Lessons from Los Angeles Wildfires Shape New Roadmap to Disaster Recovery Financing

FORGE LA convenes community lenders to address financing gaps exposed by the fires and develop solutions for communities recovering from disasters nationwide.

LOS ANGELES, CA, UNITED STATES, November 12, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — Drawing on lessons from the January 2025 Los Angeles wildfires, the Financing Options for Recovery, Growth, and Equity in Los Angeles (FORGE LA) collaborative today released the CDFI Disaster Recovery Playbook, a roadmap for addressing gaps in disaster recovery financing and helping communities rebuild after disasters.

Nearly two years after the Eaton and Palisades fires, homeowners and small businesses in low- to moderate-income (LMI) communities continue to face significant barriers to rebuilding. The existing disaster recovery finance system wasn’t built with their needs in mind: mainstream capital assumes documentation, credit histories, and underwriting timelines that LMI households and small businesses often can’t meet, disaster or not. Community development financial institutions (CDFIs) saw this gap firsthand, since serving these communities is their core mission — but closing it required research into what kind of financing would actually work.

FORGE LA is convened by The Center by Lendistry, with support from JPMorganChase. The Playbook is the culmination of nine months of collaboration among 12 CDFIs, research partner the Urban Institute, and policy partner the California Coalition for Community Investment (CalCCI). Drawing on The Urban Institute’s research into major disasters nationally and CDFIs’ direct experience responding to the LA wildfires, the Playbook proposes:

• Seven financial products to support housing recovery, small business rebuilding, and the preservation of community-serving properties, now moving into a two-year, $58.65 million pilot targeting 181 borrowers, organizations, and housing units.
• Thirteen policy recommendations to strengthen the role and capacity of CDFIs in disaster recovery.
• An implementation roadmap outlining steps CDFIs, funders, and government partners can take to test and advance the proposed solutions.

The Playbook’s policy recommendations reflect a related finding: even well-designed financial products won’t hold without a permanent role for CDFIs in disaster recovery.

“Every disaster leaves behind families and small business owners who can’t get the financing to rebuild or return to their neighborhoods,” said Tunua Thrash-Ntuk, President and CEO of The Center by Lendistry. “We will keep seeing that outcome until something changes. CDFIs already have the relationships and local knowledge to help these communities recover, but too often they’re left assembling the capital and resources after the fact. It’s time to make CDFIs a permanent part of our disaster recovery infrastructure.”

“CDFIs play an important role in expanding access to capital and helping meet the needs of communities where traditional financing options may be limited,” said Sarah Bowles, Vice President and Program Officer, JPMorganChase. “FORGE LA brings together their on-the-ground experience with research and collaboration to explore solutions for long-term disaster recovery. We’re proud to support this work and help strengthen the ecosystem Los Angeles communities need as they continue to rebuild and recover.”

FORGE LA’s participating organizations include Century Housing, Enterprise Community Partners, Genesis LA, Inclusive Action for the City, Lendistry Home Loans, Low Income Investment Fund, Local Initiatives Support Corporation Los Angeles, Neighborhood Partnership Housing Services, Pacific Community Ventures, Partners for the Common Good, Prosperity Now, and Raza Development Fund. The Urban Institute serves as research partner and Califonia Coalition for Community Investment as policy partner.

The Playbook’s release marks the beginning of FORGE LA’s next phase. The collaborative will focus on opportunities to pilot the proposed financial products, engage funders and policymakers, and advance its recommendations toward implementation.

The Playbook was unveiled today at a Los Angeles launch event for CDFIs, funders, policymakers, and community development leaders. The event was sponsored by Citibank and hosted by the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco.

Explore the Playbook and the FORGE LA collaborative: https://thecenterbylendistry.org/our-work/forge-la/

Amy Rosenfeld
Pivotal Strategies
arosenfeld@pivotalstrategies.com

Media gallery