Eight months after a star-studded benefit concert raised $100 million for victims of the Los Angeles wildfires, many residents who lost their homes say they have yet to receive meaningful assistance, while funds have instead flowed to a wide range of nonprofit groups, from pet clinics to civic engagement programs.
The FireAid concert, which featured performances by Billie Eilish, Lady Gaga and other celebrities, was billed as a landmark event to help more than 10,000 Southern California residents displaced by the January fires. Former Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband, Doug Emhoff, lent political star power to the effort. But a recent audit commissioned by the Annenberg Foundation, which oversees the fund, revealed that grants were awarded to nearly 200 organizations, some with missions only tangentially related to wildfire recovery.
Recipients included $250,000 for pet health care, $100,000 for a children's choir, and $500,000 to seed burned forests with fungi and bacteria. Others included the NAACP Pasadena ($100,000), the Los Angeles Black Worker Center ($250,000), and the CA Native Vote Project ($100,000), which conducts voter registration drives. The YMCA received $250,000, and one nonprofit was awarded $100,000 to produce wildfire-related podcasts.
"Some of the organizations ... it would be hard to say whether they were actually using the FireAid money for wildfire relief," said Ben Einbinder, a Pacific Palisades resident who became a community organizer after losing his home.
Residents say they were led to believe money would be distributed directly to those who lost homes. "Even the artists performing on stage were telling fans ... that this money is going directly to the victims," said David Howard, whose home was destroyed. "But the trickle-down on that makes it so the people who need it the most haven't seen anything."
The Annenberg Foundation defended the allocations, noting that FireAid never explicitly promised direct cash to victims. The audit by law firm Latham & Watkins LLP found no evidence of fraud, misrepresentation, or improper selection of grantees. "The Court's ruling requires a purely formal correction on the procedure," a Commission spokesperson said, adding the fund was always intended to operate through partner nonprofits.
Still, political pressure has mounted. Rep. Kevin Kiley (R., Calif.) and Rep. Jim Jordan (R., Ohio) have demanded greater transparency. Kiley told FOX 11, "There are probably some organizations on there where it's not self-evident ... how the mission of that organization or the expenditure relates to supporting fire victims." He cited a case in which a civic engagement group accepted a grant but later returned it because it had nothing to do with wildfire relief.
To date, FireAid has distributed about $75 million in two rounds. The first $50 million supported more than 120 groups offering emergency housing, food, trauma counseling and cash cards. One grantee, Inclusive Action, issued $500 prepaid cards to over 5,000 outdoor workers affected by the fires. A second $25 million tranche was directed toward long-term recovery, including soil testing, sustainable rebuilding, and mental health services. The remaining $25 million is scheduled for disbursement by year-end.
