Emergency Artist Resources for Los Angeles 2025

This page acts as a compilation of useful resources and opportunities for financial assistance for those affected by the Los Angeles wildfires at this time. Note for those who have lost items/housing in the fires: File insurance claims ASAP. Claims are usually first come, first served.

If you were not directly affected by the fires, but live in Los Angeles and would like to volunteer in person, please refer to this list of volunteer opportunities. If you were not directly affected by the fires, but would like to support by donating, there are lists of GoFundMe campaigns below. 

This list will receive updates periodically as new opportunities emerge but is not definitive. Check out LAFD updates for the latest news on the LA wildfire status. 

Resource Sheets

Funding

The Adolph and Esther Gottlieb Emergency Grant

  • Provides emergency, need-based financial support to painters, sculptors, and printmakers who have experienced catastrophic, unforeseen events. The average grant awarded is $5,000 with a maximum of $15,000. Rolling application. 

Artists’ Fellowship, Inc.

  • Provides financial assistance to visual artists and their families experiencing an unexpected emergency situation, natural disaster, disability, bereavement, or extreme hardship. Open to active visual artists who can demonstrate that their livelihood is funded through the sale of artworks, including painting, sculpture, drawing, ceramics, installation, photography, and mixed-media. Rolling application. 

CERF+ Craft Emergency Relief Fund

  • Open to craft artists ages 18 and up, this emergency relief fund provides $3,000 for those who have experienced a “substantially disruptive emergency or disaster.” The fund accepts applications on a rolling basis and has recently issued a statement welcoming those affected by the Los Angeles fires to apply.

Entertainment Community Fund Emergency Financial Assistance

  • Monetary assistance available to performing artists and entertainment industry workers who have documented income criteria within theater, film, television, music, radio and dance for the most recent six consecutive years. The organization will work with California-based applicants who don’t have access to the required documents to fulfill their application. 

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)

  • Individuals affected by the Los Angeles fires can apply for FEMA aid, which can include financial support, as well as supplies, such as food, water, and medication. 

ATTN: If you currently have a GoFundMe campaign or are planning to start one, it is important to avoid potential conflicts with FEMA assistance.

FEMA states: By law, FEMA cannot duplicate benefits you receive from another source. If you receive money from a GoFundMe page for something specific, such as repairs, funeral expenses or other aid, this may affect your FEMA eligibility, but survivors should still apply for assistance and let FEMA determine if you are eligible.  

Avoid specifying what your GoFundMe funds will be used for if you intend to apply for FEMA assistance for those specific purposes. Use broader language. 

Here are some ways to rephrase your request for donations:

– We’re seeking support to cover unexpected costs and to get back on our feet.

– These funds will assist with needs that might not be fully covered by other sources of aid.

– Your help will allow us to address the many aspects of recovery and support our family through this crisis.

​​Foundation for Contemporary Arts Emergency Grant

  • Urgent grants between $500–$3,000 for visual and performing artists who have sudden and unanticipated opportunities to exhibit or present with insufficient time to seek other sources of funding.

LA Art World Fire Relief

  • A mutual aid fund launched on GoFundMe by artists and art workers with the initial goal of raising $500,000. The funds will be distributed to artists and art workers who have experienced full loss or severe damage to their home, studio, or crucial personal property. Individuals in need of assistance should fill out this form. Those who are able to offer mutual aid (temporary housing, clothing, legal aid etc.) can fill out this form.

Rauschenberg Emergency Medical Grants for Artists

  • Provides need-based grants to artists who have experienced unexpected mental health, medical, or dental emergencies. The grant is open to artists in the visual arts, choreography, and film/video/electronic/digital arts. Eligible applicants cannot have earned more than $75,000 average gross income for their last two tax filings, or $150,000 for joint filers. Application closes Tuesday, January 14 at 5:00 PM ET.

List of GoFundMe campaigns