Community Funders Begin Planning for a Post-Pandemic World

Community Funders Begin Planning for a Post-Pandemic World

As Americans buckle down for at least another month of social distancing and sheltering in place, more than 200 U.S. community foundations have mobilized more than $315 million for COVID-19 responses so far, according to the Community Foundation Public Awareness Initiative, with confirmed grants of $40 million. Numerous other local funders with regional focuses have raised or committed millions more. By the time you read this article, those numbers will likely have risen.

There are approximately 800 funders in the U.S. defined as “community foundations,” though many other funders focus in full or part on a specific geographic location. Their initial strategies have shared a similar theme: keep frontline nonprofits operating to protect the most vulnerable members of the community. Seniors, communities of color, disabled people, and others who depend on services by nonprofits are among the populations of frequent concern.

Because of their hyper-local experience, leadership at these community and local foundations already have the knowledge and experience to respond quickly and effectively to fast-moving emergencies such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Many have also partnered in novel ways with other statewide philanthropies to boost resources and reach.

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Source: Inside Philanthropy

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