso, formed to harness public-private partnerships to rebuild major public institutions such as parks and recreation facilities. Each of these initiatives centered community knowledge and leadership and sought to collaborate with on-the-ground community experts to ensure philanthropic efforts focused on survivors’ needs.
Pooled funding opportunities and flexible deployment of resources through coordination has also been highlighted as having significant impact. For example, a soon-to-be-launched pooled fund of PRI and grant investments will fund a downpayment assistance product alongside private banks to help survivors access the capital they need to rebuild their homes.
Looking Ahead: Lessons from 2025 and Expectations for the Future
Philanthropy can adapt in a world in which climate-driven disasters are becoming more frequent, more costly, and more complex. In Los Angeles, the nearly $1 billion in charity pales compared to the unmet needs and long-term relief and recovery expenses as the impacted communities rebuild. Property damages alone are estimated to total $28 to $54 billion.
Among our key takeaways:
- Invest before the crisis. Supporting local organizations and preparedness efforts in advance improves response capacity when disaster strikes.
- Balance speed with sustainability. Rapid relief is essential, but so is committing resources to multi-year recovery.
- Let survivors lead their recovery. Empower families, communities and the organizations that serve them to set their own priorities and paths toward rebuilding stronger.
- Simplify access to funding. Flexible grants, streamlined applications, and trust-based approaches can help reach organizations and populations often left behind.
- Coordinate, don’t duplicate. Data-sharing and collaboration across funders can reduce inefficiencies and fill gaps more effectively.
Philanthropic leaders in Los Angeles have been implementing these lessons as they continue to respond to the 2025 wildfires. But in a world where climate change increases both the frequency and intensity of major weather events, they will unfortunately be relevant for more and more communities across the nation, as well as serve as a reminder to federal policymakers of their essential role in funding disaster recovery.
