COVID-19 Funds: Where to Donate to Support Communities

 

In this new moment of growing uncertainty brought by the outbreak of COVID-19, we are seeing the intersection of health care, public health, and community care in this critical time of physical distancing, economic crisis, and social solidarity. We are seeing that health care, housing, social protections, water, electricity, and wireless internet for all is possible, when people are put ahead of profits for even a moment. Yet this will be only a temporary glimpse of what’s possible if philanthropy does not step up in this moment and in the months to come to fund both basic life necessities and the organizing and power-building in communities of color and low-income communities to ensure the sweeping and lasting changes that are necessary to keep all of us safe in the long term, and that are critical to burst open this moment of radical transformation.

This is a time of great possibility and of fear and real danger. We see that racist attacks against Chinese people and other API folks, from the federal government as well as people in communities, continue. We see the coming militarization, continued ICE arrests, and a major health threat to folks in detention, jails, and prisons. Check out this statement from Climate Justice Alliance connecting climate in/justice, quarantine and militarization, inmates, low-wage workers, racist attacks, and health care.

To support the mobilization of resources to communities of color on the front lines, Neighborhood Funders Group created and is maintaining a list of COVID-19 support funds and organizations to direct donations to (in the tabs above). These lists are focused on supporting organizing work that relates to NFG's mission and programming. It does not include general COVID-19 relief funds, although those are important. If you'd like to recommend an organization or project to include on this list of places to donate, please write to us at support@nfg.org.

We also know that many grantmakers are reaching out to their grantees and larger field of community organizations to ask what is needed from philanthropy right now, and to offer solidarity and support. A deep and heartfelt thank you to each of you. And, we know that funders and donors are facing the reality of a declining stock market and therefore declining endowments.

Philanthropy: this is the moment to give all you have — to scale up your giving to the need, not to scale back in fear of losing what you have. We must mobilize more dollars, not fewer, as communities and organizations face growing needs for safety and security for everyone in the form of health care, housing, food, and water — not military and police to enforce quarantines.

 

Where to Donate

 

Organizations getting folks out of detention:

 

Response Funds

 

Public Statements

 

Resources  

 

Articles