GIH’s new roundup provides information on the latest grantmaking related to COVID-19. The list below includes announcements through June 1, 2020. Please send updates on grantmaking, new reports, awards, or transitions to bulletin@gih.org.

Mary Black Foundation (Spartanburg, SC)

The Mary Black Foundation awarded $709,000 in grants to 19 nonprofit organizations serving Spartanburg County, South Carolina. The majority of organizations will receive funds to support core operating expenses and projects that are responding to the impact of COVID-19 on its community.

The foundation will offer two more funding opportunities in 2020. The next application was released in early June.

The grants awarded include:

  • Alliance for a Healthier Generation—to plan for the next phase of the Spartanburg Healthy Schools Initiative, with a goal to expand and deepen the impact for communities. ($15,000)
  • Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Upstate—to assist with operational costs related to providing one-on-one mentoring opportunities to Spartanburg children and adolescents. ($20,000)
  • Children’s Cancer Partners of the Carolinas—for assistance with transportation to diagnostic and treatment services to ensure children have access to needed cancer care. ($5,000)
  • EMERGE Family Therapy and Teaching Clinic—to partially fund a full-time therapist who will be dedicated to community needs that arise out of the COVID-19 pandemic. ($60,000)
  • GoForth Recovery—for continued financial support for a peer support specialist who provides screenings, referrals, and programs to help men who are facing addiction. ($37,500)
  • Healthy Smiles of Spartanburg—to provide children living in low-income households access to dental care, including school-based screenings, an onsite dental clinic, and a mobile dental clinic. ($75,000)
  • Institute for Child Success—for research, public awareness, and advocacy efforts around the impact of COVID-19 on children and families. ($5,000)
  • Partners for Active Living—to build upon the work established through the Spartanburg Healthy Schools Initiative and plan for the next phase of the work to launch in 2021. ($40,000)
  • ReGenesis Health Care—for a crisis intervention coordinator who will partner with Spartanburg School District 6 to provide children and adolescents experiencing a mental health crisis with immediate assessment and care. ($75,000)
  • Ruth’s Gleanings—for distribution of fresh fruits and vegetables through Spartanburg County emergency food providers, food banks, and Farmers to Families Food Boxes. ($15,000)
  • SAFE Homes Rape Crisis Coalition—to fund a full-time therapist to work with victims of domestic violence and sexual assault, a need that is increasing due to family instability caused by economic uncertainty and stay at home recommendations. ($75,000)
  • Spartanburg Academic Movement—to continue collecting kindergarten readiness data through the Early Development Instrument. ($110,000)
  • Spartanburg Community College—to partner with a national consultant to conduct a student mental health assessment and develop a strategy to address gaps and barriers in the school’s mental health services. ($15,000)
  • Spartanburg County School District 3—to expand the Parents as Teachers program that provides early detection of developmental delays among preschool children and increases children’s school readiness and success. ($67,500)
  • United Way of the Piedmont—for a community resources coordinator who helps vulnerable families create a pathway to financial stability, an increasing need due to the COVID-19 pandemic. ($55,000)
  • Upstate Family Resource Center—to continue efforts to connect Spanish-speaking families in Spartanburg County with resources and support to minimize the impact of COVID-19. ($6,000)
  • Upstate Fatherhood Coalition—to support operational costs. ($5,000)
  • Upstate Warrior Solution—to provide critical case coordination for veterans related to the COVID-19 pandemic. ($5,000)
  • YMCA of Greater Spartanburg—to provide scholarships to make summer camps more affordable for children who might not otherwise be able to attend. ($22,500)

For additional information, click here.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation (Boston, MA)

The Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation announced awards to 20 nonprofits across Massachusetts to support their efforts to expand and adapt operations in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The foundation awarded Special Initiatives COVID-19 Response Grants to nonprofits that predominantly serve people of color, rural communities, people experiencing homelessness, and other at-risk populations. Grants will support increased staffing needs, investments in IT infrastructure to abide by physical distancing guidelines, and changes in programs necessitated by the pandemic.

The foundation has given one-time, $25,000 grant to the following organizations:

  • Advocates
  • East Boston Neighborhood Health Center
  • Father’s Uplift
  • The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts
  • Hilltown Community Health Center
  • La Alianza Hispana
  • Lowell Community Health Center
  • Martha’s Vineyard Community Services
  • Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless
  • Samaritans, Inc.

In addition, the Catalyst Fund, a Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts employee funded grant program administered by the foundation, has temporarily shifted focus to support organizations addressing COVID-19 in their communities and has awarded $49,800 to date in grants to 10 organizations across Massachusetts.

