Developed by the Greater Los Angeles Education Foundation, Pasadena Educational Foundation and Los Angeles Unified School District Education Foundation
Our school communities, and people across Los Angeles County, are still grappling with the incredible loss caused by the Eaton and Palisades Fires last year. The fires wrought profound and unprecedented damage. In response, communities came together with deep generosity, ingenuity and partnership, laying the groundwork for a regional rebuilding and recovery process.
In the immediate aftermath of the devastating wildfires, Greater Los Angeles Education Foundation (GLAEF), Pasadena Educational Foundation (PEF), and the Los Angeles Unified School District Education Foundation (LAUSDEF) came together to coordinate recovery efforts, align fundraising strategies, and ensure resources reached school communities in need. Our partnership quickly evolved into a working consortium of education foundations committed to supporting wildfire-impacted students, educators, and families across Los Angeles County through the long-term recovery and rebuilding efforts in the years ahead.
Each foundation serves as the philanthropic partner to its respective public education system and provides targeted support within its region. PEF works closely with Pasadena Unified School District staff and families, LAUSDEF supports Los Angeles Unified School District communities, and GLAEF serves the Los Angeles County Office of Education (LACOE), which includes all other impacted districts and public charter Local Education Agencies (LEAs). Together, our consortium has partnered with more than two dozen school districts and charter agencies countywide, ensuring a coordinated, comprehensive response without duplication or gaps.
Recognizing that wildfire recovery and long-term resilience require a unified approach, we established weekly coordination meetings to share information, pool resources, and align on-the-ground strategies. This unprecedented collaboration has enabled swift, effective action while centering equity and prioritizing underserved communities in both immediate relief and long-term recovery planning.
To date, our consortium has delivered $6.52 million in direct assistance to more than 3,000 families and 990 educators that lost their homes, have been displaced, or suffered significant financial hardships due to the fires. An additional $2.6M was provided to replace lost and damaged technology through in-kind donations and the purchase of new devices. We have also awarded over $400,000 in grants to 350 teachers to support recovery-focused classroom and school projects, invested in mental health services for students and families, and expanded summer and enrichment programming to help communities heal and rebuild, and more than $200,000 to community based organizations providing enrichment programs to youth and families in Pasadena, Altadena and the Palisades.
Looking ahead, our consortium is advancing forward-thinking strategies that place public schools at the center of long-term recovery efforts. Ongoing collaborations will emphasize mental health supports, restoring and improving learning environments, rebuilding facilities, and supporting workforce development to ensure schools remain anchors of stability and opportunity for their communities.
Our work was made possible through the partnership of the L.A. Wildfire Recovery Funders Collaborative, national foundations, corporate partners, and thousands of individual donors from across the country who rallied to meet the urgent needs of the Greater Los Angeles community. Together, these partners have demonstrated what is possible when philanthropy responds with urgency, transparency, and intentional collaboration and partnership, and with family-centered equity at its core.
