Over the past few weeks, we have received questions from clients, both local and from around the world, asking how to help those impacted by the California fires. With many best practices learned after devastating crisis from like Hurricanes Katrina, Sandy, and Harvey, wildfires in Maui, and 9/11, potential donors have more information available to them than ever. As philanthropists, we have the tools to educate ourselves on past events, bearing in mind the lessons of effective philanthropy, and thereby making sure our decisions are more informed, wiser and have more of an impact than ever before. Particularly during a disaster, when fast, effective decision making is critical, relying on lessons of the past ensures we best support those most in need, whether that be the wildfire victims in Los Angeles or the next community to suffer a disaster.

In our latest Philanthropy client alert, HSBC experts from our Private Bank Wealth Planning team and HSBC’s Corporate Sustainability office share best practices for disaster giving to assist with your own philanthropic decisions.

Disaster Giving Remains Niche, Despite Increasing Need

It has become clear with recent climate disasters that these devastating events will be more frequent and more catastrophic.¹ However, statistics show that disaster philanthropy continues to receive only a small portion of overall charitable donations made across the US each year.² Where disasters generate large media coverage, corporations and individual donors often respond by providing massive sums of immediate support.³ Decisions in these moments are often made quickly, from feelings of strong public sentiment and a genuine desire to respond with urgency. However, as we know from countless disasters before, these are the moments when making the most thoughtful philanthropic decisions is incredibly important.

Our Advice: Take a Long-Term View

In the past few weeks as the CA fires continue to destroy neighborhoods and displace thousands of families, we have seen an outpouring of corporate support. Over 120 companies have made public commitments, and many more have made private contributions to support our neighbors in California.⁴ Most of the recipients of funding are “emergency response” nonprofits—valiant programs that solve immediate problems such as food, water, and shelter. Those choices are admirable and the support is clearly needed now, so we are grateful to see so many stepping up in this way.

But while we know the general public may respond to the call for donations to support immediate relief needs, thoughtful philanthropists consider the mid-to-long term needs to rebuild a community. We must begin to consider how communities like Pasadena and Altadena will be rebuilt, just as communities in Asheville, Maui, New Orleans, New York City and others have had to do so in the past. Those needs include considering not just food, water and temporary shelter needed in the immediate aftermath of a disaster, but understanding what the community needs to rebuild homes, schools, and medical facilities over the coming years. In Los Angeles, one of the most important efforts will be to increase prevention, through controlled burns, uses of fire-resistant building materials, and development of new technologies to help prevent and minimize wildfires.⁵

As you think about how you want to help, we encourage you to think long term.

Our Advice: Do Your Own Research

If you do need a place to begin, below are a few organizations operating in Los Angles to rebuild the communities lost in the wildfires:

• California Community Foundation⁶ 
• California Fire Foundation⁷ 
• Pasadena Community Foundation⁸ 
• Los Angeles Regional Food Bank⁹ 
• Center for Disaster Philanthropy (Specifically, California Wildfires Recovery Fund)¹⁰

All U.S.-qualified public charities are required to file annual tax returns with the IRS – these are publicly available and include valuable information about the organization, its mission, annual budget and past spending, key staff and board member names and compensation, and for grant-making organizations, a complete list of grants made to third party charities. Online tools allow you to look up a charity, validate its status, and learn about its work; two of our favorite sites for philanthropic research are Charity Navigator and Guidestar.¹¹

Unfortunately, in disaster situations we see that some bad actors try to take advantage of the chaos of the moment, the urgency of the need, and the genuine compassion and desire to help of unsuspecting altruists. In the past, we have seen instances of sham charities seeking donations or calls to give to wholly unvetted recipients. To avoid falling victim to fraud, direct charitable grants to qualified public charities registered and current with the IRS. 

Our Advice: Remember the Tax Benefits of Charitable Giving

While income tax planning may be the furthest thing from your mind during a disaster, it doesn’t need to be. Qualified charitable gifts can provide important tax deductions against your income this year. If you already have a charitable giving structure such as a foundation or a donor-advised fund, now maybe a good time to make distributions to support causes important to you. For specific guidance regarding your situation, contact your tax and legal advisor.

Our Advice: Share in the Joy of Giving

Fundamentally, charitable giving is an act of generosity, and giving from the heart is always the most effective and most gratifying way to participate in a public call to action. Particularly when meeting the moment means assisting a community facing a natural disaster – our advice is to let your heart guide your steps and consider your own individual and family values. 

Following a disaster, the needs on the ground are vast, and there are ample opportunities to align one’s giving with one’s values. In California, we are seeing donors from about the country join together as part of a church¹² , school¹³ , or community group¹⁴ , or choosing to support specific needs like assisting women and girls who have been impacted¹⁵ , or by providing healthy foods, or supporting teachers who’ve lost their homes and their classroom materials¹⁶ . One unique example of this focused giving is an outpouring of support by animal-focused philanthropists, to help assist domestic and farm animals which have been displaced by the California wildfires¹⁷. In another case, donors are supporting legal aid clinics where volunteer lawyers are helping impacted families with filing FEMA claims, tenants rights issues, and filing for unemployment assistance¹⁸. Whatever charitable giving area you are passionate about – our advice is to lean into that. Not only will you be able to maximize the impact of your giving, you are also likely to feel the greatest personal satisfaction too.

Thank you for your generosity and kindness.

¹ https://www.worldwildlife.org/stories/is-climate-change-increasing-the-risk-of-disasters ↩

² https://disasterphilanthropy.candid.org/key-findings/ ↩

³ https://ag.ny.gov/sites/default/files/reports/Hurricane_Sandy_2014_Report.pdf ↩

⁴ https://www.uschamberfoundation.org/disasters/responding-to-the-southern-california-wildfires ↩

⁵ https://www.naco.org/news/prevention-resilience-strategies-wildfire-mitigation ↩

⁶ https://www.calfund.org/ ↩

⁷ https://www.cafirefoundation.org/ ↩

⁸ https://pasadenacf.org/ ↩

⁹ https://www.lafoodbank.org/ ↩

¹⁰ https://disasterphilanthropy.org/ ↩

¹¹ https://www.charitynavigator.org/ and https://www.guidestar.org/ ↩ 

¹² https://diocesela.org/fire-response/ ↩

¹³ https://patch.com/new-york/huntington/cold-spring-harbor-students-raise-money-wildfire-victims ↩

¹⁴ https://lalgbtcenter.org/vanguard/la-wildfires-emergency-resource-guide/ ↩

¹⁵ https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/16/style/altadena-girls-california-wildfire-donations.html ↩ 

¹⁶ https://www.cta.org/for-educators/member-benefits/los-angeles-wildfire-relief ↩

¹⁷ https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/california-rescue-groups-open-doors-pets-burns-rcna187184 ↩

¹⁸ https://lafla.org/los-angeles-fire-emergency/ ↩