Generosity Pours in from Near and Far

PCF’s Eaton Fire Relief & Recovery Fund at $7 million – and still growing.

In just two weeks, donors from near and far have helped Pasadena Community Foundation’s Eaton Fire Relief & Recovery Fund grow to $7 million. National and local foundations and corporations, along with more than 2,500 individuals, have amplified PCF’s ability to support our PasadenaAltadena-Sierra Madre communities in the face of unimaginable destruction and loss from the Eaton Fire.

This generosity has already helped PCF disburse $533,000 in grants to 20 Altadena and Pasadena nonprofits last week; we continue to work with nonprofit and civic leaders to direct additional funding in the weeks and months to come.

We extend grateful thanks to The Ballmer Group for its $1 million donation. Steve and Connie Ballmer have dedicated an initial $15 million in emergency funding for those impacted by the recent wildfires and noted that they were particularly interested in supporting “the historic, racially diverse community of Altadena.”

PCF also recognizes significant gifts from Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan; Metallica’s All Within My Hands Foundation; Wells Fargo Foundation; California Community Foundation; the Disaster Relief, Recovery and Resilience Fund at the League of California Community Foundations; the California Health Care Foundation; the Tides Foundation; Rose Hills Foundation; and so many others.

Our immediate Pasadena-area community has also stepped up in incredible ways, with gifts that include $250,000 donations each from East West Bank Foundation and the Rose Bowl Operating Company with Goldenvoice, AEG Presents, and music festivals Just Like Heaven, Cruel World, and Head In The Clouds; Clifford Swan Investment Counselors; Hahn & Hahn LLP; and benefit events at The Ice House and Jones Coffee.

We also want to recognize some of the unique ways the greater Los Angeles and Pasadena-area communities have come together to support the Eaton Fire Fund:

• The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences’ will use its Grammy Awards televised event on February 2 to benefit its own MusiCares Foundation and artists who have been impacted by the fires, as well as PCF’s Eaton Fire Fund, California Community Foundation’s Wildfire Fund, and Direct Relief.

• Wasserman Music, along with concert venues The Troubadour and Lodge Room Highland Park, have planned two benefit concerts in the next week; 100% of the proceeds will be donated to PCF’s Fund, as well as the Wildfire Recovery Fund at California Community Foundation.

Finally, our hearts are so touched by the unique efforts across the country to fundraise on behalf of PCF’s Eaton Fire Relief & Recovery Fund. Two examples include Head in the Clouds Trivia in Seattle, Washington, which collected donations at their trivia events last week and raised $7,870. And in Boulder, Colorado, the Colorado Chautauqua Community House has just announced its Concert for LA: A Benefit for Wildfire Victims on February 26 in support of PCF’s Fund.

Pasadena Community Foundation extends deep thanks to all mentioned here, as well as the countless additional donations that will uplift our community throughout this crisis.

About the Pasadena Community Foundation Eaton Fire Fund: PCF’s Eaton Fire Relief and Recovery Fund will provide resources to trusted community-based nonprofit agencies in support of families and individuals directly impacted by the Eaton Fire in the moment of the catastrophe and in its aftermath. On January 17, PCF disbursed its first round of fire relief grants: $533,000 to 20 Altadena and Pasadena nonprofits, with more immediate grant funding being planned. PCF will engage with civic and nonprofit leaders to develop strategies for longer-term response and priorities.

About the Pasadena Community Foundation: Founded in 1953, Pasadena Community Foundation (PCF) is a tax-exempt public charity created by and for the people of Pasadena. Managing more than $161 million in charitable assets, PCF works with individuals, families, and organizations to establish philanthropic funds, create and build endowment funds, and distribute charitable gifts to nonprofit organizations. Learn more at www.pasadenacf.org.

Philanthropy California is an alliance of Northern California Grantmakers, Southern California Grantmakers, and Catalyst of San Diego and Imperial Counties. They partner with the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) to support immediate disaster relief and long-term recovery efforts. Philanthropy California monitors wildfires & natural hazard events and provides individual and institutional funders with vetted funds, resources, and events.

The Eaton Fire Relief and Recovery Fund is on the vetted list to help direct resources to funds supporting non-profits active in place-based relief and recovery efforts.