Foundations Step Up Funding for COVID-19 Response Efforts (May 1-15, 2020)

As COVID-19 continues to disrupt life in the United States and around the globe, private foundations are stepping up with funding to meet the immediate needs of individuals and vulnerable populations impacted by the virus. Here’s a roundup of grants announced over the last two weeks:

ARIZONA

Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust, Phoenix, AZ | $2.9 Million

The Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust has announced emergency grants totaling $2.9 million in support of COVID-19 relief and response efforts in Maricopa County and across Arizona. The funding includes unrestricted grants totaling $2.51 million to six Maricopa County hospitals and hospital systems responding directly to the spread of the virus; $350,000 to the Arizona Community Foundation‘s Arizona COVID-19 Community Response Fund; and $50,000 to the Arizona Apparel Foundation in support of its Fashion and Business Resource Innovation Center (FABRIC), which is investing in an industrial-level computerized cutting machine and additional sewing machines to produce much-needed personal protection equipment (PPE) for healthcare workers. Since March 30, the trust has awarded COVID-related emergency grants totaling $9.2 million.

CALIFORNIA

Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Redwood City, CA | $750,000

The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative has announced grants totaling $750,000 in support of five studies of COVID-19 disease progression at the level of the individual cell. To be conducted at Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology‘s Ragon Institute, the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Columbia University, VIB-UGent, the Wellcome Sanger Institute, and the Josep Carreras Research Institute, the studies are expected to generate the first single-cell biology datasets from infected donors and provide insights into how the virus infects humans, which cell types are involved, and how the disease progresses. The data from the projects will be made available to the scientific community via open access datasets and portals.

William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, Menlo Park, CA | $10 Million

The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation has announced a $10 million grant to the Silicon Valley Community Foundation in support of COVID-19 relief efforts in the Bay Area. To be disbursed over the next twelve months, the funding will support SVCF’s COVID-19 Regional Response Fund, which supports community-based organizations providing direct assistance to individuals and families impacted by COVID-19, and the Regional Nonprofit Emergency Fund, which provides flexible operating support grants to nonprofits working to provide residents of the region with food, shelter, health, and mental health services.

Imaginable Futures, Redwood City, CA | $3 Million

Imaginable Futures, an education venture spun off by Omidyar Network in January, has announced commitments totaling more than $3 million to provide immediate support for students, educators, and childcare providers in the United States, Latin America, and Africa impacted by COVID-19. Grants include $500,000 in support of Common Sense Media‘s Wide Open Schools, which aggregates high-quality educational content; $500,000 to Home Grown‘s Home-based Child Care Emergency Fund to help provide child care for essential workers and assistance to childcare providers; and, as part of a $1 million partnership with the Lemann Foundation, $500,000 to an emergency relief fund that will support access to high-quality curricula and technology for students in Brazil. The organization also is partnering with Shining Hope for Communities in Nairobi as well as Shujaaz, a network of social ventures based in Kenya and Tanzania.

W.M. Keck Foundation, Los Angeles, CA | $2 Million

The University of California, Los Angeles has announced a $2 million grant from the W.M. Keck Foundation to establish the UCLA W.M. Keck Foundation COVID-19 Research Fund. The fund will support basic science research aimed at advancing understanding of the SARS-CoV2 virus, the mechanisms by which it causes COVID-19, and why some people are more susceptible to the disease, as well as the development of new methods to detect COVID-19 infections and therapies to treat the disease.

Craig Newmark Philanthropies, San Francisco, CA | $1 Million

The Anti-Defamation League has announced a two-year, $1 million grant from Craig Newmark Philanthropies in support of its Center on Technology and Society, which produces the Online Hate Index. “We know that the pandemic has had an outsized impact on vulnerable minority groups, including Asian Americans and Jewish Americans who are now being blamed and scapegoated online for creating and spreading the virus,” said Newmark. “Now more than ever, it is vital to invest in innovative approaches to detect and stop hate speech from spreading online.”

