Community Foundation to Make Available More Than $2 million in Funding for COVID-19

[Lee Cruz]

March 20, 2020 (New Haven, CT): Calling the impacts of COVID-19 “an unprecedented crisis for our local nonprofit sector and the people it serves,” Community Foundation for Greater New Haven President Will Ginsberg announced today a series of extraordinary steps that The Foundation is taking to address the extraordinary challenges that the sector is facing.

The Community Foundation has been in communication with many local nonprofits over the last several weeks to understand the impacts that COVID-19 is having. “We have heard from organizations on the frontlines of this battle - both the healthcare and mental health institutions and the providers of basic needs such as food and shelter – that the demands on them are increasing dramatically,” Ginsberg said. “In addition, many organizations lack the infrastructure to support their staff working remotely. Many organizations have had to cancel important fundraising events in this environment, leading to major shortfalls in revenue, and many arts and culture institutions are essentially shut down.”

In partnership with United Way of Greater New Haven, The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven is establishing a Greater New Haven COVID-19 Community Fund. The organizations will work together in promoting the fund to donors and in decision-making as to grants from the fund.

“In times like these, we all need to work together,” Ginsberg said of the partnership with United Way. “Having one fund rather than two separate efforts by our two organizations is the best solution both for the nonprofit community and for donors in Greater New Haven.”

"We know it will take all of us doing our part to get through this pandemic,” stated Jennifer Heath, United Way of Greater New Haven President and CEO. “We are proud to partner with the Foundation to provide expertise and relationships that will facilitate a rapid, community-facing response to the Coronavirus outbreak as needs emerge."

The Community Foundation is launching the fund with contributions and commitments totaling more than $1 million. “With the generous support of our leading donors and with The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven contributing approximately $500,000 of its own resources, we are grateful to have amassed such a significant amount in such a short time to assist local nonprofits,” Ginsberg added.

Members of the community wishing to donate to the Fund can do so at www.cfgnh.org/covid19fund.

In addition, The Foundation is also accelerating payments on approximately $1 Million in existing multiyear grants that under normal circumstances would not be paid until later in the year.

“Putting these grant monies in the hands of our local nonprofits by next Friday, March 27 will be important in their efforts to continue to provide services and meet their financial obligations” said Christina Ciociola, Senior Vice President for Grantmaking and Strategy at The Community Foundation.

The Foundation is also offering recipients of approximately $400,000 in current multiyear project and program grants the opportunity to repurpose them for general operating support so that the funds can be used to ameliorate the impacts of COVID-19, as well.

About The Community Foundation

Thanks to the generosity of three generations of donors, The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven is composed of hundreds of individually named funds and distributes millions of dollars in grants annually to build a stronger Greater New Haven region. The Foundation’s 20-town service area includes: Ansonia, Bethany, Branford, Cheshire, Derby, East Haven, Guilford, Hamden, Madison, Milford, New Haven, North Branford, North Haven, Orange, Oxford, Seymour, Shelton, Wallingford, West Haven, Woodbridge. For more information about The Community Foundation, visit www.cfgnh.org, find us on Facebook at www.facebook.org/cfgnh or follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/cfgnh