By Benton Murphy, Associate Vice President, Community Investment
The Greater Washington Community Foundation is proud to announce $2.8 million in investments for phase 2 grants through the COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund. In total, the Fund has now granted more than $6.7 million to local organizations on the front lines of our region’s COVID-19 response efforts.
Over the course of two phases of our grantmaking we received 1,300 applications for funding and have issued 199 grants, with 50% of these investments being made in organizations led by People of Color. From PPE protections for individuals experiencing homelessness to supporting direct cash assistance to individuals who have lost their jobs due to COVID-19, the organizations we have funded are helping our neighbors in need every day in the face of the global pandemic.
Advocacy and Organizing Grants
In addition to critically needed direct service investments, The Community Foundation included support for advocacy and organizing grants in this latest round of funding. We know that investments in advocacy are critical to address the underlying systemic inequities that are concentrating COVID’s impacts disproportionately toward communities of color.
We are thrilled to have made more than $200,000 in investments in advocacy and community organizing efforts seeking to engage communities in the change they see as critical for our region, and to push for policies that will improve outcomes for our neighbors and communities. This includes funding legal strategies to restore DC’s funding from the federal CARES Act to the same level as other states, rather than being treated as a territory.
Our investments have centered on a set of core priorities and our process relied upon five working groups comprised of Community Foundation staff, issue area experts, and Community Foundation donors. Our working groups were challenged to make final grant selections from across a pool of more than a thousand qualified applicants and during a time of great stress and without much clarity on what the future holds for our region during the pandemic.
Our Working Groups’ Investments
Education and Youth
Our Education and Youth working group had to make their grants in an air of uncertainty about what the summer and fall will hold for local school systems and youth programs. The needs of children have often been drowned out by the economic and health concerns of adults. Many of the work group’s conversations centered on distance learning and the digital divide, and our grants reflect that. Going forward, this group would like to explore the effects of social isolation and the mental health needs of children.
Homelessness and Housing
Our Homelessness and Housing working group supported consumer-led advocacy and community organizing on a range of issues such as universal testing in shelters, rent relief and assistance, housing for returning citizens, permanent supportive housing, and advocating for increased funding for homeless services and public housing. As we continue to see increasing numbers of people experiencing homelessness and housing instability testing positive for COVID and deaths among these vulnerable populations, these grants will help organizations provide essential advocacy and services to protect individual community members and to prevent community spread.
Food Security, Legal Services, and Domestic and Community Violence
This work group made grants that include a blend of larger groups that provide critical infrastructure and coordination support as well as many smaller organizations with deeper reach into community, including a number of first-time grantees to The Community Foundation.
The need in our region for emergency food support and access is deep and growing—we are pleased to have been able to support Food Equity Councils in Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties that are providing the critical coordination between local food security providers to ensure that folks in our region are not going hungry due to COVID-19.
Workforce and Small Business
Our workforce and small business work group prioritized advocacy and community organizing efforts that are focused on either elevating the voices of and/or advocating for policies that benefit workers who have been most impacted by COVID-19, such as entry level workers and excluded workers in retail, food service, and hospitality. The group also funded several local providers that are supporting individuals through direct cash assistance, including immigrant workers who are excluded from receiving federal stimulus supports.
Medical Care and Access
The Medical Care and Access work group had four overarching funding priorities: supporting the purchase of PPE and other health equipment for frontline workers, maintaining access to health care for marginalized groups through the support of community health centers and FQHCS, increasing access to mental health support services, and supporting advocacy efforts addressing local health issues. Going forward, the group will consider opportunities to better connect with regional providers, community health centers, advocacy groups, and patient advocates.
Stay tuned for more from The Community Foundation in the coming weeks for stories on the impact these grants are having in our community right now. You can follow us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram – and, check out our two-minute COVID Impact Story Videos on our YouTube page.