Monday, March 17, 2025

Fire Aid Giving Out First $50 Mil from All Star Fund Raising Concerts During Grammy Week

Fire Aid is dispensing half of the $100 million it raised three weeks ago with dual all-star concerts.

Irving Azoff, et al raised the money as part of Grammy week to help firefighters and for wildfire relief for victims of the terrible fires.

It’s amazing to me that the film community has nothing planned for Oscar week at all. Vanity Fair and Chanel are giving their usual big name parties without any interest in the firefighters, first responders, or people who lost homes. (VF is giving money to the Motion Picture Fund because if you’re not a star, they don’t care.)

According to Fire Aid: “This initial phase of gifting prioritizes community-based organizations that are on the front lines of wildfire relief. The selected organizations have the infrastructure, experience, and relationships necessary to efficiently and equitably deliver assistance to fire-impacted individuals and have each received $100,000 or more. The need for immediate relief funding remains dire and these funds will serve to assist with that goal. Rebuilding efforts will be the focus for FireAid phase two grants.”

The Fire Aid concert is still on YouTube and will be all year. You can still donate money to the fund. The full list of organizations receiving aid can be found HERE.

Meanwhile, the Recording Academy is doling out funds through Musicares proceeds. Events like the Clive Davis pre-Grammy dinner were successful fundraisers. Can you imagine if the music business had behaved like Vanity Fair and others?

PS The Motion Picture Fund to which Vanity Fair is donating an undisclosed sum takes care just of people living in the Motion Picture Home. They were not affected by the fires.

Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News, where he created the Fox411 column. His movie reviews are carried by Rotten Tomatoes, and he is a member of both the movie and TV branches of the Critics Choice Awards. His articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. He is also the writer and co-producer of "Only the Strong Survive," a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals, directed by DA Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus.

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