FireAid Raised $100 Million Which Was Messaged As "Going Directly To The Victims"… That's Not Exactly What Happened

On January 30, 2025, a couple dozen of the world's most talented musicians, plus Jelly Roll, came together on extremely short notice to participate in a two-venue benefit concert called FireAid. The purpose of the event was to raise money for the victims of the fires that devastated the Pacific Palisades and Altadena just a few weeks earlier.

Green Day with Billie Eilish opened the night, followed by Alanis Morissette, Joni Mitchell, Dawes, P!nk, Rod Stewart… all the way up to a closer that saw Lady Gaga follow Stevie Wonder.

The event was streamed on Prime, Apple TV+, Disney/Hulu, HBO MAX, Netflix, Paramount+, Peacock, YouTube, DirecTV, Spotify, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, several local LA news stations, AMC Theaters, Regal Cinemas, and all 860+ iHeartRadio stations.

It was an incredibly moving night. Billy Crystal, who lost his home in the Palisades fire, gave a touching tribute while wearing the clothes that were on his back the morning he left his house as the fire approached a few weeks earlier.

(Photo by John Shearer/Getty Images for FIREAID)

In my memory, the event was clearly promoted and messaged as raising money that would go DIRECTLY TO THE VICTIMS. For example, Miles Teller, who lost a home in the Palisades he purchased just about two years before the fire for $7.5 million, clearly said in his presentation: "all the money raised will go directly to people who need it now…" It's been a while, but in my brain I feel like every single non-musical performer who made a donation plea that night said something along the same lines.

That's why I decided to donate $200. My wife, parents, and in-laws also made donations. Many of my friends made donations. In the end, FireAid raised over $100 million.

So what happened to that $100 million?

Missing $100 Million?

A few months after the concert, rumblings began to show up on social media claiming that the money had been mispent, had not been distributed, or had gone missing. Spencer Pratt, another Palisades victim, used his social platform to… flame… the rumors. Then, in July, President Trump took to social media to add fuel to the… fire… with the following social media post:

"FIREAID' IS A TOTAL DISASTER. LOOKS LIKE ANOTHER DEMOCRAT INSPIRED SCAM. 100 MILLION DOLLARS IS MISSING. WAS SUPPOSED TO GO TO THE LOS ANGELES FIRE VICTIMS, FIRES THAT, WITH PROPER MANAGEMENT, WOULD NEVER HAVE EVEN HAPPENED. GOVERNOR NEWSCUM REFUSED TO RELEASE BILLIONS OF GALLONS OF WATER FROM NORTHERN CALIFORNIA, AND THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST,"

The anger and rumors were strong enough to compel FireAid to engage the high-profile law firm, Latham & Watkins, to conduct a full investigative report on where the money went. First off, according to the report, here's exactly how much money was raised by each funding source:

• Tickets & Suites: $14,051,856
• Corporate Sponsors: $44,525,000
• Merchandise, Food & Beverage, Parking: $2,572,272
• In-Kind Donations: $8,390,463 (not counted toward cash total)
• Contributions Outside of Broadcast: $9,953,000
• Live Broadcast & Video On-Demand Donations: $14,114,306
• Steve & Connie Ballmer Match: $14,114,306

Total: $99,330,740

Where The Money Went

This is where the story diverges from what many donors thought they were supporting. FireAid was never set up to cut checks directly to fire victims. Instead, the nearly $100 million raised was pooled into a donor-advised fund managed by Goldman Sachs and distributed to more than 170 nonprofit organizations vetted by the Annenberg Foundation and FireAid's Grant Advisory Committee.

By September 2025, roughly $75 million had been distributed in two waves, with the remaining $25 million promised by year's end. The recipients spanned a wide range of categories: housing, disaster relief, food security, mental health services, education, small business assistance, and, surprisingly, arts groups, college foundations, and animal welfare charities.

Some examples:

• The Change Reaction: $1 million to fund 197 direct cash grants that supported 652 people, averaging just over $5,000 per household.
• LA County Office of Food Systems: $500 grocery vouchers and food boxes for 498 fire-affected individuals.
• Neighborhood Housing Services of Los Angeles County: $1.5 million for rental aid, property inspections, and long-term recovery planning.
• LA Regional Food Bank: $1 million that translated into 58 million pounds of food, valued at over $90 million, distributed across the county.
• Pasadena Senior Center: Funds for older adults covering housing, transportation, and food.
• Sweet Relief Musicians Fund: Small cash stipends and grocery cards for artists and music workers.
• NAACP Pasadena: Grants for temporary housing and rental assistance.
• Los Angeles County Parks Foundation: $2.5 million to restore public parks and playgrounds.
• Pasadena City College Foundation: $500,000 for students and staff impacted by the fires.
• Make-A-Wish Foundation: $125,000, even though the group has no direct wildfire mission.
• Animal Wellness Foundation: $250,000 for veterinary care and pet rescue.

On paper, the grants add up. But in practice, for families still living in motels or on relatives' couches, it has been hard to see the impact directly. The structure made sense to administrators and philanthropists, but not to donors who were told their money would go "directly" to victims.

Put it this way: Let's say you were a victim of the Palisades or Altadena fires, OR let's say you donated money to FireAid. How do you feel seeing money that could have gone to victims instead being given to the NAACP Pasadena, the Sweet Relief Musicians Fund, the LA County Parks Foundation, Pasadena City College? Furthermore, according to that top bullet point, of the $100 million that was supposedly going directly to victims, only $1 million was distributed to 197 victims. That's $5,067 per grantee.

The Bottom Line

The FireAid concert was an extraordinary display of celebrity power, corporate generosity, and community spirit. It raised nearly $100 million in a matter of weeks and funded dozens of important relief efforts. But the way it was promoted—"all the money will go directly to people who need it now"—set expectations it could never fulfill.

Donors thought they were giving money that would end up directly in the pockets of fire victims. What actually happened was a much more complicated process: funds funneled through layers of nonprofits, committees, and institutional partners. That structure isn't inherently wrong, but it wasn't what many people were led to believe.

So yes, the money was raised. Yes, it was distributed. And yes, it is helping in tangible ways. But for survivors who still haven't seen help, and for donors who thought their $200 contribution would keep a displaced family afloat, FireAid remains a cautionary tale about how charitable messaging can clash with charitable reality.