When wildfires swept through Los Angeles, people and corporations from around the world responded by opening their wallets in a way that broke records for generosity. Money poured into thousands of different recipients, from venerable nonprofits such as the United Way and Habitat for Humanity, to individual families through GoFundMe, to specialized groups working to replace burned musical instruments and stuffed animals.
The array of organizations makes a precise tally of the philanthropic dollars challenging, but the amount raised and pledged over the past month is well in excess of $650 million, according to interviews with nonprofit executives and publicly announced fundraising efforts. That appears to set a fundraising record for wildfires and exceeds giving for recent natural disasters. Charitable contributions for Maui’s deadly 2023 fire totaled about $450 million, according to a database compiled by Honolulu Civil Beat. Fundraising for Hurricanes Milton and Helene, which devastated the southeastern U.S. last year, topped $278 million, according a partial tabulation by the philanthropy site Candid.