The grants will help provide basic needs to the vulnerable populations the grantees serve, including individuals experiencing homelessness, older adults, individuals with disabilities, low-income and immigrant families, and youth with mental health conditions.

Contact: info@bluecrossmafoundation.org.

The Duke Endowment (Charlotte, NC)

The Duke Endowment approved $2.5 million to support Carolinians impacted by the coronavirus crisis. In North Carolina, $1.25 million of the funding will be dispersed through the North Carolina Healthcare Foundation, the charitable nonprofit affiliate of the North Carolina Healthcare Association. In South Carolina, the $1.25 million will be dispersed through One SC, a fund created at Central Carolina Community Foundation in 2015 to respond to natural disasters. These initial grants will help statewide efforts focused on access to vital health care and sustaining social supports as unemployment rises.

The North Carolina Healthcare Foundation is establishing a COVID-19 Fill the Gap Fund to respond to needs that cannot be addressed via public resources or reimbursement. Representatives from the health sector and social service organizations, including community safety net leaders and state agency partners, will serve as an advisory team.

The One SC: Covid-19 Response is a collaboration of the SC Grantmakers Network, Together SC, and United Way Association of SC to mobilize the philanthropic community to provide funding, communication, and advocacy for nonprofits serving the state’s vulnerable residents during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Contact: Jeri Krentz at 704.927.2260 or jkrentz@tde.org.

Episcopal Health Foundation (Houston, TX)

Episcopal Health Foundation (EHF) has awarded $1.6 million in grants to 23 nonprofit clinics and organizations that are serving at-risk communities in Texas on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic. This first round of funding is part of EHF’s $10 million COVID-19 response plan.

EHF’s COVID-19 grants are supporting community clinics serving low-income Texans, behavioral and mental health organizations, rural health centers, nonprofits offering enrollment in health and other benefit programs, and groups working in early childhood brain development. All of the organizations receiving these COVID-19 grants are current EHF grantees.

EHF’s COVID-19 response plan also includes an emergency loan program for grantees, technical assistance to help organizations apply for government aid programs, an extensive research project related to COVID-19, and a pilot program to support those facing social isolation.

EHF’s first round of COVID-19 grants include:

  • Access Health ($100,000)
  • Austin Interfaith Sponsoring Committee, Inc. ($60,000)
  • Avenue 360 Health & Wellness ($100,000)
  • Baylor College of Medicine Teen Health Clinic at Wisdom High School ($50,000)
  • The Beacon ($70,000)
  • Boat People S.O.S. ($10,000)
  • Community Healthcore ($100,000)
  • Community Health Network ($100,000)
  • Epiphany Community Health Outreach Services ($70,000)
  • Family Health Center ($100,000)
  • Legacy Community Health ($100,000)
  • Lone Star Circle of Care ($100,000)
  • Lone Star Family Health Center ($85,846)
  • Matagorda Episcopal Health Outreach Program ($100,000)
  • Memorial Assistance Ministries ($70,000)
  • Northwest Assistance Ministries ($50,000)
  • Nurse Family Partnership ($24,000)
  • Palacios Community Medical Center ($25,000)
  • Samaritan Counseling Center of East Texas ($45,000)
  • Samaritan Counseling Center of Southeast Texas ($48,850)
  • Santa Maria Hostel, Inc. ($70,000)
  • Spring Branch Community Health Center ($100,000)
  • Vecino Health Centers ($100,000)

Contact: Brian Sasser at 832.795.9404 or bsasser@episcopalhealth.org.

Ethel and James Flinn Foundation (Detroit, MI)

With support from the Ethel and James Flinn Foundation, Skillman Foundation, Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan, and Michigan Health Endowment Fund, the Detroit Wayne Integrated Health Network (DWIHN) is launching the Detroit COVID-19 Therapy Collaborative, which will provide free behavioral health supports and counseling to those in need. This virtual platform provides access to a safe and private network of behavioral health resources and therapy supports by trained counselors for children and families ages 14 years and older.

The Detroit COVID-19 Therapy Collaborative launched on May 21st and is available to teens and adults ages 14 years and up through the rest of the year. Individuals will be able to receive up to 12 therapy sessions via phone, tablet, or computer. In these sessions, professional counselors provide screenings, brief interventions, and treatment. Sessions are available for youth and adults who are approaching a crisis related to or triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic.

