LOS ANGELES, Jan. 22, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- In response to the devastating impact of the Southern California wildfires, The Altadena Community Fund and The Palisades Community Fund, community-led dedicated relief funds, have been established to lead the local recovery. The Altadena Community Fund will address the unique challenges facing the foothill communities, while The Palisades Community Fund will foster resilience, recovery, and renewal in the Pacific Palisades and surrounding areas. Both funds will support immediate relief efforts and long-term recovery initiatives.
The Community Funds were founded by a group of local residents who saw an opportunity to empower Altadena and Pacific Palisades residents to have agency over their own fundraising and rebuilding efforts. Founding members include Bill and Kate Fishel, Paul Fuhrman, Sam Bakhshandehpour, Mickey Segal, and Lindsay Petersen.
An independent board, comprised entirely of community members from the respective impact areas, will govern the use of proceeds and forward direction of each fund, ensuring that resources serve the most pressing needs identified by those directly affected. Los Angeles-based philanthropic and leadership stalwart Tracy L. Lawrence will chair a committee to oversee the selection of those boards to ensure effective and equitable distribution of resources, driven by the voices and regional leadership of Altadena and the Pacific Palisades.
Tracy L. Lawrence, founder and CEO of The Lawrence Advisory and former Executive-in-Residence at USC's Marshall School of Business, brings extensive organizational leadership experience to this crucial role. "Our role is to ensure these funds serve their communities effectively and transparently," said Lawrence, who will help establish the governance framework. "We're committed to selecting board members who represent and understand their communities' needs, and we will determine where we either have existing community stakeholders that can benefit from the dollars we raise in this moment of need or where we need to create new community stakeholders and organizations."
Bill Fishel, an Executive Vice Chairman with Newmark and current Chairman of the Board for Make-A-Wish Greater Los Angeles, shared how the founding group of members leaned on their collective prior experiences in the non-profit space to quickly stand up new, durable beneficiaries for these efforts. "We have all been overwhelmed by the earnest, immediate offers of support we have received from friends and family across the globe," said Fishel. "Our goal is to convert that goodwill into tangible resources that we can reinvest at the direction of these communities today and on into the future."
Paul Fuhrman, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Miramar Capital, has been a longtime uniter of the non-profit and business communities in Los Angeles. "These funds represent an opportunity to demonstrate how strategic philanthropy can catalyze community renewal," said Paul. "By embedding community voice in every aspect of our work, we ensure that our response to this crisis builds lasting resilience."
The Community Funds will host a joint fundraising event in March with details to be announced in the coming days. The funds will operate as fiscally sponsored projects of the Edward Charles Foundation, a 501(c)(3) public charity, ensuring tax-deductible status for all contributions. Community members, businesses, and organizations interested in contributing can visit www.altadenacommunityfund.org and www.palisadescommunityfund.org. Donations will directly support local recovery efforts and long-term community redevelopment and stewardship.
Media Contact:
Lauren Renschler
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SOURCE Community Funds
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