Application form online here; donation link here; impacted parishes also offer donation portals
The first round of fire-relief grants totaling $19,000 were approved Jan. 21 and disbursed through the diocesan One Body & One Spirit Appeal fund, drawing from $322,931 raised in 777 gifts to date.
A concise application form is here. Six more applications totaling $15,000 will be reviewed and processed later this week.
Bishop John Harvey Taylor encourages those in need to immediately apply for Appeal grants, and gives thanks to all who have donated to the fund.
“The generosity of the people of God around our diocese and Episcopal Church-wide is astonishing and moving beyond words,” Taylor said. “On behalf of the diocesan community, my thanks to everyone who has contributed. Keep the prayers coming for all who are suffering in this catastrophe.”
Appeal grant applications are being reviewed weekly by a panel representing diocesan fiduciary bodies, and funds will continue to be disbursed promptly upon approval.
The diocesan Appeal – launched as an emergency fund during the Covid pandemic — has a proven record of routing contributions directly to help congregations and institutions meet unbudgeted expenses. “Every dollar received goes right back out the door in the form of a grant,” Bishop Taylor reiterates.
Detailed accounting procedures are in place in the diocesan Finance Office to assure that gifts are credited to the restricted purpose for which they are given, with diocesan Appeal funds recorded separately from contributions to Episcopal Relief & Development (ERD), and donation acknowledgement letters sent promptly.
While gifts to the diocesan Appeal will go directly to individuals and Episcopal institutions in need, donations to ERD will come back to the region in the form of grants to wider communities and groups – generally beyond the Episcopal Church – identified to be in need. Meanwhile, the diocese has received a $20,000 emergency grant from ERD.
In addition, local congregations in devastated areas have launched their own emergency giving portals, to which generous giving also is encouraged.
- St. Mark’s, Altadena – where scores of parishioners have lost homes and the parish church and school buildings — has opened a giving portal here.
- St. Matthew’s Church – where an estimated 75% of parishioners have lost their homes, and parish school buildings and rectories have burned — has launched the Palisades Fire Pastoral Fund. Link is here.
- Pasadena’s St. Barnabas Church — where parish families and numerous neighbors have lost homes – has established the ‘DENA Strong fund to which gifts may be made here.
- Pasadena’s All Saints Church — where some 80 families have lost homes – is receiving relief donations here.
- Church of Our Saviour, San Gabriel — where several parishioner homes and a sober living ministry were lost — by donating on their website here (click “Give Now”).