On January 30, 2025, a pair dozen of the world’s most gifted musicians, plus Jelly Roll, got here collectively on extraordinarily brief discover to take part in a two-venue profit live performance referred to as FireAid. The aim of the occasion was to boost cash for the victims of the fires that devastated the Pacific Palisades and Altadena just some weeks earlier.
Inexperienced Day with Billie Eilish opened the evening, adopted by Alanis Morissette, Joni Mitchell, Dawes, P!nk, Rod Stewart… all the best way as much as a more in-depth that noticed Woman Gaga observe Stevie Marvel.
The occasion was streamed on Prime, Apple TV+, Disney/Hulu, HBO MAX, Netflix, Paramount+, Peacock, YouTube, DirecTV, Spotify, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, a number of native LA information stations, AMC Theaters, Regal Cinemas, and all 860+ iHeartRadio stations.
It was an extremely shifting evening. Billy Crystal, who misplaced his residence within the Palisades hearth, gave a touching tribute whereas sporting the garments that had been on his again the morning he left his home as the fireplace approached just a few weeks earlier.
(Photograph by John Shearer/Getty Photographs for FIREAID)
In my reminiscence, the occasion was clearly promoted and messaged as elevating cash that might go DIRECTLY TO THE VICTIMS. For instance, Miles Teller, who misplaced a house within the Palisades he bought nearly two years earlier than the fireplace for $7.5 million, clearly mentioned in his presentation: “all the cash raised will go on to individuals who want it now…” It has been some time, however in my mind I really feel like each single non-musical performer who made a donation plea that evening mentioned one thing alongside the identical strains.
That is why I made a decision to donate $200. My spouse, dad and mom, and in-laws additionally made donations. A lot of my mates made donations. In the long run, FireAid raised over $100 million.
So what occurred to that $100 million?
Lacking $100 Million?
A number of months after the live performance, rumblings started to indicate up on social media claiming that the cash had been mispent, had not been distributed, or had gone lacking. Spencer Pratt, one other Palisades victim, used his social platform to… flame… the rumors. Then, in July, President Trump took to social media so as to add gasoline to the… hearth… with the next social media publish:
“FIREAID’ IS A TOTAL DISASTER. LOOKS LIKE ANOTHER DEMOCRAT INSPIRED SCAM. 100 MILLION DOLLARS IS MISSING. WAS SUPPOSED TO GO TO THE LOS ANGELES FIRE VICTIMS, FIRES THAT, WITH PROPER MANAGEMENT, WOULD NEVER HAVE EVEN HAPPENED. GOVERNOR NEWSCUM REFUSED TO RELEASE BILLIONS OF GALLONS OF WATER FROM NORTHERN CALIFORNIA, AND THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST,”
The anger and rumors had been robust sufficient to compel FireAid to have interaction the high-profile regulation agency, Latham & Watkins, to conduct a full investigative report on the place the cash went. First off, in line with the report, this is precisely how a lot cash was raised by every funding supply:
- Tickets & Suites: $14,051,856
- Company Sponsors: $44,525,000
- Merchandise, Meals & Beverage, Parking: $2,572,272
- In-Type Donations: $8,390,463 (not counted towards money whole)
- Contributions Exterior of Broadcast: $9,953,000
- Stay Broadcast & Video On-Demand Donations: $14,114,306
- Steve & Connie Ballmer Match: $14,114,306
Complete: $99,330,740
The place The Cash Went
That is the place the story diverges from what many donors thought they had been supporting. FireAid was by no means set as much as lower checks straight to fireside victims. As an alternative, the practically $100 million raised was pooled right into a donor-advised fund managed by Goldman Sachs and distributed to greater than 170 nonprofit organizations vetted by the Annenberg Basis and FireAid’s Grant Advisory Committee.
By September 2025, roughly $75 million had been distributed in two waves, with the remaining $25 million promised by yr’s finish. The recipients spanned a variety of classes: housing, catastrophe aid, meals safety, psychological well being providers, training, small enterprise help, and, surprisingly, arts teams, faculty foundations, and animal welfare charities.
Some examples:
- The Change Response: $1 million to fund 197 direct money grants that supported 652 folks, averaging simply over $5,000 per family.
- LA County Workplace of Meals Methods: $500 grocery vouchers and meals bins for 498 fire-affected people.
- Neighborhood Housing Companies of Los Angeles County: $1.5 million for rental support, property inspections, and long-term restoration planning.
- LA Regional Meals Financial institution: $1 million that translated into 58 million kilos of meals, valued at over $90 million, distributed throughout the county.
- Pasadena Senior Heart: Funds for older adults overlaying housing, transportation, and meals.
- Candy Aid Musicians Fund: Small money stipends and grocery playing cards for artists and music staff.
- NAACP Pasadena: Grants for non permanent housing and rental help.
- Los Angeles County Parks Basis: $2.5 million to revive public parks and playgrounds.
- Pasadena Metropolis School Basis: $500,000 for college students and employees impacted by the fires.
- Make-A-Want Basis: $125,000, despite the fact that the group has no direct wildfire mission.
- Animal Wellness Basis: $250,000 for veterinary care and pet rescue.
On paper, the grants add up. However in follow, for households nonetheless dwelling in motels or on kin’ couches, it has been laborious to see the impression straight. The construction made sense to directors and philanthropists, however to not donors who had been informed their cash would go “straight” to victims.
Put it this fashion: For instance you had been a sufferer of the Palisades or Altadena fires, OR as an instance you donated cash to FireAid. How do you are feeling seeing cash that might have gone to victims as an alternative being given to the NAACP Pasadena, the Candy Aid Musicians Fund, the LA County Parks Basis, Pasadena Metropolis School? Moreover, in line with that prime bullet level, of the $100 million that was supposedly going on to victims, solely $1 million was distributed to 197 victims. That is $5,067 per grantee.
The Backside Line
The FireAid live performance was a unprecedented show of celeb energy, company generosity, and neighborhood spirit. It raised practically $100 million in a matter of weeks and funded dozens of necessary aid efforts. However the best way it was promoted—”all the cash will go on to individuals who want it now”—set expectations it might by no means fulfill.
Donors thought they had been giving cash that might find yourself straight within the pockets of fireside victims. What truly occurred was a way more sophisticated course of: funds funneled by means of layers of nonprofits, committees, and institutional companions. That construction is not inherently incorrect, nevertheless it wasn’t what many individuals had been led to consider.
So sure, the cash was raised. Sure, it was distributed. And sure, it’s serving to in tangible methods. However for survivors who nonetheless have not seen assist, and for donors who thought their $200 contribution would hold a displaced household afloat, FireAid stays a cautionary story about how charitable messaging can conflict with charitable actuality.
