The Momentum Fund (Washington, DC)
The Momentum Fund awarded $8.5 million in grants to 129 organizations managing COVID-19 relief funds that provide grants and other forms of direct support to community-run organizations working with communities of color, historically marginalized populations, and other groups disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The grants, which draw from funding provided by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and are managed by United Philanthropy Forum, will help organizations strengthen their capacity to support COVID-19 relief efforts in communities most affected by the ongoing public health and economic crises. The grants are also meant to help foster needed movement in the philanthropic sector towards greater racial equity and recognition of organizations whose staff and board leadership directly reflects the communities they serve.
The Momentum Fund was launched in May 2020 with a vision of ushering in a new model of philanthropic giving that focuses more explicitly on race, class, and gender. The fund received nearly 760 applications from organizations across the country, and grants were reviewed by a 20-member Grant Review Committee comprised of Philanthropic Support Organization leaders. While the Momentum Fund’s resources could not allow for grants to all applicants, hundreds of ultimately unsuccessful applications were strongly considered by the fund’s advisory board. Those applicants have clearly shown a high level of need for more capacity to respond to the continuing, devastating impact of the pandemic on under-resourced and Black, Indigenous, and people of color communities.
The Momentum Fund awarded grants to organizations working in 31 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The average amount awarded is $65,900, with grants ranging from $25,000 to $80,000. Grantees represent a diverse range of nonprofit organizations, including women’s foundations, community foundations, United Ways, philanthropy-serving organizations, and community-led nonprofit organizations.
Momentum Fund grantees described a wide range of urgent needs to build their capacity to effectively manage their COVID-19 funds and help their communities, having responded quickly to the crisis without having time to find new resources. The three highest capacity needs identified by grantees were for fundraising support, additional temporary or permanent staffing, and digital engagement. A significant number of grantees also expressed a need for support to train staff reassigned to COVID-19 fund-related duties, translation/interpretation services, and support to advance racial equity.
Most Momentum Fund grantees will be featured on the new PowerOf platform, a collaborative effort from several social sector organizations led by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The platform connects people who want to make a difference with organizations addressing the impacts of COVID-19. Grantees will also receive support through a grantee learning community, to help them maximize the effects and reach of their work to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.
To learn more click here.
Contact: Traci Slater-Rigaud at 202.457.8784 or traci@unitedphilforum.org.
St. David’s Foundation (Austin, TX)
St. David’s Foundation has awarded nearly $6.5 million to 116 organizations in Central Texas for the second and final phase of its COVID-19 Recovery Fund.
In a continued effort to provide support to those impacted by the pandemic, while addressing health equity and systemic racism, this phase of funding addresses some of the most critical needs its most vulnerable populations are facing.
Each organization receiving Phase II Recovery Fund support is serving priority populations such as rural populations and communities of color, and providing vital services including behavioral health and emotional well-being, among other priorities.
To see a full list of recipients, click here.
Contact: Laura Martinex at Laura.Martinez@edelman.com.