Wildfires in southern California have burned at least 47,000 acres in the Los Angeles area—the largest blaze, the Palisades Fire, has burned more than 23,000 acres. Thanks to dry and windy conditions, the fires are continuing to spread. At least 25 people are believed to have died in the fire as of Wednesday morning, and evacuation orders are in effect for 88,000 residents of Los Angeles (with about as many in evacuation warning zones, which means they may have to leave their homes at a moment’s notice).
With so many people displaced—and first responders still battling blazes—many are asking what they can do. Here’s a guide to how you can help as the fires rage on. Those who are themselves affected by the disaster can find advice on how to get help from the tax code and the IRS here and how to get low interest loans here.
Organizations Accepting Donations
If you want to help but aren’t sure where to start, tax-exempt charities that have indicated they are accepting wildfire-specific donations include:
American Red Cross. To make a financial donation, visit redcross.org, call 1-800-435-7669, mail a donation form, or text CAWILDWIRES to 90999 to donate to American Red Cross Disaster Relief, which helps people affected by disasters such as hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, wildfires, and tornadoes. You can designate your gift online to go towards the wildfires.
(Severe winter weather and wildfires have forced thousands of blood donations to go uncollected. There is an emergency shortage of platelets, and types O negative and B negative blood. You can schedule a blood donation appointment here. If you’ve never given blood before, it’s super easy—my daughter and I give often. Bonus? They give you free cookies!)
California Community Foundation. Since 2003, the CCF Wildfire Recovery Fund has provided over $30 million to communities affected by disasters. For the LA County wildfires, CCF supports various critical recovery services, including housing, case management, mental health, and medical care for displaced residents. You can donate online.
California Fire Foundation. CFF provides critical support to surviving families of fallen firefighters, firefighters, and the communities they serve. Your donation will help commemorate fallen heroes, offer scholarships to children of fallen firefighters, aid victims of fires or other natural disasters, and provide fire safety resources to underserved communities across California.
Direct Relief. Direct Relief is deploying medical aid, including emergency medical supplies for first responders and displaced residents, and respiratory protection equipment, including N95 respirators, to mitigate health risks from smoke exposure. You can donate here.
Feeding America. The Feeding America network is working closely with the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank to assess the damage and provide help where it’s needed most. You can donate here.
The Humane Society. The Humane Society’s Animal Rescue Team has been deployed to help the hardest-hit communities. You can support rescue and response efforts by donating to the Emergency Animal Relief Fund.
Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation. The LAFD Foundation is seeking funds to equip LAFD members battling wildfires with equipment and supplies such as emergency fire shelters, hydration backpacks, and wildland brush tools.
Los Angeles Food Bank. The Los Angeles Food Bank is accepting financial donations and food donations at two distribution centers (1734 East 41st Street, Los Angeles, California 90058, and 2300 Pellissier Place Industry, CA 90601) from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday. The Food Bank is also accepting volunteers—for more information, go to LAFoodBank.org/volunteer.
Pasadena Humane Society. The Pasadena Humane Society has been overwhelmed with supplies and can no longer accept them. However, the organization is still in need of monetary donations.
Salvation Army. The Salvation Army’s emergency disaster relief efforts are underway. You can find out more and donate here.
World Central Kitchen. World Central Kitchen’s Relief Team is in Southern California to support first responders and families impacted by wildfires in the Los Angeles area. Teams have mobilized across the region to provide immediate relief, and are working with restaurant and food truck partners to provide meals. To help Chef José Andrés feed those impacted by the wildfires, visit WCK’s website.
(Please note that these are not endorsements of a specific charity. If you’re not a fan of those organizations listed, many other charities would welcome your support.)
Services
If you are an attorney and would like to help out, California’s Disaster Assistance Legal Collaborative offers training and mentoring for volunteer attorneys. Volunteer attorneys may help staff a hotline, a clinic, or a table at a centralized resource center for survivors, or may take on full-scope cases through a partner legal services provider.
The American Bar Association Disaster Legal Services program is designed to help survivors navigate the aftermath of presidentially-declared disasters. You can express interest in helping out by using their Volunteer Interest Form.
Tips For Helping
If you want to know what you can do to help out, here are a few tips:
Cash is king. While you may want to send food and other items, the infrastructure may not support those donations. Many organizations have been clear that cash, or cash equivalent, is preferred. Keep receipts if you intend to claim those donations on your tax return.
Be smart. Be wary of personal solicitations on your doorstep or over the phone. Make sure that gifts made by checks or credit card gifts are secure. And don’t send money by text or using apps like Venmo without verifying the organization and contact information. If you don’t want to donate online or by text, most organizations have alternatives, like donation forms that you can mail with a check. Never send cash through the mail.
Use caution when donating to individuals. For federal income tax purposes, you can only deduct contributions to qualified tax-exempt charitable organizations. Donations to individuals are never deductible for tax purposes, even if the individuals are really deserving. If the tax deduction is important to you, consider working with an organization that provides disaster relief. But there’s another non-tax reason to use caution: money solicited for individuals could be part of a scam (like this one), and even if it’s not, the money might not be spent as advertised. Once you hand over the cash, you have no control over its use.
Rely on oldies but goodies. There’s nothing wrong with new charitable organizations but there is something to be said for those that have been around for a while. Brand new organizations may not have the facilities in place to offer the most effective relief, or they could be scams. Use caution before handing over your cash.
