Executive Summary

In early 2025, following devastating wildfires across Los Angeles, the LAUSD Education Foundation partnered with Groundswell to launch an Employee Relief Fund.

Built for rapid deployment, compliance, and compassionate support, the Fund delivered critical financial assistance to affected school district staff—thanks in part to Groundswell’s hands-on support in designing and administering the program from end to end.

The Challenge

When fires ravaged neighborhoods across Los Angeles in January 2025, hundreds of LAUSD and Palisades Charter High School staff were directly impacted, facing property damage, displacement, and unexpected expenses. The LAUSD Education Foundation needed a fast, compliant, and scalable way to provide financial assistance to its employees without burdening HR, finance, or district leadership.

"The Foundation showed up during a difficult time that still feels surreal. It’s beautiful to see how the community showed up so quickly for those that lost it all."

The Solution

The LAUSD Education Foundation partnered with Groundswell, a turnkey platform for employee giving and crisis relief, to launch and administer the LAUSD Employee Relief Fund. Working closely with the LAUSD Education Foundation, Groundswell helped shape the structure of the program—defining eligibility criteria, documentation requirements, and grant payout thresholds.

The program was designed to quickly launch in the wake of the fires, receive applications for objective review, and award and distribute grants on behalf of the Fund.

This partnership significantly reduced the administrative burden on the LAUSD Education Foundation while ensuring the program remained compliant with IRS regulations and aligned with the Fund’s policy. Two grant types were created:

Immediate Support Grants

These grants were awarded to eligible employees whose primary residence was damaged or destroyed by the fires, or they were displaced from their primary residence under a mandatory evacuation order for at least seven days due to the fires. These grants were awarded within 45 days of the fires.

Sustained Support Grants

The LAUSD Education Foundation expanded to grant offering to specifically provide additional support to those employees whose primary residence was destroyed, meaning it has sustained damage beyond repair and is no longer habitable or economically feasible to repair, by the fires.

The Groundswell team then developed a custom-branded application portal tailored to LAUSD employees, providing an easy-to-use application experience for district personnel.

Once live, Groundswell handled every aspect of the process: reviewing applications, making award determinations based on pre-set criteria, and disbursing funds within 48 hours of approval.

The Impact

Thanks to the close collaboration between Groundswell and the LAUSD Education Foundation, the Employee Relief Fund was up and running in a matter of days—delivering fast, compassionate support when staff needed it most.The LAUSD application portal received over 100 applications in the first 30 days.

Over the course of the Fund, the program saw:

• $413,739 in relief grants awarded
• 263 LAUSD staff received financial support
• 250 immediate support grants awarded
• 40 sustained support grants awarded

What Recipients are Saying

“I am forever grateful to the LAUSD Education Foundation for providing my family with support during the most difficult time in our lives. I have been fortunate to be a teacher for LAUSD at the same school for 29 years. Your response from your Foundation was quick and helped us in so many ways after the fires.”

“The Employee Relief Fund program provided our family with critical financial assistance when it was most needed. The application submission and approval process was straightforward and clear, thorough but not overly burdensome, and the financial assistance was promptly issued. It has helped us provide our children with replacement clothes and shoes, backpacks and school supplies, books, games and stuffed animals, and more. I have never been more proud to be a part of the District.”

“My insurance did not provide enough funding to cover costs of remediation. The grant was used to supplement [my insurance], and to cover the costs of temporary housing and food. Again, my family and I are grateful for the financial help provided! Thank you for your kindness and generosity!”

A Blueprint for Impact

Groundswell partnered closely with the LAUSD Education Foundation every step of the way—offering responsive support, clear communication, and expert guidance from design through distribution. The Foundation praised the smooth rollout, transparent process, and the ability to deliver real support to staff with minimal internal lift.

Groundswell made it easy to turn our intention to support employees into a real, high-impact program. We were able to get funds into the hands of affected staff quickly, compliantly, and with compassion. In a time of crisis, we needed a partner that could move fast, handle the details, and give our employees a clear and easy path to relief. Groundswell delivered.

— Sara Mooney, Interim Executive Director, LAUSD Education Foundation

This partnership is a model for what’s possible when institutional care meets modern infrastructure. With Groundswell, the Foundation didn’t just promise support—they delivered it, swiftly and equitably, when their employees needed it most.