The Los Angeles Conservancy announced Thursday it has received a $1.5 million grant from the Mellon Foundation, the largest single gift in the nonprofit’s history, to expand a community-driven effort documenting Altadena’s cultural heritage following the devastating Eaton Fire.
The funding, awarded through the Mellon Foundation’s Humanities in Place program, will support expansion of the Conservancy’s Altadena Cultural Asset Mapping project, which aims to identify and document the community’s cultural landmarks, traditions and stories as part of long-term recovery efforts, according to officials.
“Altadena’s recovery is about more than rebuilding structures — it’s about honoring the lives, memories, people and cultural heritage that make this community what it is,” Adrian Scott Fine, president and CEO of the Los Angeles Conservancy, said in a statement.
The three-year grant will fund expansion of the mapping effort, a full-time project manager and a community regranting program aimed at supporting local storytelling and cultural preservation projects, officials said.
A total of $550,000 will be redistributed to Altadena-based organizations to support oral histories, cultural programming and community storytelling, including $300,000 for the Altadena Rebuild Coalition, an initiative of the Southern California chapter of the National Organization of Minority Architects, according to the organization.
The Eaton Fire burned more than 14,000 acres, killed 19 people, and destroyed nearly 7,000 homes and businesses.
The Mellon funding builds on a $420,000 grant awarded by the Getty Foundation in 2025 to begin a historic resources survey and the Altadena Cultural Asset Mapping project.
Founded in 1978, the Los Angeles Conservancy works to preserve historic buildings, neighborhoods and cultural landmarks across the region.