BELLEVUE, Wash. - Feb. 13, 2025 - In response to the recent Los Angeles wildfires, The Pokémon Company group announced today that that it will make a $500,000 USD donation to GlobalGiving’s California Wildfire Relief Fund. This contribution will be matched by a $500,000 USD donation from Niantic, the developers of Pokémon GO, to nonprofit organizations providing aid to those impacted by the wildfires.
“Our thoughts are with those affected by the devastating wildfires in Southern California,” said Raquel Daniels, Chief Diversity Officer at The Pokémon Company International. “We are grateful for the opportunity to support relief efforts in the greater Los Angeles area alongside our partners at Niantic and GlobalGiving.”
Nonprofit organizations including the Pasadena Community Foundation, the Eastmont Community Center, spcaLA, and the Downtown Women’s Center, have already received emergency grants from GlobalGiving’s California Wildfire Relief Fund. The Fund will continue to support vetted, local nonprofit partners who are meeting the relief and recovery needs of fire-impacted communities over the weeks and months ahead.
"Tens of thousands of people have suffered great losses across Los Angeles and Southern California because of these wildfires," said Victoria Vrana, CEO of GlobalGiving. "Thanks to The Pokémon Company group’s donation, we’ve already provided emergency grants to local nonprofit partners working on the frontlines of relief and recovery. Their continued efforts will help ensure that fire-impacted communities receive the vital support they need in the weeks and months ahead."
Niantic and The Pokémon Company group are working in close collaboration with the Rose Bowl Operating Company, Community Ambassadors, and local authorities to host Pokémon GO Tour: Unova – Los Angeles at Rose Bowl Stadium and Brookside Golf Course taking place February 21-23, along with citywide gameplay in Los Angeles and Orange County.
“We believe it's important during this challenging time to give back and to support the local community,” said Yennie Solheim, Director, Social Impact at Niantic. “We’re looking forward to working with Trainers at Rose Bowl Stadium to be the positive impact that this region needs right now.”
To learn more about GlobalGiving and its California Wildfire Relief Fund, please visit: www.globalgiving.org/projects/california-wildfire-relief-fund.
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About Pokémon
The Pokémon Company International, a subsidiary of The Pokémon Company in Japan, manages the property outside of Asia and is responsible for brand management, licensing and marketing, the Pokémon Trading Card Game, the animated TV series, home entertainment, and the official Pokémon website. Pokémon was launched in Japan in 1996 and today is one of the most popular children’s entertainment properties in the world. For more information, visit www.pokemon.com.
About Niantic
Niantic's global-scale augmented reality platform and digital map power spatial computing experiences in the real world. Incubated out of the Maps team at Google, Niantic first created Ingress and then Pokémon GO, a cultural phenomenon and hit game played by tens of millions of people each month. Niantic’s Lightship platform, which powers Pokémon GO, also supports the company's other games including Pikmin Bloom, Peridot and Monster Hunter Now. Developers use Niantic’s platform to build their own AR applications and experiences, either with the Lightship Platform or directly through the web with 8th Wall.
About GlobalGiving
GlobalGiving is a top-rated nonprofit that makes it easy and safe to give to local projects around the world, while providing fellow nonprofits with the tools, training, and support they need to thrive. Since 2002, the GlobalGiving community has raised more than $920 million from 1.8+ million donors for 36,000 projects in 175+ countries. To learn more, visit www.globalgiving.org.