Netflix Donates $10M to L.A. Wildfire Relief

Netflix is the latest media giant to respond to the devastating L.A. fires with charitable outreach, pledging to give $10 million to a number of non-profit organizations involved in fire-related relief efforts.

The news, sent to employees in a memo by Co-CEO Ted Sarandos, follows major pledges by Disney and Comcast NBCUniversal. 

The L.A. area is entering its second week of upheaval due to the fires, which have killed two dozen people, destroyed thousands of structures, and forced tens of thousands of residents to evacuate.

Forecasts for high winds have unsettled public officials and residents given that none of the cluster of fires burning across Southern California has been fully contained. 

Many entertainment industry events, particularly awards season activities, have been affected by the fires, with the Oscar nominations announcement and voting period the latest to shift due to the disaster.

Here is the full memo from Sarandos:

Our hearts go out to everyone who has been affected by the devastating wildfires across Southern California. Many of our employees and creative partners have been directly impacted by this disaster. To help our community recover, Netflix will be donating $10 million split between the Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation, California Community Fund Wildfire Recovery Fund, World Central Kitchen, Motion Picture and Television Fund, and Entertainment Community Fund, to provide immediate relief and will continue to support families and businesses as they work to rebuild in the months and years ahead.

Beyond this financial contribution, we are directly assisting all of our impacted employees at this incredibly difficult time, including assistance with temporary housing needs for those who lost their homes. We are also continuing to double-match all employee charitable contributions through our employee giving program.

I also want to extend my deepest thanks to the real action heroes, the heroic firefighters who have been battling the flames with little rest and with little consideration for themselves as they work to save lives, families and communities. They have been shoulder to shoulder with first responders and brave volunteers who have all come together at this time of need for Southern California.

Finally, as someone who has lived and worked in Los Angeles for nearly 30 years, I want to say a word about this community.

For many people who aren’t familiar with it, Los Angeles conjures images of palm trees and red carpets; mansions and movie stars. But for those of us lucky enough to call this city home, Los Angeles is far more than that. It’s a family — one made up of extraordinarily talented, hardworking people from all over the world and all walks of life, many of whom came here chasing a dream.

Today, that dream feels a little further out of reach for thousands of our friends, family, colleagues and neighbors. But one thing that I have seen over and over again is how Angelenos and Californians come together in times of crisis and how we rebuild. The next few years will be a rebuilding time for many of us and it will require creativity, vision, grit and perseverance. Looking around at some of the hardest hit neighborhoods, it is hard to imagine rebuilding — but we will, and we will come back stronger than before.

On behalf of Greg and myself,

Stay safe.

-Ted