From Ashes to Assets: Black Business Recovery

Wildfire relief

South LA Other

Expand existing project, program, or initiative (expanding and continuing ongoing, successful work)

Umoja Food Collective, in partnership with The Wild Seed, distributed $30,000 to Black businesses impacted by Altadena fires. By engaging owners, we've documented how fires magnified existing vulnerabilities–discriminatory lending, minimal reserves, and pandemic debt. Fires pushed struggling enterprises over the edge.
Even businesses without physical damage suffered devastating losses. Evacuations meant no income for weeks. Air quality forced closures. Customers relocated. Federal aid covers property damage but ignores business interruption. Insurance claims take time while bills pile up.
Black businesses need resilience infrastructure, not just disaster relief. Through Data Reflection Labs, owners design solutions: shared emergency funds, collective purchasing, revenue diversification, mutual aid networks. We're building systems addressing immediate recovery and long-term vulnerability.
The next crisis is coming. Black businesses deserve to meet it with resources, not just resolve.

Umoja Food Collective is transforming disaster recovery through community-centered support and data-driven advocacy:

Rapid Response Grants: Umoja provides $500-$1,000 unrestricted grants to 30 additional Black businesses who participate in our impact assessment. This approach delivers immediate relief while ensuring the businesses receiving funds are the ones whose experiences shape our advocacy. Owners identify their urgent needs; we trust their judgment and fund accordingly.
Comprehensive Impact Assessment: As we distribute grants, we collect critical data on fire impacts. Each grantee shares how disruptions affected their operations and what recovery support they actually need. Participants receive compensation and their insights directly shape our advocacy. We're building a comprehensive dataset on wildfire impacts to Black businesses, gathered by Black businesses.
Data Reflection Labs: We convene business owners to analyze findings collectively and co-design solutions. Participants identify shared patterns, develop collective strategies, and receive technical assistance through targeted workshops on grant writing, digital tools, and business recovery strategies based on assessment findings. These labs transform individual struggles into community power and systemic change.
Every grant distributed generates crucial data. Every story shared builds evidence for systemic change. The more businesses we support, the stronger our case for transforming disaster response.

Picture Altadena one year from now: Black businesses operate with emergency reserves and disaster plans. Those who evacuated for weeks run stronger operations with diversified revenue streams, built through collective strategies from our Data Reflection Labs.
Year one: 30 businesses stabilized with grants. Comprehensive report published. Mutual aid networks activated. Isolated owners now share resources and strategies.
Year five: Our data transforms LA County disaster response. Emergency standards reflect the lived expertise of Black and Brown business entrepreneurs. Preparedness tools designed by affected owners become countywide practice. Aid applications simplified. Economic disruption finally recognized.
Success looks like stronger, more prepared businesses—not just surviving disasters but thriving because systems were built with their realities in mind. Our work proves that when communities design solutions, we reimagine resilience, reduce disparities, and create lasting change.