Latino Community Foundation Surpasses $2M in Los Angeles Fires Relief

MIAMI — It's Tuesday afternoon here, where I’m attending the 2025 Knight Media Forum. On Wednesday night, I’ll be hosting a conversation (with FTC Commissioner Alvaro Bedoya and FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez about the market failures threatening the sustainability of journalists, creators, and content distributors serving Spanish- and English-speaking Latino audiences in the U.S. This discussion is part of my work at Free Press, but I wanted to let The Latino Newsletter audience know because we plan to share the full session on our podcast feed next week. Stay tuned!

Meanwhile, I want to highlight an important update from the Latino Community Foundation (LCF), our 2024 inaugural funder. LCF has been actively raising funds for families impacted by the Los Angeles wildfires. In a press release today, the foundation announced that its wildfire recovery grants have now surpassed $2.1 million, with new funding directed toward direct cash aid, rental assistance, and culturally rooted mental health services for affected families.

“Philanthropy must continue to lead as Los Angeles rebuilds and recovers. We must act swiftly to prevent a compounding economic and housing crisis,” said Julián Castro, CEO of the Latino Community Foundation. “By investing in organizations that are prioritizing tenant rights and immediate financial relief for immigrant, Latino, Black, and AAPI communities, we are helping to ensure that no vulnerable families are left behind in this recovery.”

The second round of grants from LCF’s California Wildfire and Disaster Relief Fund will support a diverse group of organizations working on tenant rights, direct aid, and community resilience, including:

• AltaMed

• Alliance for a Better Community (ABC)

• Boys + Girls Club Pasadena

• Comunidades Indígenas en Liderazgo (CIELO)

• Inclusive Action for the City

• Inquilinos Unidos

• Instituto de Educación Popular del Sur de California (IDEPSCA)

• Koreatown Immigrant Workers Alliance (KIWA)

• Latino Wildfire Aid Fund

• Las Fotos Project

• Los Angeles Tenants Union

• National Day Labor Organizing Network (NDLON)

• Pasadena Tenants Union

• Tenants Together

• TMC Community Capital

• Umoja Food Collective

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What We’re Reading

Waving the Mexican Flag: In an opinion piece for L.A. Taco by Gabriel Buelna and Enrique M. Buelna, the authors write: “In a society where our very existence is often disparaged, we have few tools to unite and fight against the persistent racism and xenophobia that permeate our daily lives. Waving flags —yes, Mexican flags— at protests is one such way to be seen and heard in a country that so often wishes Mexicans/Chicanos and Latinos would disappear.”

About the Author

Julio Ricardo Varela is the founder and publisher of The Latino Newsletter.

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