Paris Hilton’s nonprofit gives grants to 50 women-owned small businesses hit by Eaton Fire

There are brief moments when Annisa Faquir forgets that the Little Red Hen Coffee Shop, the Altadena diner her grandmother founded a half century ago, burned down in the Eaton Fire.

“You think, ‘I can go grab something—oh wait, it’s in ashes,’” said Faquir, who has worked at the shop since her mother, Barbara Shay, took over the family business seven years ago.

The women want to rebuild the diner loved by neighbors for its shrimp and grits, catfish, and Shay’s secret house coffee blend. They knew they’d need help, but were surprised when Paris Hilton called to offer it to them.

The Little Red Hen Coffee Shop is one of 50 women-owned businesses impacted by the Eaton Fire receiving a recovery grant of up to $25,000 from Hilton’s nonprofit 11:11 Media Impact and GoFundMe.org.

“These women are the backbone of their communities,” the reality TV star said in a statement. “Through this powerful partnership, we’re not just helping them rebuild—we’re investing in their futures, their families, and their neighborhoods.”

Faquir said the significant grant and the ease of the process was helpful, especially compared to tougher questioning for smaller grants from other donors who asked “for an arm and a leg.” “They saw us,” she said. “They heard our story.”

More than 1,800 businesses were located in the Eaton and Palisades fire zones, according to Los Angeles County’s Economic Development Corporation. They employed 9,600 workers and generated $1.4 billion in annual sales. The county estimates subsequent losses in economic output, income reductions, and tax revenue will be in the billions.

“Making sure they stay afloat now is supercritical so that we can even talk to them about long-term recovery,” Kelly LoBianco, director of L.A. County’s Department of Economic Opportunity, said of those businesses.

Businesses generally struggle to reopen after catastrophes. In 2023, three-quarters of small businesses were underinsured, according to the insurer Hiscox, and less than half had property insurance.

In the L.A. fires, many business owners also lost their homes. Some are still repaying loans from the COVID-19 pandemic. The county is distributing about $20 million in emergency grants, but LoBianco said much more will be needed.

After applications flooded in for its own program, 11:11 Media Impact and GoFundMe.org expanded it from 11 to 50 grants. The recipients include childcare centers, bakeries, bookshops, dance studios, and salons.

“Seeing the overwhelming response from women entrepreneurs in need of support showed us how important and urgent the need is to help this community rebuild,” said Hilton.

The money will boost entrepreneurs who worried the Eaton Fire had destroyed their futures, said Lizzy Okoro Davidson, director of the Pasadena Women’s Business Center, which is partnering on the grant program. The money can help pay back-rent after long closures, secure new spaces, and replace equipment. “In some cases the $25,000 will be the bridge to get them to 100% of what they need,” said Okoro Davidson.

Renata Ortega, owner of Orla Floral Studio, used to run her floral design company out of a converted garage next to the home she shared with her husband and three dogs in the Altadena foothills.

Since the Eaton fire destroyed their property, Ortega has been working from a shared workshop in downtown L.A. lent to her by a fellow floral designer. It was a kindness Ortega deeply appreciates, but she knows she’ll eventually need her own space.

“I really didn’t know if we were going to make it or how long we were going to make it, having to start from scratch, so this grant is really giving me hope right now at a time of uncertainty,” she said.

Ortega will use the money for a deposit and rent on a studio while she and her husband rebuild their property. She also needs to replace all the vases, shelving, and tools she lost.

“I can continue a business that was once just a dream for me,” said Ortega, adding that she will be forever grateful to Hilton. “Now we’re going to make it.”

The Pasadena Women’s Business Center will also receive $25,000 to provide no-cost advising to local business owners. Okoro Davidson said entrepreneurs will need lots of encouragement to keep going.

“We’re really at the beginning of the beginning of the rebuild process,” she said, adding that “reimagining” businesses will come next. Companies that never even had websites might now sell their products online, she said, or restaurants could convert to food trucks while they—and their customers—rebuild.

The grants came largely from GoFundMe.org’s Wildfire Relief Fund, which has raised $7.7 million from 43,000 donors so far. Hilton, whose Malibu home burned in the Palisades Fire, donated $150,000 to the Wildfire Relief Fund.

Her nonprofit, which normally focuses on protecting children and amplifying female voices, raised $1.2 million in the first week after the fires.

Faquir said she and her mom will put the money toward building the restaurant, replacing equipment, and finally buying the land their diner has stood on for the last 53 years. “It’s our family legacy,” said Faquir. “We have to uphold what her mom started.”

Associated Press coverage of philanthropy and nonprofits receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. For all of AP’s philanthropy coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/philanthropy.

—Gabriela Aoun Angueira, Associated Press

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