For Immediate Release
December 15, 2025
Contact:Angela Herrera Perez, Senior Public Information Specialist press@opportunity.lacounty.gov
LA County Awards $23.4 Million in LA Region Small Business & Worker Relief Funds to Wildfire Impacted Communities
The Funds represent a public-private partnership that funded 100% of eligible applicants, awarding 2,181 small businesses and nonprofits and 2,892 workers
Los Angeles, CA – The Los Angeles County Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) announced the official closure and full distribution of the LA Region Small Business & Worker Relief Funds, a financial relief program created in response to the January 2025 windstorms and wildfires. These fires destroyed or damaged 1,907 brick-and-mortar businesses and disrupted 39,000 businesses employing 230,000 workers and generating billions in monthly wages. The Funds provided immediate financial relief to ensure stabilization of impacted small businesses and workers in the early days of the crisis. This milestone comes after the County received an overwhelming 14,477 complete applications across both Funds, which underscored the far-reaching economic devastation left in the wake of the Eaton, Palisades, and other regional fires.
In total, DEO awarded $23.4 million in direct relief, including $17.7 million to 2,181 small businesses and nonprofits and $5.7 million to 2,892 workers, closing the gap for eligible small business and worker applicants after months of public-private partnership. This included the County’s Center for Strategic Partnerships, Southern California Grantmakers as fiscal sponsor, and AidKit as the third-party administrator managing distribution of all grant awards. With final fundraising efforts and grant awards complete, all eligible small business, nonprofit, and worker applicants received much needed relief. Small businesses and nonprofits were awarded up to $25,000 and workers were all awarded $2,000 as part of the program.
“Fire survivors deserve nothing less than a full and fair recovery, and these funds reflect Los Angeles County’s commitment to just that,” said Supervisor Lindsey P. Horvath, who authored the motion to create the Funds. “With $23.4 million in grants, we ensured that every eligible small business, nonprofit, and worker had access to meaningful relief to move forward. I am grateful to our partners who came together with urgency, compassion, and purpose to meet this moment. We will continue driving an equitable recovery that helps small businesses rebuild and restores the communities they serve.
“From the earliest days of the Los Angeles wildfires, it was clear that our small businesses, nonprofits, and workers needed quick, meaningful help to stabilize their lives,” said Supervisor Kathryn Barger. “That is why I proudly co-authored the Board motion to launch these relief programs and worked to ensure the County invested millions to support those who lost so much. Closing this fund with every eligible applicant served is a testament to what we can accomplish when government, philanthropy, and community partners collaborate to meet urgent needs.”
The LA Region Small Business and Worker Relief Funds launched less than one month after the wildfires began, with DEO initiating the effort by committing the first $1million in Care First Community Investment (CFCI) funds. This was followed by a mobilization to raise funds from:
- LA County Board of Supervisors investments totaling $4 million
- Philanthropic partners, from the California Community Foundation – CalFire, Annenberg Foundation, Hilton Foundation, Kayne Foundation, Fire Aid, Prologis, and others
- Corporate contributors, including Wells Fargo and Google
- State leadership from Governors’ LA Rises (led by Mark Walter, Earvin “Magic” Johnson, and Casey Wasserman) and the contributions from the Walter Family Foundation, Maersk, and APM Terminals
- Donations from the public made through the LA County Relief website, lacounty.gov/relief/
By coming together, the partners mobilized necessary funding to ensure that all of those who needed relief had access, especially those with the hardest path to recovery, including small businesses that were destroyed, underinsured, legacy community anchors, and workers who faced income loss, displacement or inaccessibility of unemployment assistance.
Anya Schodorf, Small Business Relief Fund awardee and owner and founder of Café de Leche in Altadena stated, “We applied for the grant. When we got it, we were so happy and so grateful that we got the funds because it’s going to help us focus on rebuilding. We [had] immediate access to the funds that are going to help us.”
For an overview of both Relief Funds’ Impact Data and grant awardee stories, visit: opportunity.lacounty.gov/small-business-worker-relief-funds/.
To ensure funding reached the communities most severely affected, DEO activated a large-scale, multi-partner, and multi-lingual disaster recovery outreach effort, including:
- 20+ English and Spanish webinars
- 19 in-person community events
- 15 train-the-trainer sessions with 40+ community-based organizations
- Deployment of 100+ County staff to provide technical assistance and application processing
- Materials and resources in all 14 County threshold languages
These efforts ensured equitable access to relief funds, particularly for survivors who faced language barriers, limited digital access, or displacement.
A Worker Relief Fund awardee, Patrick Hildebrand, shared, “I came across the LA County Department of Economic Opportunity right when I needed it most. My income had been cut to almost nothing, but my bills didn’t stop—these grants are what’s keeping me afloat. I am so grateful to the LA Region Worker Relief Fund and the LA Department of Economic Opportunity for helping us in this time of need.”
DEO also worked closely with the LA County Department of Arts and Culture to support creative workers. With their $800,000+ investment from Fire Aid, DEO was able to award artists, musicians, performers, craft producers, and other creative workers who were experiencing economic instability due to the wildfires. The grants helped provide direct support to allow for the preservation of cultural contributions, which are essential to long-term recovery.
“This marks a profound moment for Los Angeles County,” said Kelly LoBianco, Director of the LA County Department of Economic Opportunity. “In a matter of weeks and months, our region built a first-of-its-kind public-private partnership capable of delivering rapid, equitable, and complete financial relief. Closing these Funds means moving from the immediate relief phase and focusing on a path to a sustainable, accessible, and equitable long-term recovery and rebuild.”
In addition to the LA Region Small Business and Worker Relief Funds, DEO also partnered with the USC Credit Union Community Foundation and their Southern California Wildfire Relief Fund to provide fast, flexible relief to individuals and families facing extreme hardship. Beginning in May, USC Credit Union leveraged DEO’s West Los Angeles and East San Gabriel Valley America’s Job Centers of California (AJCCs) to conduct targeted outreach to impacted workers and families. Through this collaboration, 80 families and individuals received $1,000 each in direct relief. The partnership concluded on July 30, 2025, with the distribution of final checks.
While the Funds are now officially closed with all dollars disbursed, DEO will continue supporting impacted communities through the One-Stop Permit Center and Altadena Job Center by providing:
- Small business technical assistance and targeted navigation support for commercial rebuilding and permitting,
- Hiring and training services for impacted workers for recovery and rebuild, and
- Long-term economic recovery planning
Businesses and workers seeking recovery resources, permitting support, access to capital, or connection to work services can continue to access DEO’s wildfire recovery hub at: bit.ly/DEOWildfireResponse.
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About DEO: The LA County Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) has a vision for a more equitable economy with thriving communities, inclusive and sustainable growth, and opportunity and mobility for all. The department, with its America’s Job Centers of California, Office of Small Business, and hundreds of programs and partners, creates quality jobs, helps small businesses and high-road employers start and grow, and builds vibrant communities and spaces. Stay connected with DEO! Follow @EconOppLA on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, subscribe to our newsletter, or visit opportunity.lacounty.gov to learn about DEO services.