The first round of Phase 2 allocates $1.8 million in funding to aid residents most impacted by the wildfires and support community-based organizations to guide recovery and rebuilding efforts
Los Angeles, June 5, 2025 — In a strong commitment to support the recovery of the communities most impacted by this year’s wildfires, United Way of Greater Los Angeles proudly announces today the second phase of distribution to support community-driven recovery and rebuilding efforts.
The United Way Wildfire Response Fund was launched within a day of the January 7 wildfires igniting. In Phase1, the funds distribution addressed urgent relief efforts and community response for low-income individuals, people experiencing homelessness and those whose livelihoods experienced critical disruptions. Currently, this fund is one of only 10 dedicated to long-term recovery that meets Philanthropy California’s rigorous standards for building and sustaining thriving equitable communities across the state.
The Fund also received a generous contribution from United Way Worldwide to help organize resources and ensure the communities affected by the Eaton wildfire have the support they need to recover from the devastation.
This first round of funding in Phase 2 of $1.8 million includes support for housing and economic solutions that complement public disaster assistance for renters and homeowners through the Neighborhood Housing Services of Los Angeles County (NHS). This funding will assist families looking to reconstruct single family dwellings with access to guidance for securing fiscal assistance, multilingual legal workshops, disaster resource clinics, and available insurance and tenant support services.
Additionally, the funding will enable community-driven rebuilding efforts led by six organizations anchored in the communities most directly impacted by the disaster, including Altadena and Pasadena. They will collaborate to help ensure legal protection for tenants, mitigating rights violations of vulnerable populations, organizing trauma and social-emotional healing events, and conducting community mapping to envision the future for restoration.
“We are committed to support the long-term recovery from the wildfires disaster by funding a community-driven rebuilding approach, which allows community-based partners to guide the recovery solutions each community needs,” said Elise Buik, President & CEO of United Way of Greater Los Angeles. “Our expertise helping Angelenos recover from major disasters, including the Woolsey Fire, guides our work on the ground to co-create solutions and empower communities chart their own course forward.”
The community-based rebuilding collaborative includes the following organizations focused on:
Public Benefits and Systems Navigation:
Mutual Aid:
Policy & Advocacy:
Consulting & Convening:
Working with local partners, these organizations will provide pro-bono legal support and case management for elderly and dependent adults and small business owners, as well as shoring up tenant protections and mitigating rights violations through coordination with the public sector, legal advocates, and other policy partners.
The Wildfire Response Fund Phase 2 funding distribution will expand into a multi-year investment to support community-driven rebuilding, focusing on the alignment of public, private, nonprofit, and community stakeholders to assess scope and scale of long-term recovery needs. It will also invest in data research and planning to address long-term impact in directly affected communities.
Part of the proceeds from WalkUnitedLA 2025, which will take place on Sunday, July 20, 2025 at the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, will additionally benefit these efforts. For more information on the event visit walkunitedla.org.
About United Way of Greater Los Angeles
United Way of Greater Los Angeles is one of LA’s most trusted nonprofits, mobilizing neighbors and investments to support each other in a crisis and build a future where all people can thrive. www.unitedwayla.org
Media contact: Esmeralda Fabian Romero, United Way of Greater Los Angeles, efabianromero@unitedwayla.org