An array of comprehensive, culturally responsive support and counseling services will be available to individuals who live, work, or worship in Wayne County, Michigan. The Detroit COVID19 Virtual Therapy Collaborative consists of partners within the DWIHN system of care – Development Centers, Inc., Hegira Health Inc., The Children’s Center, and Starfish Family Services.

To learn more, click here.

National Harm Reduction Coalition (New York, NY)

To respond to the crisis surrounding COVID-19, the National Harm Reduction Coalition, with grant support from Gilead Sciences, Inc., announced emergency response funding for HepConnect grantees in the initiative’s five states: Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee, and West Virginia.

Shelter-in-place orders have impacted the way harm reduction programs and providers can reach participants and convene people in their communities. People who use drugs are among those facing additional risk during the COVID-19 pandemic and harm reduction supplies and services are essential.

National Harm Reduction Coalition allocated funding from Gilead Sciences, Inc. to support the emergent needs of communities impacted by drug use in the five states through the COVID-19 crisis. Funds will be utilized over the next three months for immediate support and the national Harm Reduction Coalition will be providing additional technical assistance to organizations shifting their programs.

The funding opportunity was open to existing HepConnect grantees who qualified for funding under the Provide category, and $7,500 was issued to 18 applicants, totaling $135,000 in emergency response.

The full list of grantees for this category of responsive funding:

  • Appalachian Regional Healthcare
  • AVOL Kentucky, Inc.
  • Cabell-Huntington Health Department
  • Hyde County Health Department
  • Imani And Unidad, Inc.
  • Indiana Recover Alliance
  • Kentucky Harm Reduction Coalition
  • Madison County Health Department
  • Milan Puskar Health Right
  • Muhlenberg County Health Department
  • The Never Alone Project
  • North Carolina Harm Reduction Coalition
  • Next Step Initiative
  • North Carolina Survivors Union
  • The Olive Branch Ministry
  • Opioid Response Innovative Initiative (Sostento, Inc.)
  • Street Works
  • Virginia Harm Reduction Coalition

Contact: Orisha Bowers at 901.399.4565 or bowers@harmreduction.org.

Lucile Packard Foundation for Children’s Health (Palo Alto, CA)

The Lucile Packard Foundation for Children’s Health awarded five emergency grants totaling $230,000 to local and national agencies in response COVID-19’s impact on children with special health care needs and their families.

The grants include:

  • California Health Report—to support reporting on how children with special health care needs and their families are being affected by COVID-19 in California, from access to critical therapies to support from state and federal agencies.
  • Institute for Patient- and Family-Centered Care—to create a trustworthy “clearinghouse” to identify, develop, and disseminate reliable and vital information on emerging COVID-19 issues related to Patient- and Family-Centered Care approaches to the pandemic.
  • LPCH Department of Family-Centered Care Access—to develop a comprehensive food security program that will be offered within the hospital to provide immediate relief to inpatient families, and eventually expanded to LPCH satellite clinics.
  • Manatt Health Solutions—to identify COVID-19-specific state policies and regulations that will help ensure access to needed care for children through Medicaid and the federal CARE Act.
  • Stanford Pediatric Advocacy Program—to provide material goods to children and families facing the economic repercussions of COVID-19, along with information about local resources.

Contact: Alice Chiang at 650.724.1618 or alice.chiang@lpfch.org.

 

Pottstown Area Health & Wellness Foundation (Pottstown, PA)

The Pottstown Area Health & Wellness Foundation and the Foundation for Pottstown Education are providing a way for the community to help students in the borough continue their education during the coronavirus pandemic.

Online instruction is already underway in the Pottstown School District, and approximately 25 percent of students do not have the equipment necessary to continue their education effectively. The Foundation for Pottstown Education is leading the effort to provide a Chromebook to every family in the borough without access to a home computer. For every dollar donated, the Pottstown Area Health & Wellness Foundation will provide matching funds up to $100,000 and amplify the generosity of individual community donors.

Contact: John Robertson at jrobertson@pottstownfoundation.org.

Sisters of Charity Foundation of Cleveland (Cleveland, OH)

The Sisters of Charity Foundation of Cleveland expedited its Good Samaritan grants program to provide financial support to the many organizations working around the clock to respond to urgent and unmet needs.

The Good Samaritan program’s purpose is to support nonprofit organizations for which a modest grant would make a difference in continuing to provide necessary and immediate goods and services to individuals living in poverty. The program expresses the important value of the Sisters of Charity of St. Augustine of respecting the dignity of every individual.

