How My Couple of Donations Became More Than $70k for California Fire Relief
What We Did to Support Victims of the Deadliest Wildfire in the U.S. in 100 Years
When I found out about the California fires, I asked the SF Global Shapers what we were doing in response. The Global Shapers Community is an initiative of the World Economic Forum to empower young leaders for impact.
When we didn’t feel like we had the capacity to take the lead on a project, we reached out to other California hubs to see if we could support any of their efforts. But when that fell short, it didn’t feel right not to do something when our neighbors were losing so much. Sometimes the timing isn’t convenient, we’re too busy, or we don’t even know where or how to start.
That’s when we decided that we still needed to show up and do our part because that’s who we are as Global Shapers.
According to the Center for International Disaster Information, sending money is almost always the most efficient way to help in a disaster.
So we decided to mobilize and run a fundraising campaign for the California Community Foundation’s Wildfire Relief Fund, which supports fire relief in both Northern and Southern California. They are focused on intermediate and long-term recovery with both an internal disaster relief team for immediate action as well as grant opportunities for 501c3 non-profits on the ground to support long-term recovery, such as rebuilding homes, providing financial, medical, and mental health assistance and helping those affected to get medical treatment.
A fellow Global Shaper asked me if I thought running a fundraising campaign was really the best way to make an impact.
Over the course of 3 weeks, our campaign raised over $12.3k and was trending throughout the entire campaign (reaching almost 1800 visitors, shared more than 220 times and favorited by almost 70).
I supported our campaign, a campaign run by local SF art studio 3 Fish Studios, and one created by my photographer friend Nicole Balsamo.
With the power of the network effect, my couple of donations resulted in over $70.5k being raised for California fire relief.
It’s “small” compared to the gravity of relief efforts that will be needed, but I feel like my money went a long way. So yes, I believe this is the best thing we could have done as Global Shapers to make an impact.
Thank you to everyone who donated to our campaign, helped share, or supported fire relief in their own way. Special thanks to our event partners in Los Angeles and San Francisco, The Riveter and Wine Down SF. And one last shoutout to all the Global Shapers who came together so quickly to work on this and take action, especially Glasha Marcon and Paul Endelman.
We love you, California.