Roddenberry Foundation, North Hollywood, CA | $1 Million

The Gladstone Institutes have announced a $1 million commitment from the Roddenberry Foundation to its President’s Coronavirus Research Fund in support of critical experiments by virologists working to understand the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Projects under way at Gladstone include the development of a diagnostic device using novel CRISPR technology, explorations of ways to block the entry of the virus into human cells, investigations of existing FDA-approved drugs as treatments, and the creation of a research hub to support the study of live virus.

Rosenberg Foundation, San Francisco, CA | $550,000

The Rosenberg Foundation has announced a first round of rapid response grants totaling more than $550,000 to organizations working to protect populations hardest hit by the health and economic impacts of COVID-19. Grants were awarded in the areas of mass incarceration ($260,000), farm worker rights ($150,000), and immigrant rights ($140,000). Grantees include Reform LA Jails, the Dolores Huerta Foundation, and the California Immigrant Resilience Fund.

John and Mary Tu Foundation, Fountain Valley, CA | $2.5 Million

The University of California, Irvine has announced a $2.5 million gift from the John and Mary Tu Foundation in support of COVID-related patient care at UCI Health as well as clinical and translational research focused on new ways to test for and treat infections. Half the gift will support physicians, nurses, and other caregivers at UCI Medical Center working to provide cutting-edge care, while the remaining $1.25 million will support research on both COVID as well as longer-term solutions to pandemic diseases.

COLORADO

Bonfils-Stanton Foundation, Denver, CO | $1 Million

Bonfils-Stanton Foundation and the Denver Foundation have launched a COVID-19 Arts & Culture Relief Fund with commitments of $1 million and $50,000, respectively. To be administered by the Denver Foundation, the fund is aimed at helping small and midsize arts and culture organizations in the Denver area survive the public health crisis. Other early contributors to the fund include Denver Arts & Venues ($205,000), the Gates Family Foundation ($100,000), and PNC ($10,000).

Morgridge Family Foundation, Denver, CO | $1 Million

The Morgridge Family Foundation has announced a second commitment of $1 million in emergency relief funding for nonprofits working to address the impacts of the coronavirus on vulnerable populations. A second round of grants will be awarded to fourteen community foundations and United Way partners, which will regrant the funds to a hundred and fifteen local nonprofits.

CONNECTICUT

Harold W. McGraw, Jr. Family Foundation, Stamford, CT | $1 Million

The Harold W. McGraw, Jr. Family Foundation has pledged to match donations up to $1 million in support of efforts at Norwalk Hospital to care for COVID-19 patients and to boost the hospital’s emergency preparedness. Donations will be matched on a dollar-for-dollar basis through September.

FLORIDA

Bailey Family Foundation, Tampa, FL | $350,000

Tampa General Hospital has announced a $350,000 gift from the Bailey Family Foundation in support of its COVID-19 response. The funds will help pay for testing supplies, personal protective equipment (PPE), and other virus-related equipment as the hospital prepares for long-term care needs related to COVID-19 and other emerging infectious diseases.

Gulf Coast Community Foundation, Venice, FL; Charles & Margery Barancik Foundation, Sarasota, FL | $2.7 Million

The Gulf Coast Community Foundation, in partnership with the Charles & Margery Barancik Foundation, has announced grants totaling $2.7 million in support of COVID-19 relief and response efforts in the region. Grants totaling $1.1 million were awarded through the COVID-19 Response Initiative, a joint effort of the two foundations, to nonprofits providing virtual mental health counseling for children and veterans, child care for first responders, and emergency food and financial assistance for displaced hospitality workers, foster families, and others.

