After raising $100M for wildfire recovery, where did the FireAid funds go?

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Weeks after the Eaton and Palisades Fires, Hollywood and the music industry joined together to raise money for fire victims with FireAid -- donating $100 million.

Now, six months later, how is the funding being used?

7 On Your Side Investigates Reporter Kevin Ozebek spoke with some of the recipients.

Roughly 120 organizations split $50 million when the first round of FireAid funds was released in February. 7 On Your Side tried reaching out to every single one of them, and heard back from more than 50 to find out how the money is being used.

The biggest names in music raised big money during the event, and now, it's helping people like Michael Towns, who is playing the piano again as he rebuilds his life.

In January, Towns came home to see the Altadena house he inherited up in flames.

He's uninsured and is playing his piano in a rental thanks to financial assistance from the non-profit organization Door of Hope, which received $100,000 from FireAid.

"I think a lot of people think that there are no more resources at all and that everything is dry and there's no more help for anybody, and I'm here to say that's not true," Towns said.

Not only is Door of Hope helping Towns with rent, it's also paying for equipment so he can restart his music teaching business.

The Neighborhood Housing Services of L.A. County received $1.5 million from FireAid to help fire victims get interim housing and financial counseling.

"We scrape and scramble around here as non-profits, so every single dollar matters, and we are so grateful," said Lori Gay, the president and CEO of Neighborhood Housing Services of Los Angeles County.

The Pasadena Humane Society used $250,000 from FireAid to treat and house pets burned and left homeless by the flames.

Heal the Bay received $100,000 and used it to test for contaminants along our coast.

As for Towns, he says without FireAid money, there is no telling where he and his 1-month-old daughter he named Faith would be -- certainly, he says he wouldn't be playing music.

Organizations receiving FireAid money were told that none of the money could be used for administrative costs, but a few of the non-profits told 7 On Your Side they are using a small amount of the cash for admin.

A FireAid spokesperson says they will be working with those organizations to divert that money to direct aid by the end of the year.