LA Area Chamber of Commerce Launches Wildfire Recovery Fund for Small Businesses

Los Angeles Times

20-05-2025

In the aftermath of the devastating January wildfires that swept through the Palisades and Eaton Canyon areas, small business owners in Los Angeles County are now receiving a much-needed lifeline.
The Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce has launched its Small Business Recovery Fund, an initiative designed to deliver direct financial relief to fire-impacted businesses.
Maria S. Salinas, President and CEO of the L.A. Area Chamber of Commerce, said the fund was launched as part of the Chamber's long-standing commitment to the economic strength of the Los Angeles area.
'I look at the Chamber as sort of like the caretaker of the region of Los Angeles,' Salinas said. 'Every major investment, whether it's people, whether it's the port complex, the downtown area, the airport master plan, you know, somehow the chamber has been behind it.'
According to a recent study by the Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation (LAECD), the wildfires impacted an estimated 1,863 businesses and nearly 10,000 workers, triggering a projected economic loss of between $4.6 to $8.9 billion in the coming years.
While humanitarian organizations mobilized quickly to provide food and housing, Salinas said it became clear that small businesses would need targeted support after being forced to shut down.
'When we think of our economy … we have to include every aspect of the economy,' Salinas said, 'and a big part of that is the local small businesses.'
According to a LAEDC 2023 report, about 94% of businesses in Los Angeles County have less than 20 employees.
Eligible applicants may receive $10,000, $15,000, or $25,000 grants. The size of each grant will be based on the gross annual revenue of the small business. They must also be located within specific zip codes for burn and evacuation zones and serve a customer base that is primarily from the impacted areas. Businesses outside those zones are not currently eligible, but those restrictions could change.
'I like calling this the first round of funding,' Salinas said.
In future rounds, Salinas said the Chamber hopes to expand to businesses near burn zones, like in Pasadena or Santa Monica, that have seen a decline in business because their customers and clients have left their neighborhoods and are dealing with recovery.
'We realize that the impact is great. But for this first initial launch, we are focusing on the burn areas and the evacuation zone,' Salinas said.
Applications for this round are open until June 6, or until funds are depleted, and are being reviewed on a first-come, first-served basis. Businesses can also receive support navigating the application process from technical assistance partners.
Grant applications are being processed by Lendistry, a Los Angeles-based Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI).
Salinas said it was important to find a partner that could help administer the funds and provide small businesses with low-interest loans.
'Through this partnership, we believe that we can provide capital that is direct relief, but also, if there's more long-term capital that is needed, that will be available as well,' Salinas said.
The Chamber will also add resilience-focused webinars and year-round business support to its current programming. They already offer one-on-one advising and workshops on procurement and insurance. They expect grant recipients to take advantage of these resources and future programming.
The fund and the extra business support are made possible through donations from corporate sponsors like Bank of America, Chevron, Ring (an Amazon company), Wells Fargo, Accenture, Deloitte, and others. The Chamber is actively pursuing more contributions to support additional funding rounds.
'We are definitely thrilled with the participation [and] the way businesses have come to the table,' Salinas said.
Chambers of commerce nationwide also reached out with support and shared disaster recovery tips from past experiences with hurricanes, tornadoes, and floods.
Salinas said it highlights the strength of the business community and the way everyone is eager to share information and help one another.
'The outreach that we got from them, the referrals we got from them, the support that we got from them…. I'm just beyond words,' Salinas said.
The fund's rollout also involves working closely with local business organizations like the Altadena Chamber, the Malibu-Palisades Chamber, and the Santa Monica Chamber to help spread the word to businesses in the hardest-hit neighborhoods.
While the first round of funding focuses on immediate recovery, Salinas said that the Chamber is 'in this for the long haul' from both a financial and policy perspective.
'We know that recovery and rebuilding is going to take two, three years, maybe more, and we're committed to having a fund that could be an ongoing support for small businesses,' Salinas said. 'We don't want to just say we're showing up for this day, and so then the funds are gone and we're gone.'
Salinas said they hope to begin issuing the grants within a few weeks of application approvals to get funds to businesses fast so they can feel the financial support of the community.
'There are a lot of people, a lot of organizations that are working really hard to make sure that there's financial relief,' Salinas said. 'We remain optimistic that just like we've seen other communities rebound from some devastation like this, we know that Los Angeles is resilient. The area is resilient, and it's a beacon of light for the rest of the country.'
Visit the fund's website to apply or donate.