North Bay Fire Relief ?Fund distributes $32M

More than 41,000 people have donated to the relief fund.|

The North Bay Fire Relief Fund (NBFRF), has collected and distributed more than $32 million from over 41,100 donors over the past 120 days, to support immediate needs of fire victims following the devastating fires that impacted Sonoma, Napa, Mendocino and Lake counties in October 2017.

The North Bay Fire Relief Fund, a partnership of The Press Democrat, Sen. Mike McGuire and Redwood Credit Union, represents one of the largest disaster relief efforts in Northern California history, with 100 percent of all donations collected directly benefitting neighbors in need. The Fund is housed within the Redwood Credit Union Community Fund.

The North Bay Fire Relief Fund has, since inception, been focused on the first phase of the recovery - supporting immediate relief for those impacted by the fires. Now with the fund fully disbursed it is beginning to wind down, as other groups in the community ramp up to tackle the second and rebuilding phases of recovery and rebuild.

Some of the groups organized to address the mid- and long-term phases include: Rebuild Northbay Foundation; Community Foundation of Sonoma County; Napa Valley Community Foundation; and Community Foundation of Mendocino County.

Contributions came from over 41,100 donors from 23 countries, and nearly 70 percent of donations came from outside the four affected counties, proving people around the world care about what happened to the North Bay and are sending a message of care and hope for the community.

Fund details include:

$20,498,854 in direct assistance to fire victims, including 6,593 residents who lost homes or experienced economic hardship due to the fires, received financial support from the Fund. ? One-hundred-two first responders who lost homes while fighting the fires or protecting the community received funds to support their immediate needs, and 2,253 K-12 and college students throughout the North Bay who lost their homes received gift cards from the Fund to help them replace school clothes and supplies.

$9,587,586 to nonprofits serving immediate needs of fire survivors, including nonprofits supporting urgent food and shelter/housing needs during and immediately following the fires. ? Fifty-six nonprofits providing direct services to fire survivors received nearly $7 million in grants from the North Bay Fire Relief Fund to continue support of fire survivors with financial assistance, food, housing, family and health and well-being services.

$1 million to small businesses impacted by the fires.

$942,541 to support fire survivor health and well-being including health and dental care, lost sporting equipment and holiday programs.

Details about how funds have been used to aid fire survivors is available at redwoodcu.org/northbayfirerelief.

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