ILLINOIS

Multiple Foundations, Chicago, IL | $425,000

The Robert R. McCormick Foundation, in collaboration with the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur, Richard H. Driehaus, Polk Bros., and Field foundations and the Chicago Community Trust, has announced forty-eight grants totaling more than $425,000 to media organizations working to disseminate information about COVID-19. The collaborative Journalism Fund awarded grants of up to $10,000 to a number of local outlets, including TRiiBE, which engages African-American millennials online and via social media; Cicero Independiente, which is using Facebook to engage Spanish-speaking residents in Berwyn and Cicero; and South Side Drive magazine, which has been working to marshal and direct resources to the city’s hard-hit South Shore community.

IOWA

Iowa West Foundation, Council Bluffs, IA | $500,000

The Iowa West Foundation has announced an additional commitment of $500,000 to the Southwest Iowa COVID-19 Response Fund, a partnership between IWF and the Pottawattamie County Community Foundation, boosting its total contribution to $1 million. Recent grant recipients include Boys and Girl Club of the Midlands ($25,000), the Council Bluffs Schools Foundation ($27,000), Lutheran Family Services ($25,000), and the Performing Arts & Education Association of Southwest Iowa ($5,430).

MARYLAND

Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, Baltimore, MD | $7.5 Million

The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation has announced commitments totaling $6.5 million in support of COVID-19 relief efforts in the United States and Israel. The funding includes $4.5 million set aside for anticipated COVID response grants in Chicago, Hawaii, New York City, northeastern Pennsylvania, and San Francisco; $1 million to the newly formed COVID-19 Response Funding Collaborative of Greater Baltimore; and $2 million to nonprofits in Israel through a partnership with the Foundations of Bituach Le’umi, Israel’s National Insurance Institute. The latest commitments boost to more than $11.5 million the foundation’s COVID-19 emergency support for people experiencing poverty.

MINNESOTA

McKnight Foundation, Minneapolis, MN | $190,000

The McKnight Foundation has announced grants totaling $190,000 in support of communities disproportionately impacted by COVID-19. Grants include $100,000 to the Headwaters Foundation for Justice for its Communities First Fund, which supports African Americans, Indigenous peoples, and other people of color impacted by growing social, political, and economic disparities, as well as organizations working to address increased xenophobia toward Asian Americans; $50,000 to the Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation‘s Minnesota Homeless Fund, which supports efforts to increase shelter space and critical resources for people experiencing homelessness and housing insecurity; and $40,000 to the Transforming Minnesota’s Early Childhood Workforce, a statewide multi-sector coalition focused on increasing compensation, training, and resources for early childhood educators.

MISSISSIPPI

Women’s Foundation of Mississippi, Jackson, MS | $55,000

The Women’s Foundation of Mississippi has announced rapid response grants totaling $55,000 to nonprofits and programs focused on assisting vulnerable families and women, many of whom are essential workers, who were living at or below the poverty level before the public health emergency and have been disproportionately impacted by the virus. Eleven nonprofits received funding to provide PPE, mental health support, and wraparound services for students, including the Cary Christian Center, Hinds Community College, the Magnolia Medical Foundation, and the Mississippi Low-Income Childcare Initiative.

NEW JERSEY

Princeton Area Community Foundation, Lawrenceville, NJ | $50,000

The Princeton Area Community Foundation has announced that the Fund for Women and Girls, a field-of-interest fund at the foundation, has donated $50,000 to PACF’s COVID-19 Relief & Recovery Fund to address urgent needs in Mercer County. To date, a total of $2.1 million has been raised for the fund, which is focused on supporting low-income families, single mothers, and children struggling with food insecurity, uncertain health care, and lost income as a result of the public health crisis.

NEW YORK

Clara Lionel Foundation, Brooklyn, NY | $3.2 Million

A group of funders led by Rihanna’s Clara Lionel Foundation and Twitter and Square CEO Jack Dorsey’s #startsmall has committed $3.2 million in support of COVID-19 response efforts in Detroit and Flint, Michigan. The grants — some of which were matched by the Stadler Family Foundation, the David Rockefeller Fund, and the Sean Anderson Foundation — will fund comprehensive solutions ranging from food distribution and foster care to bail relief, temporary shelter, and social support services.

