In a report analyzing the corporate response to the L.A. wildfires, global nonprofit The Conference Board estimated that the total philanthropic response tops $650 million when accounting for companies, philanthropic foundations, individual donors, workforce assistance and customer relief.

Reviewing specifically Standard & Poor’s 100 companies, the report found 51% publicly reported contributing to recovery efforts, with 39% specifying the dollar value of their charitable contributions. For those who disclosed the amount of their contributions, the total was nearly $122 million.

“This represents only a slice of overall corporate giving: it reflects disclosed cash donations while excluding in-kind support, employee giving and direct workforce assistance, as well as contributions from companies outside the S&P 100,” according to the report.

The average charitable contribution was $3.1 million, and the median was $1.5 million.

While oftentimes cash is considered king, The Conference Board said, “in-kind and service-based responses often had more immediate impact than cash alone.”

Examples of such responses included communication firms, such as Verizon Communications Inc., offering to waive call, text and data charges for customers in fire-impacted counties; banks offering mortgage forbearance periods; and hotels and credit card providers partnering to place those who had to evacuate in free temporary housing.

‘Stabilizing households’

The Conference Board also stressed the benefits of employers having systems in place to support their employees experiencing disaster before the disaster hits.

In a survey of 124 human resource and citizenship leaders at U.S. and multinational companies, the report found that 55% had a formal employee relief program in place, 10% had an informal program, 11% did not have a plan but were considering implementing one, and nearly one-fourth did not have a plan and did not have plans to implement one.

“These programs, often seeded by the company and supplemented by employee donations, have become a critical instrument for stabilizing households in crisis,” the report stated.

For example, Burbank-based The Walt Disney Co. housed 100 displaced cast members at the Disneyland Resort. The company also offers between $1,500 and $2,500 for household necessities and provides two months of free housing to employees impacted by disasters.

The report emphasized the importance of housing support from private and nonprofit sectors due to certain state and federal limitations in providing assistance when disasters are classified as urban rather than rural, as was the case with the L.A. wildfires.

“For example, FEMA did not authorize a Housing Mission due to high vacancy rates, limiting interim housing support,” the report stated.

The wildfires also called for long-term recovery plans. One example is the partnership between Brentwood-based Banc of California and Rick Caruso’s Steadfast LA, which provided small businesses located within the burn zones with grants of up to $50,000.

This can be particularly impactful given that many small businesses were “already burdened by Covid-era debt (and) could not take on new loans,” the report stated.

‘Prevention capital’

While efforts from the corporate sector have helped mitigate certain challenges, The Conference Board suggested the corporate world get involved with stabilizing the insurance market. This means “(working) with insurers and state programs on risk-sharing mechanisms to keep high-risk communities insurable and properties mortgageable.”

Dubbing California’s Fair Access to Insurance Requirements (FAIR) Plan “dangerously overexposed,” the report pointed out that FAIR is holding more than $300 billion in liabilities while only having $200 million in reserves.

Additionally, The Conference Board suggested the corporate sector co-finance resilient infrastructure; partner with lenders on small business grants; support fire-resistant housing construction; and “advocate for directing cap-and-trade revenues and creating climate resilience districts to generate sustained upstream prevention capital.”