500,000 Dollar Gift Strengthens Recovery From Recent Global Disasters

Devastating natural disasters shocked communities and organizations worldwide at the dawn of 2025. In early January, a Santa Ana wind event struck Los Angeles County with winds up to 80mph. The winds, combined with drought conditions and warmer-than-typical temperatures, caused a massive wildfire starting in Pacific Palisades and subsequent fires in Lidia, Sunset, Eaton, and Hurst. Of these, the Eaton and Palisades fires are two of the top five most destructive in California's history. At least 28 people have died thus far as firefighters continue to battle to contain the wildfires throughout Los Angeles.

At the same time, on Jan. 7, a magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck Tibet, killing at least 126 people in one of China's deadliest quakes in recent years. Two powerful aftershocks followed on Jan. 13 – a magnitude 4.9 quake and then a magnitude 5.0 one minute later. Between the initial earthquake and subsequent aftershocks, more than 1,000 homes have been damaged, leaving many without shelter.

To strengthen recovery from these recent global disasters, The Patterson Foundation is providing $500,000 to its longtime partner, the Center for Disaster Philanthropy (CDP). $250,000 will support the CDP California Wildfires Recovery Fund, which focuses on medium- and long-term recovery needs in communities affected by the wildfires. This includes rebuilding homes and livelihoods, providing mental health services, and addressing urgent challenges faced by vulnerable populations as recovery efforts progress.

The remaining $250,000 will go to the CDP Global Recovery Fund to strengthen recovery efforts for those affected by the Tibet earthquakes and other disasters worldwide. This fund was created to provide critical life-saving and life-sustaining funding for low-attention disasters where situations remain dire or high-attention disasters with underfunded recovery needs. The Patterson Foundation helped catalyze the CDP Global Recovery Fund in its inception through a $1 million commitment and match at its 2019 launch.

Through these two contributions, The Patterson Foundation hopes to activate recovery efforts from these disasters in the months and years to come while highlighting the prevalence of large-scale disasters affecting people around the world.

"While much of our focus is on our surrounding four-county region in Florida, we are also citizens of the world," said Debra Jacobs, president and CEO of The Patterson Foundation. "The Patterson Foundation knows it can't do everything, which is why it works with time-tested partners like the Center for Disaster Philanthropy who have the network and knowledge to make a difference."

CDP connects donors with insight and information from experts in philanthropy and frontline organizations to increase donors' impact before and after domestic and international disasters. Since 2013, The Patterson Foundation has given more than $7 million to CDP for operations and recovery efforts in the aftermath of disasters around the world.

"The wildfires across Los Angeles County continue to burn as survivors grapple with what's next on the long road to rebuilding lives and communities. Meanwhile, globally, devastating disasters and humanitarian crises also demand our attention," said Patricia McIlreavy, president and CEO of the Center for Disaster Philanthropy. "In these challenging times, we are grateful to The Patterson Foundation for its generous support and continued leadership in mobilizing much-needed resources for recovery and rebuilding efforts both in the U.S. and abroad."

According to CDP's State of Disaster Philanthropy report, 66 percent of all funds donated by foundations, corporations, and public charities to disaster response in 2022 were for immediate relief efforts, while less than 12 percent were for long-term recovery.

Both funds are a resource for donors interested in contributing to disaster relief and recovery efforts to give proactively. Any support will go toward medium- and long-term recovery efforts, such as rebuilding homes, infrastructures, and livelihoods for communities affected by the disasters.

Learn more about the Center for Disaster Philanthropy and contribute to the CDP California Wildfires Recovery Fund or the CDP Global Recovery Fund.