Giving Compass' Take:

• California funders are diligently raising money to provide some relief to the residents affected by the California wildfires.

• One initiative, in particular, comes from poverty-fighting organization, Tipping Point, aims to help people in the Bay area who cannot meet basic needs. How can other funders located outside of California get involved with this organization?

• Read more about funding in the Giving Compass Disaster Relief and Recovery Guide. 

With flames ablaze and billowing smoke at both ends of the state, it seems that wildfires have become the new normal in California. In response, regional grantmaking associations have emerged as sources of fire-related relief information and central points of contact for donors who want to help.

Meanwhile, foundations that normally focus on other local issues are prioritizing disaster relief to a greater degree than ever before. While firefighters and EMS professionals are on the ground doing extraordinary work, California funders are doing what they can to get resources to where they’re needed most.

For example, Southern California Grantmakers launched a web page with California wildfire resources that is being updated with information concerning where to find help and ways to help those affected by the Woolsey and Hill fires.

Grantmakers of all kinds have been involved in providing wildfire disaster relief support over the past couple years in California. We’ve written about a number of these efforts, including work to help vulnerable Latino communities affected by last year’s North Bay fires and assistance for local arts organizations.

The most impressive relief initiative in the wake of those fires was mounted by the poverty-fighting organization Tipping Point. The primary mission of this group is to assist the estimated 1.3 million people in the Bay Area who are too poor to provide for their own basic needs. But the unprecedented devastation of the North Bay fires led Tipping Point to mount a major fundraising effort toward rebuilding. This money came from thousands of individual and corporate donors, thanks to events like Band Together, a sold-out benefit concert at AT&T Park that generated $17 million.

Read the full article about wildfires by Alyssa Ochs at Southern California Grantmakers