Grantmakers for Girls of Color, New York, NY | $1 Million

Grantmakers for Girls of Color has announced a $1 million commitment in support of efforts to address the impacts of the coronavirus on girls and gender-expansive youth of color. The Love Is Healing COVID-19 Response Fund will award grants of up to $25,000 to nonprofits and coalitions led by womxn or girls of color, with a focus on COVID-19-related advocacy and immediate mapping needs; economic and educational response strategies; interventions in support of systems impacting youth or survivors of gender-based violence; and preventive or responsive mental, physical, and emotional health strategies.

Edward W. Hazen Foundation, Brooklyn, NY | $2.8 Million

The Edward W. Hazen Foundation has announced that it is fast-tracking $2.8 million in grants to twenty-four nonprofits responding to the COVID-19 crisis in communities of color. Originally scheduled to be awarded this summer, the grants will support parent- and youth-led organizing efforts around issues such as equity in public school funding, ending the police presence and punitive discipline policies in schools, and securing affordable housing for low-income families. The grants are part of a nearly five-fold increase in funding compared with the foundation’s spring 2019 docket.

Willem de Kooning Foundation, Helen Frankenthaler Foundation, Cy Twombly Foundation, New York, NY; Teiger Foundation, Livingston, NJ | $1.25 Million

The Willem de Kooning, Helen Frankenthaler, Teiger, and Cy Twombly foundations have partnered to establish an emergency relief grant program to provide $1.25 million in cash assistance to workers in the visual arts in the tri-state area experiencing financial hardship as a direct result of the COVID-19 public health emergency. To be administered by the New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA), the fund will award one-time unrestricted grants of $2,000 to freelance, contract, or non-salaried archivists, art handlers, artist/photographer’s assistants, catalogers, database specialists, digital assets specialists, image scanners/digitizers, and registrars.

Henry Luce Foundation, New York, NY | $3.1 Million

At its April meeting, the board of the Henry Luce Foundation awarded $3.1 million in emergency grants in support of fields and communities the foundation has long supported and approved requests to reallocate more than $1.75 million from existing project budgets for salary or general operating support at its grantee institutions. The twenty-three emergency grants include awards ranging between $60,000 and $250,000 to support staff salaries at small and midsize museums in Santa Fe, Tulsa, Portland (OR), Asheville, and Phoenix; a grant of $250,000 to the American Indian College Fund to enable instruction at tribal colleges to continue remotely during the pandemic; and grants of various sizes to emergency funds established by the Modern Language Association, the American Academy of Religion, and Xavier University in Louisiana. The foundation expects to award more emergency grants in May.

Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, New York, NY | $1.76 Million

The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation has announced grants totaling $1.76 million to sixteen historically black colleges and universities to help stabilize enrollments for the upcoming academic year. The grants of $110,000 per institution will be used to help students pay for their technology needs, ease financial strain due to tuition and housing costs, and pay for essential travel.

NORTH CAROLINA

Joseph M. Bryan Foundation, Greensboro, NC | $200,000

The Joseph M. Bryan Foundation has awarded $200,000 to the Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest North Carolina in support of its COVID-19 relief efforts. The funds will be used to purchase six truckloads of food boxes for families and seniors in the greater Greensboro area. According to Second Harvest, local organizations that work with the food bank across eighteen counties are seeing increases of between 40 percent and 60 percent in the demand for food assistance.

Duke Endowment, Charlotte, North Carolina | $3.5 Million

The Duke Endowment has announced a $3.5 million grant to Feeding the Carolinas, a network of ten food banks serving more than thirty-seven hundred charities in North and South Carolina, in support of efforts to meet increased demand due to COVID-19. Due to declines in volunteers and retail donations as a result of the public health emergency, Feeding the Carolinas expects to spend between $1 million to $2 million a week on food purchases for the next six to eight weeks.

PENNSYLVANIA

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