Tax Rules
As you consider which organizations might make the best use of your gifts, don’t forget to consider the impact that your charitable donations might make on your taxes. Many Americans donate even if they can’t claim a tax deduction. But some of the tax rules that apply to charitable donations—like checking to see that the organization has its paperwork in order—are good rules to follow even if you’re not claiming a tax deduction.
A tax deduction for charitable giving isn’t guaranteed just because you’re feeling generous. Here’s what you need to know:
Itemize. To claim a charitable deduction on your tax return, you must itemize your deductions.
Choose carefully when donating. Remember, only donations to qualified charitable organizations are deductible. Check out the credentials of a potential charitable organization before you donate. If you’re looking for a tax break, you can always confirm their charitable status through the IRS website using the TEOS Search Tool. You also can confirm charitable status by calling the IRS (toll-free) at 1.877.829.5500. Keep in mind that churches, synagogues, temples, and mosques are considered de facto charitable organizations and are eligible to receive deductible donations even if they’re not on the list (some exceptions apply, so be sure and ask if you’re not sure). Forbes also maintains a list of charities—you can check out our Top Charities 2024 list here.
Get a receipt—even for cash. As a best practice, always ask for a receipt. Almost any charitable organization will happily offer you one. You don’t have to submit this documentation along with your tax return, but you need to be prepared to provide it in case of an audit. Cash donations, no matter the amount, must be substantiated by a bank record such as a canceled check or credit card receipt, clearly annotated with the name of the charity or in writing from the organization. The writing must include the date, the amount, and the organization that received the donation.
Don’t overlook payroll deductions. Your employer may participate in a charitable giving program that allows you to make contributions directly from your paycheck. If you make a contribution by payroll deduction, record-keeping requirements require that you retain a pay stub, form W-2, or other document furnished by your employer that shows the total amount withheld as a charitable donation, along with the pledge card that shows the name of the charity. For federal workers, a pledge card with the name of a Combined Federal Campaign will meet these requirements.
Pay attention to the value of any donor incentives. A charitable donation is deductible only to the extent that the donation exceeds the value of any goods or services received in exchange. If you make a donation and receive something in exchange—anything from a coffee mug to a plated dinner—you can only deduct the cost of your donation less the value of the item received. If you’re not sure of the value of an item or service received after a donation, just ask. Most charitable organizations will do the math for you and document the value of your donation on their thank you letter or receipt.
Consider donating appreciated assets. Donating property that has appreciated in value, like stock, can result in a double benefit. Not only can you deduct the property’s fair market value (so long as you’ve owned it for at least one year), but you will also avoid paying capital gains tax. Normally, appreciated assets are subject to capital gains tax at disposition—whether by selling or gifting—but there’s an exception for donations to charitable organizations.
Don’t forget about retirement assets. Typically, if you want to make a donation from your IRA, you’d have to withdraw those funds, pay the tax, and then make the donation. There is an exception: a qualified charitable distribution (QCD) allows you to roll funds directly from your IRA to a qualified charity. Those amounts can be used to satisfy your required minimum distributions (RMDs) for the year, and the amount donated is excluded from your taxable income—you won’t even have to itemize to do it. The total amount of QCDs that you can exclude from your gross income increased to $108,000 in 2025, up from $105,000 in 2024.
You can’t deduct the value of your time. The IRS does not allow a charitable deduction for volunteering your services, even if you can easily put a dollar amount on your time. So if, as an architect, you usually charge $350 per hour and use that time to help a qualified charitable organization, you’re allowed a deduction of $0—that’s not a typo. The same rule applies whether you’re a lawyer, doctor, artist, nurse, accountant, or writer at Forbes.
You can deduct expenses related to volunteering. While you can’t deduct the value of your time, most out-of-pocket expenses relating to volunteering are deductible so long as they’re not reimbursed to you or considered personal. Out-of-pocket charitable expenses that might be deductible include parking fees and tolls; other travel expenses; uniforms or other related clothing worn as part of your charitable service; and supplies used to perform your services. For 2025, the rate for mileage driven in service of charitable organizations is just 14 cents per mile. The rate is currently fixed by Congress and is never adjusted for inflation—which is why it hasn’t budged in years, even though gas is more expensive. As with other donations, keep good records for out-of-pocket expenses—documentation is critical.
Document the value of your gift. Good records are always important when it comes to charitable giving, but even more so when it comes to donations of noncash items. You can generally take a deduction for the item’s fair market value—the price a willing buyer would pay to a willing seller. If you’re self-documenting the donation because it’s less than $500, be specific, noting the description and condition of the items. If you contribute property worth more than $5,000, you must obtain a written appraisal of the property’s fair market value. If you make noncash contributions (generally over $500), you may also be required to fill out one or more parts of Form 8283, Noncash Charitable Contributions.
Limits may apply. The amount you can deduct for charitable contributions is generally limited to no more than 60% of your AGI. Your deduction may be further limited to 50%, 30%, or 20% of your AGI, depending on the type of property you give and the type of organization you give it to.
Contributions are tax-deductible in the year they are made. That means that to make your gifts count during the tax year, they must be made by December 31. Contributions made by text message are deductible in the year you send the text message if the contribution is charged to your telephone or wireless account. Credit card charges—even if they’re not paid off before the end of the year—are deductible so long as the amount is captured by year-end. Similarly, checks written and mailed by the end of the year will be deductible for this year even if they aren’t cashed in 2025. And, good intentions don’t count: making announcements that you intend to donate assets will not qualify for a deduction in the current tax year unless you make good on the pledge during the year.
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