2025 California Wildfires Long-Term Recovery Grant Program

Who can apply for grant funding?

Organizations which meet both the following criteria are eligible to apply:

• Non-profits with a minimum of three years as IRS-approved 501(c)(3) AND
• Non-profit organizations with a minimum annual budget of $250,000 are preferred.

Note: Every application undergoes a financial due diligence review to ensure that a grantee has the stability and capacity to responsibly manage the award and achieve the intended outcomes. Examples of factors evaluated in the financial review include number of years in operation, diversity of revenue sources, liquidity ratios (current and quick ratios), leverage ratio (debt to net assets), days of cash and investments, asset turnover ratios, grant amount request to annual revenue ratio (reflecting size of the company), return on revenue ratio.

Organizations that do not meet eligibility criteria, but address a critical community access or programmatic need, may be considered. These applications may need to be submitted by a fiscal sponsor. More information on fiscal sponsorship will be discussed in the Information Sessions.

Consideration will be given to organizations with established disaster recovery or unmet humanitarian needs programming, including organizations with 1) expertise in providing services to communities disproportionately impacted by disaster; 2) collaborative relationships with other local, regional, or national organizations active in disaster recovery; and/or 3) prior grants with the Red Cross Long-Term Recovery Grant Program.
 

How can I get more details on the types of projects being considered and program guidance?

During the Information Sessions, the the Red Cross Long-Term Recovery (LTR) grant team will share detailed project parameters and answer attendee questions.

How does the pre-application process work?

Prospective applicants must attend an Information Session before a submitted Pre-Application will be considered. The LTR grant team may contact submitted applicants to discuss the proposed project during the review process. When the Pre-Application period closes, selected projects will receive an email Invitation to Apply with a link to the Application Portal. Those not selected to apply will receive a notification of declination by email.

What information is required for the Pre-Application?

A Pre-Application must be completed by all prospective applicants, to provide a brief overview of the project, high level budget information, and organizational profile information, including required documentation:

• IRS 501(c)(3) Letter of Determination. (If using Fiscal Sponsor, the IRS letter and all supporting documentation must be that of the Fiscal Sponsor) 
• IRS W9 Form 
  
• List of the current calendar year’s organizational board and leadership members 
  
• Most recent two (2) years of audited financials (P&L and Balance Sheet) OR most recent two (2) years of 990s
  
• Current organizational fiscal year budget

If invited to apply, what will the application include?

We ask that you provide a detailed description of your proposed project design, goals of the project, how your organization will engage and work with the community, your organization’s relationship with the community the project seeks to support, a full project budget, timelines, resources, and other pertinent information. 

When will award decisions be announced?

After the Long-Term Recovery team completes the review process for each application, grant decisions are announced by email to the applicant as they are awarded, declined, or put on hold. Award decisions may be expected between September 15 and October 31, 2025.

Additional Resources:
 

• FEMA – California Wildfires fema.gov/disaster/4558
• Los Angeles County Recovers recovery.lacounty.gov