Responding Charity Spotlight: Center for Disaster Philanthropy

Jewell Willett

This is the second spotlight in a new series diving deeper into the efforts and impact of some curated and vetted organizations supporting the response to the Los Angeles wildfires.

The Center for Disaster Philanthropy is awarding grants to nonprofits and community groups helping families and the LA community recover through its CDP California Wildfires Recovery Fund. The CDP team works directly with local nonprofits to identify specific needs and gaps in funding, and consults with many in-state partners, such as the Governor’s Office of Emergency Service (Cal OES) and other agencies, to assess the long-term needs of affected communities and build collaborative partnerships.

CDP’s funding focus areas for California wildfire response include:

Advocacy for equitable recovery, including support for those advocating for wage earners and workers who lost their income as a result of the wildfires, affordable housing, housing repair and utility assistance.

Social services programs for disproportionately affected populations, such as older adults, undocumented and mixed-status families, people with physical or mental health challenges, and people living in poverty, to strengthen existing social services and address the additional needs that arise with disasters.

Initiatives that address food insecurity, including food sovereignty and agricultural support programs.

Leadership accountability and trustworthy information, including efforts to ensure those holding leadership positions are accountable for systems failures and funding organizations working to disseminate accurate information about existing challenges.

Mitigation and preparedness, supporting building response capacity and improving infrastructure to mitigate risks to the most marginalized communities affected.

Affordable housing, including programs for uninsured homeowners and renters to rebuild and/or find affordable housing.

Long-term recovery groups supporting community recovery and resilience.

You can watch CDP CEO Patricia McIlreavy’s interview with CNN to learn more about the situation and needs on the ground here.

The CDP was also featured in our list of Resources for the LA Wildfires.