Friday, May 15, 2026

Pasadena Foundation Steers Nearly $600,000 to Nonprofits Rebuilding Their Capacity After the Fire

[photo credit: Pasadena Community Foundation]

Capital grants fund freezers, fleet vans, tech upgrades, and a fifth family shelter across 29 organizations still absorbing Eaton Fire demand

Sixteen months after the Eaton Fire, the nonprofits that fed displaced families, sheltered the homeless, and connected survivors to resources are still at it. Now the Pasadena Community Foundation is putting money into what keeps them going: the buildings, the equipment, and the infrastructure behind the services.

PCF announced this week that it has awarded nearly $600,000 in capital grants to 29 Pasadena-area organizations — funding directed not at programs or staff but at the physical plant. A new food pantry freezer for Friends In Deed. A replacement van for Five Acres to transport youth and families across its programs. Technology upgrades at Stars to support its Wellness Center and Eaton Fire Collaborative Office. Safety and security upgrades at Huhuunga, the Altadena site of deep cultural significance to the Tongva people. The grants, PCF’s largest annual investment, land in a community where nonprofits have been running hard since January 2025.

“This year’s Capital Grants carry extra weight,” said Jeannine Bogaard, who oversees PCF’s grantmaking as vice president of community impact. “Our nonprofits showed up for this community after the Eaton Fire, and many of them are still showing up every day. These grants invest in their ability to keep doing that. Strong facilities and reliable equipment are not glamorous, but they are what keeps the doors open. That matters now more than ever.”

Two organizations received the program’s top award — $50,000 Capital Campaign Grants reserved for large-scale projects. Sierra Madre Library Foundation will use the grant for an initiative called Empowering Community Through Technology, which will outfit the Sierra Madre Public Library’s community and meeting rooms with technology infrastructure for residents, learners, and local organizations. The library is in the midst of a major renovation funded by state and federal grants; the Foundation is separately raising $1.5 million for furnishings, fixtures, and equipment.

“This grant is a direct investment in access,” said Robert Stockly, board chair of the Sierra Madre Library Foundation. “When our community rooms are fully equipped, they become a hub for job seekers, students, small nonprofits, and neighbors who need a place to gather and connect. PCF’s support makes that possible for the long term by promoting lifelong learning and strengthening our community.”

Door of Hope, a Pasadena-based nonprofit that has sheltered families experiencing homelessness since 1985, will use its $50,000 award to support the opening of the David and Katherine Lee Home — its fifth shelter. The facility, which broke ground in September 2024, will house 20 families in private units. Family homelessness in Pasadena rose 46 percent in 2024, according to the Los Angeles Homeless Count.

“Opening a fifth shelter is not a small thing,” said Rev. Megan Katerjian, Door of Hope’s chief executive officer. “It reflects years of community trust, donor generosity, and a deep conviction that every family deserves a safe place to start over. PCF’s grant brings us one step closer to the day when every family in Pasadena has a safe place to call home.”

The remaining 27 grants, each up to $25,000, fund projects across a range of community needs. One Arroyo Foundation will use its grant for Phase I of the One Arroyo Overlook Project along the Arroyo Seco. Casa Treatment Center will renovate the Pike Community Center for women’s services. Flintridge Center will expand capacity at its Retreat Center. The Tongva Taraxat Paxaavxa Conservancy will make safety and security upgrades at Huhuunga, its ancestral land site in Altadena adjacent to Eaton Canyon.

PCF’s Capital Grants Program is the foundation’s largest annual grant initiative, according to the organization. It is one of 11 grant programs PCF administers, with total annual grantmaking that the foundation says exceeds $2.6 million. PCF says it expects to distribute $3 million by the end of 2026. Over the past three years, the Capital Grants Program has directed more than $1.7 million into local nonprofit infrastructure, according to the foundation.

PCF was founded in 1953 and serves the Greater Pasadena area, including Pasadena, Altadena, and Sierra Madre. Information about PCF’s grant programs is available at pasadenacf.org.