Star-studded Fire Aid concerts raised roughly $100 million for Los Angeles fire victims, but many residents say they haven’t seen a dime. Instead, the money went to dozens of nonprofits selected by an East Coast charity foundation.
Key Facts:
- Fire Aid benefit concerts raised approximately $100 million following devastating Los Angeles fires in Pacific Palisades, Malibu, Altadena, and Pasadena
- About 120 organizations received $50 million in the first round of funding distributed in February
- The Annenberg Foundation managed the Fire Aid funds and selected which nonprofits would receive money
- Fire victims report receiving no direct financial assistance from the concert proceeds
- Recipients included organizations like Pasadena Humane Society ($250,000) and Heal the Bay ($100,000) for coastal contamination testing
The Rest of The Story:
Two local news investigations reached different conclusions about how Fire Aid money was spent.
ABC affiliate KABC-7 found the funds were going to legitimate organizations helping with fire-related issues.
The Pasadena Humane Society used its $250,000 to treat pets burned in the flames, while Heal the Bay tested coastal waters for fire contaminants.
However, investigative journalist Sue Pascoe from Circling The News discovered that none of the money went directly to residents who lost homes and possessions.
When Pascoe contacted The Annenberg Foundation asking which Palisades nonprofits received funding, she received no response to emails or phone calls.
Independent journalist James Li called the situation “one of the biggest scams in disaster fundraising history.”
The core issue centers on whether Fire Aid funds should have gone directly to displaced residents or to organizations providing indirect assistance.
Pascoe argues that too many organizations can easily qualify for Fire Aid funding without proper oversight.
Commentary:
This Fire Aid debacle demands a full investigation from top to bottom.
When Americans donated $100 million believing their money would help fire victims rebuild their lives, they expected direct assistance to families who lost everything.
Instead, their generosity funded a web of nonprofits handpicked by a foundation on the other side of the country.
What happened here looks suspiciously like a classic bait and switch operation.
Donors were led to believe their contributions would help specific fire victims in Pacific Palisades, Malibu, Altadena, and Pasadena.
The concerts featured emotional appeals and heartbreaking stories of families losing their homes.
Yet when the money was distributed, it went to organizations testing water quality and housing pets rather than helping families get back on their feet.
The Annenberg Foundation’s refusal to answer basic questions about fund distribution raises serious red flags.
When a journalist asks which local nonprofits received money and gets stone-walled, that suggests something is being hidden.
Transparency should be the foundation of any disaster relief effort, especially one involving $100 million in public donations.
This entire Los Angeles fire response has been a disaster from start to finish.
First came the botched firefighting efforts that allowed preventable destruction.
Then the painfully slow rebuilding process left families in limbo while bureaucrats dragged their feet on building permits.
Now we discover that money specifically raised for fire victims got diverted to left-wing environmental groups and other causes that donors never intended to support.
The pattern suggests systematic mismanagement at best, deliberate fraud at worst.
Fire victims are still struggling to rebuild while their donated relief funds subsidize unrelated nonprofit agendas.
This betrays the trust of every donor who opened their wallet believing they were helping specific families in crisis.
Federal and state authorities must investigate this entire operation immediately.
Every dollar raised for fire victims should go to fire victims, not to whoever The Annenberg Foundation decides deserves funding.
If criminal fraud occurred, prosecutors need to file charges and recover the misappropriated funds for their intended recipients.
The Bottom Line:
The Fire Aid concert raised $100 million supposedly for Los Angeles fire victims, but the money went to nonprofits selected by The Annenberg Foundation instead of directly helping displaced families.
This apparent bait and switch operation demands immediate investigation by authorities to determine if fraud occurred and redirect funds to their intended recipients.
The entire Los Angeles fire response, from fighting the flames to distributing relief money, has been marked by mismanagement and broken promises to suffering families.
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