Wednesday, April 1, 2026

Altadena Chamber Wins Countywide Business Nonprofit Award After Year of Fire Recovery

The 102-year-old organization will be honored at BizFed’s annual ceremony in Glendale on April 17

The Altadena Chamber of Commerce and Civic Association has been named the 2026 Business Nonprofit of the Year for Los Angeles County’s 5th Supervisorial District, a recognition from the county’s largest business federation following the Chamber’s expanded role in Eaton Fire recovery.

The award, part of the annual Bizzi Awards presented by the Los Angeles County Business Federation known as BizFed, was announced in a newsletter distributed by the Altadena Chamber. BizFed, an advocacy alliance of more than 240 business organizations representing 420,000 employers across Southern California, designed the awards to honor companies, nonprofits and public officials in each of the county’s five supervisorial districts. As of publication, BizFed had not posted the full list of 2026 honorees on its website.

The 5th Annual Bizzi Awards ceremony is scheduled for Friday, April 17, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Chevy Chase Country Club in Glendale. Altadena, an unincorporated community directly north of Pasadena, falls within the 5th Supervisorial District represented by Supervisor Kathryn Barger.

The recognition comes roughly 15 months after the Eaton Fire swept through Altadena on Jan. 7, 2025, destroying more than 9,000 structures and displacing tens of thousands of residents. In the months since, the Chamber has taken on a central coordination role in supporting local businesses through recovery.

In April 2025, the Chamber launched “Back in Business,” a volunteer-driven program to help displaced Altadena businesses navigate recovery, find temporary space and access legal, real estate and architectural assistance at no cost. The initiative was led by Pasadena Planning Commissioner Julianna Delgado with the backing of Pasadena Councilmember Rick Cole, and it grew out of outreach efforts connected to the city’s North Lake Specific Plan Area Update, according to the Chamber’s website. The program partnered with the City of Pasadena’s Department of Economic Development, the Pasadena Chamber of Commerce and the LA County Department of Economic Opportunity.

More recently, the Chamber distributed $500 Shop Local LA gift cards to 450 residents in the Eaton Fire burn area, an effort aimed at providing direct financial relief to fire survivors while encouraging spending at Altadena businesses. The Chamber also hosted the Altadena Small Business Market at Mariposa Junction on Nov. 29, 2025, bringing together local vendors, food pop-ups and live music on Small Business Saturday.

The Pasadena connection runs deeper than program partnerships. The Pasadena Chamber of Commerce and Civic Association serves as the Altadena Chamber’s fiscal sponsor for wildfire-related donations, according to the Altadena Chamber’s website. The Altadena Chamber also awards annual scholarships to Pasadena Unified School District seniors, according to the organization.

The Chamber is led by President Judy Matthews, who was recognized in March 2025 as the 2025 Woman of the Year for California Senate District 25 by Senator Sasha Renée Pérez (D-Pasadena). In a statement posted on the senator’s official website, Pérez said Matthews “has been a tremendous leader in the community working to help the Altadena residents and particularly its small business community get back on their feet.”

According to the Chamber’s statement, the Bizzi Award selection honors organizations that drive economic progress and champion local business advocacy. The Chamber described the award as the result of a competitive review process led by business and policy leaders, according to its newsletter.

Incorporated in 1924, the Altadena Chamber operates as a nonprofit organization serving Altadena’s business community. It holds open board meetings on the first Tuesday of each month. BizFed launched the Bizzi Awards in 2022. Previous nonprofit winners have included the Pacific Merchant Shipping Association, which received the District 4 award in 2025, according to that organization’s website. Prior ceremonies were held at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum; this year’s event moves to the Chevy Chase Country Club.

Matthews said in a statement regarding the gift card distribution that supporting local businesses “is vital to rebuilding our community” and that encouraging residents to shop locally would help “our small businesses recover and thrive.”