‘We Got Nothing’: Fire Victims Speak Out after Receiving Nothing from $100M Star-Studded Fundraiser

Questions are swirling around the nearly $100 million raised by the star-packed “Fire Aid” benefit concerts earlier this year, with some fire victims claiming they’ve yet to receive any support, according to Breitbart.

The concerts, held on dual stages and featuring major celebrity appearances, generated a staggering amount of charitable donations. But for many residents affected by the Palisades Fire in Malibu and Pacific Palisades, and the Eaton Fire in Altadena and Pasadena, the funds remain out of reach.

Two separate investigations by local news outlets have painted different — though not necessarily conflicting — pictures of how the Fire Aid money is being used, notes. Breitbart.

One report, conducted by ABC affiliate KABC-7, found that the donations were being channeled toward legitimate organizations providing post-fire assistance. According to the outlet, when the first wave of Fire Aid funds was distributed in February, approximately 120 organizations shared $50 million. KABC’s “7 On Your Side” contacted each of those organizations and heard back from more than 50 about how the donations were allocated.

For example, the Pasadena Humane Society received $250,000, which it used to shelter and treat pets injured or displaced by the fires. Another nonprofit, Heal the Bay, was granted $100,000 to test local coastal waters for contamination.

In contrast, another investigation highlighted by local Fox affiliate KTTV and conducted by Circling the Newsrevealed a different concern: that few individual victims had actually seen any of the relief funds.

This ‘benefit concert’ might be one of the biggest scams in disaster fundraising history,” said independent journalist James Li on X:

“Thanks to Li and Sue Pascoe, an investigative journalist for Circling The News, we now know that FireAid funds have not gone directly to residents, but instead to nonprofits selected by a charity based on the other side of the country.
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As Pascoe reports, The Annenberg Foundation was tasked with managing the FireAid funds. Pascoe emailed the organization asking, “How much of the funds were spent specifically for the Palisades and which nonprofits in that community are receiving money?” But Pascoe didn’t get a reply, and no one answered when she called several of the company’s extensions.
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However, when Pascoe spoke with Wallace, she was shocked to learn that the FireAid proceeds would not go to residents affected by the devastating fires. Instead, the money would be distributed to several nonprofits affiliated with the Annenberg Foundation.”