Critics Are Now Wondering Where the Fireaid Millions Went

January’s

FireAid
benefit
was
a
huge
success,
as
donations
poured
in
during
live
performances
by
an
all-star
cast.
The
concert,
produced
by
Los
Angeles
Clippers
owner
Steve
Ballmer
and
mega-agent
Irving
Azoff,
was
said
to
have
raised
a
total
of
$100
million.

A
growing
number
of
critics
are
now
questioning
where
the
money
is
going.
California
lawmaker
Kevin
Kiley
called
on
the
U.S.
Department
of
Justice
to

open
an
investigation.
The
Palisades
Community
Council

sent
a
letter
to
event
organizers
and
sponsors
at
the
Annenberg
Foundation
asking
for
disclosure
of
all
payments
and
how
they
were
allocated.
President

Donald
Trump
is
now
describing
the
whole
thing
as
a “scam.”

Every
dollar
raised
was
matched
by
Clippers
owner
Steve
Ballmer.
The
pro
basketball
club
also
absorbed
the
costs
of
putting
on
the
concert.
Organizers
say
the
plan
was
then
to
direct
these
funds
toward
non-profit
organizations,
rather
than
making
individual
grants.

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10
Stevie
Nicks
Songs

They’ve
since
released

details
on
stipends
sent
to

nearly
190
groups
serving
more
than
150,000
people
in
Los
Angeles.
Some
$75
million
has
already
been
allocated. “From
food
and
housing
to
legal
aid
and
direct
cash
assistance,
trusted
local
organizations
have
delivered
meaningful
relief
to
people
in
need
—
and
we’re
committed
to
making
that
impact
clear,”
Chris
Wallace,
chief
communications
officer
for
the
Clippers,
told

Fox11
in
Los
Angeles.

Performers
at
the
two-venue
benefit
included

Stevie
Nicks,

Rod
Stewart,

Graham
Nash
and

Stephen
Stills,

Sting,

Joni
Mitchell,
the

Black
Crowes,

Slash,

Green
Day
and
a
reunion
of
the
surviving
members
of

Nirvana,

among
others.
They
helped
raise
$1.25
million
that
went
to
the
L.A.
Regional
Food
Bank,
where
more
drivers,
warehouse
workers
and
forklift
operators
have
been
hired
to
help
with
receiving
and
distributing
donations,
according
to
the


Los
Angeles
Times.

Other
grants
were
received
from
groups
involved
with “housing,
mental
health,
childcare
and
ecological
resilience.”
A
local
company
received
$250,000
for
debris
removal.
The
direct-aid
group
Change
Reaction
has
distributed
grants
of
up
to
$15,000
to
2,500
recipients
for
rent
and
transportation
needs,
the

Times
reported.

Were
Funds
Misdirected
From
the
FireAid
Benefit?

Some
Los
Angeles-era
homeowners
who
lost
everything
in
the
fires
at
Altadena
and
Pacific
Palisades,
however,
say
they
have

never
been
contacted
about
aid.
Meanwhile,
Kiley
pointed
to
at
least
one
beneficiary
as
an
example
of
misdirected
funds:
Sonoma,
California-based
After
the
Fire,
which
describes
its
mission
as “coaching,
convening
and
collaborating,”
has

no
clear
ties
to
L.A.

The
California
Native
Vote
Project,
a
group
focused
on “civic
engagement,”
has
reportedly
returned
FireAid’s
grant
money. “If
there
are
other
examples
like
[the
California
Native
Vote
Project]
of
where
maybe
the
funds
were
not
allocated
to
the
right
type
of
organizations,”
Kiley

said
last
week
on
the
California
House
floor, “then
they
can
be
redirected
to
the
kind
of
organizations
or
ultimately
to
what
will
most
expeditiously
get
the
funds
to
the
victims
themselves,
many
of
whom
are
struggling
to
rebuild.”

Trump
and
others
have

questioned
the
role
that
state
government
and
Gov.
Gavin
Newsom
have
played
in
the
granting
process.
When
those
concerns
were
shared
by


Los
Angeles
magazine,
Newsom’s
office
pointed
to
a

recent
social-media
post: “We’ll
say
it
again
…
FireAid
isn’t
a
state
organization,
and
we
played
no
role
in
this
independent
charity.”

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