2020 Good Samaritan grants include $5,000 in funding to the following organizations:

  • Boys Hope Girls Hope of Northeast Ohio—for educational materials and food in support of Operation Hope Family Nutrition Program.
  • Catholic Charities Corporation—for utility assistance.
  • Cleveland Peacemakers Alliance—for food, transportation expenses, and hygiene kits.
  • Cuyahoga Community College Foundation—to support food, utilities, and rent in the Student Emergency Fund.
  • Epilepsy Association—for emergency assistance and transportation support.
  • Famicos Foundation—for food, hygiene, and cleaning products in an effort to provide relief for senior and disabled low-income and housing-insecure residents.
  • Family Promise of Greater Cleveland—for food and formula for homeless families.
  • Garfield Human Development Corporation—for food and delivery costs for the community food pantry.
  • Herman House (FOCUS Cleveland)—for daily meal support to the community.
  • Hitchcock Center for Women—for emergency assistance.
  • Kidney Foundation of Ohio—for transportation support in its emergency assistance program.
  • Little Africa Food Collaborative—for emergency food delivery and support program.
  • Malachi Center—COVID-19 relief and recovery.
  • May Dugan Center—for food assistance to strengthen community food service.
  • Nueva Luz Urban Resource Center—for food and supplies for its emergency mobile food pantry.
  • Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless—for continued shelter support in its COVID-19 response for those experiencing unsheltered homelessness.
  • Project HOPE of Cleveland, Inc.—for emergency assistance in health outreach.
  • Providence House—for supplies for clients during COVID-19.
  • Paul’s Community Outreach—for food for individuals experiencing homelessness.
  • Trials for Hope—for basic needs supplies for homeless families.
  • West Side Catholic Center—for continued food and meal support and resources.

To learn more, click here.

Contact: Rebecca Gallant at 216.696.8408 or rgallant@sistersofcharityhealth.org.

Tufts Health Plan Foundation (Watertown, MA)

Tufts Health Plan Foundation announced $170,000 in grants to 10 nonprofit organizations, part of the $1 million the foundation committed to support community efforts addressing coronavirus in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, and Connecticut. In total, 49 organizations have received funding.

This funding goes to organizations working to improve access to food and respond to inequities in housing and services. It bolsters collaborative regional responses, particularly in communities reporting the highest rates of COVID-19. The organizations include:

  • Attleboro YMCA, Greater Attleboro Stronger Together Fund ($10,000)
  • Community Foundation of Southeastern Massachusetts, SouthCoast Emergency Response Fund ($20,000)
  • Connecticut Coalition to End Homelessness ($20,000)
  • Federal Hill House ($20,000)
  • Foodshare, Inc. ($30,000)
  • HomeStart ($10,000)
  • New Hampshire Public Health Association ($10,000)
  • Person-to-Person ($10,000
  • Progreso Latino ($10,000)
  • United Way of Mass Bay/Merrimack Valley, One Chelsea Fund ($30,000)

The foundation also recently announced that five diverse community organizations will receive grants to help address the COVID-19 pandemic. These grants were made through a program involving Tufts Health Plan’s five business resource groups (BRGs). Each BRG recommended an organization aligned with its affinity to receive a grant from the foundation. The foundation doubled the funding available for this year’s grants, recognizing community organizations need additional resources as they find new ways to deliver services and support while addressing an increase in demand during the COVID-19 pandemic. The organizations include:

  • Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center—to empower Asians and new immigrants to build healthy families, achieve greater economic success, and contribute to thriving communities by providing a broad range of programs and services. ($10,000)
  • The Carroll Center for the Blind—to support people who are blind or visually impaired to achieve independence and lead fulfilling lives. ($10,000)
  • Crossroads Rhode Island—to secure stable homes for people who are experiencing homelessness or at-risk, including youth who identify as LGBTQ+. ($10,000)
  • New England Center and Home for Veterans—to equip veterans facing or at-risk of homelessness with the tools for economic self-sufficiency and a path to achieve independent living. ($10,000)
  • Women’s Lunch Place—to provide nutritious food and individualized services for women who are experiencing homelessness or poverty. ($10,000)

The foundation also is accelerating payments to current grantees, easing the financial pressure they are facing. These payments will give community organizations an additional $1.5 million to support emerging priorities. It continues to offer a two-for-one match to Tufts Health Plan employees and board members who donate to organizations during the pandemic. To date, an additional $195,000 has been contributed to community organizations through this program.

Contact: Alrie McNiff Daniels at 617.301.2715 or alrie_daniels@tufts-health.com.

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