Philanthropy Today

Entertainment companies, sports organizations, and celebrities are making pledges to help victims of the Los Angeles fires, whose economic toll will likely top $50 billion. Walt Disney Co. has announced a $15 million donation to groups including the American Red Cross, the Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation, and the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank. Paramount Global and actors union SAG-AFTRA are each kicking in $1 million, while L.A. sports teams are selling “L.A. Strong” T-shirts to aid the relief efforts. Last week, Jamie Lee Curtis became the first celebrity to make a public relief pledge, with a commitment of $1 million. (Los Angeles Times and Vulture)

A nonprofit-run app has become a lifeline for people in Los Angeles trying to track the path of the fires should they need to evacuate. Watch Duty, which relies on 200 volunteers and 15 full-time employees, has sometimes been more reliable than the official notification service. It has seen 2 million downloads since Jan. 7, and 14 million unique users over the past week, according to CEO John Mills, who said he set up the app in 2021 as a nonprofit because he has no wish to sell it and become a “disaster capitalist.” (New York Times)

More on the Los Angeles Fires

• Nonprofit Started in Wake of the 2018 Camp Fire Now Delivering RVs to Los Angeles Wildfire Victims (KGO)
• ‘Burning Through Gloves, Goggles’: Nonprofit Pushing for Help for L.A. Firefighters (KSTP)
• An Army of Community Volunteers Springs Into Action as L.A. Fires Rage (NPR)
• Local Nonprofits Moving Hundreds of Shelter Pets From Los Angeles to Utah (KSL)
• Whether Grammys Are Postponed Due to Wildfires or Not, a Charity-Led Show Is Likely (Variety)
• As Fires Rage, Day Laborers Volunteer to Clean Up Pasadena Streets (Los Angeles Times)
• How You Can Help the Incarcerated Firefighters Battling L.A. Wildfires (Los Angeles Times)
• With Food, Supplies, or Just Hugs, Volunteers Show Fire Victims They’re Not Alone (Los Angeles Times)

More News

• S.F. Zoo Director Not Sure Pandas Will Come — Major Donor Won’t Give Anymore (San Francisco Chronicle)
• American Who Brokered African Adoptions Is Arrested (Wall Street Journal)
• Ahead of a Second Trump Administration, Colorado Nonprofits Try to Strengthen State Immigration Protections and Prepare Families (KHOL)
• Lawyers Question Houston’s America Family Law Center’s Nonprofit Status to IRS (Houston Chronicle)

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