Update on the philanthropic response to the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19)
Editor’s note: Since the publishing of this post, Candid released a pop-up webpage about coronavirus disease. View philanthropy’s response to the pandemic: candid.org/coronavirus. While we’ll be updating this webpage regularly, there can be lags getting data from different sources, so there may be short-term discrepancies. Check back regularly for updates.
On March 3, we reported on the philanthropic response to the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19). At that time, donations for COVID-19 dwarfed funding for recent natural disasters: where pledges and donations for eight major hurricanes, earthquakes, and wildfires totaled more than $898 million, philanthropic funding for COVID-19 alone was $980 million. The vast majority of funds—both number of pledges and dollar value—came from China and the United States. Private companies led the way in responding to the crisis.
These figures have only grown since our first post. Here are updates as of March 10, 2020.
What’s changed
- Total giving has increased from $980 million to $1.3 billion.
- The number of pledges from South Korea has grown from 3 pledges to 9, raising the total from that country from $6.2 million to $46.7 million.
- The new funders from South Korea are:
- Amorepacific Corportion
- Hyundai Motor Company
- LG Group
- Samsung Group
- SK Group
- Corporate giving, which accounted for 86% of pledges and 81% of dollar value, now makes up 83% of pledges and 80% of dollar value.
- China and the United States, which accounted for 84% of pledges and 97% of dollar value, now make up 80% of pledges and 90% of dollar value.
- Evergrande Group, a China-based real estate company, was the most generous donor, contributing $115 million to a consortium of Boston-area clinicians and research institutions to develop diagnostic tools, treatments, and vaccines for the coronavirus epidemic. Wellcome Trust, a U.K. foundation, donated $50 million in seed funding to the COVID-19 Therapeutics Accelerator, to speed up the response to the COVID-19 epidemic by identifying, assessing, developing, and scaling-up treatments.
We are in the process of adding these COVID-19 pledges to our free, publicly accessible Measuring the State of Disaster Philanthropy funding map, which was created in partnership with the Center for Disaster Philanthropy.
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suzanne says:
Dear Brian,
WINGS (Worldwide Initiatives for Grantmaker Support) has published a page of resources, https://www.wingsweb.org/page/COVID19. They will be updating the page as information comes in.
Regard,
Suzanne Coffman
Editorial Director, Candid
Brian Mutebi says:
Dear Andrew,
Thank you for this information. I run a charity in Uganda serving a community adversely affected by the outbreak of Covid-19 and consequent lockdown of the country. We want to make an appeal for $5000 to provide emergency relief food and health supplies to persons most affected. How can you help our efforts to connect with donors and grants that can support covid-19 response outside the United States?
I will be very grateful
suzanne says:
Hi, Dana,
We've published another post you may find helpful: https://blog.candid.org/post/covid-19-vs-live-events-alternative-ideas-for-2020-fundraising/
Regards,
Suzanne Coffman
Editorial Director, Candid
suzanne says:
Hi, Dana,
Amy Eisenstein has some suggestions in today's blog post: https://blog.candid.org/post/8-steps-for-successful-fundraising-during-the-coronavirus-crisis/
I hope this helps.
Stay safe,
Suzanne Coffman
Editorial Director, Candid
Sandy Weil says:
THANK YOU! This article has brought me instead of tears of fear about the global health crisis,
tears of appreciation and some tears of relief. Relief knowing that the business community is stepping up in a big way to find solutions to this devastating situation. YOU GAVE ME HOPE THIS MORNING!!! Thank you. I have really been in search for some hope.
I will share this blog to give others hope too. I look forward to checking back and seeing the $$$ numbers continue to grow by leaps and bounds in the billions, and having faith treatments will be found very shorty. Maybe this will bring the leaders of the world closer together in cooperation with one another to solve future problems. May they all release their egos and go inward and soften their hardened hearts to become the best leaders for the global community.
Thank you again.
Stay well, heal broken relationships, be love, spread love, love heals,
Dana Skaggs says:
Help! We are a Kentucky non-profit animal rescue founded in 2009 and operated 98% by volunteers. Our biggest fundraiser, Bark Bash, scheduled for March 28, 2020, may have to be canceled due to Coronavirus. This will make it very difficult as we will lose nearly $8-$10,000. Do you have any idea where our non-profit could get help under these extraordinary circumstances? We work so very hard.
Thank you.