$260,592 in Grants Awarded from the Delaware COVID-19 Strategic Response Fund
$2.3 million awarded in past eight weeks
In its eighth round of weekly grants, the Delaware COVID-19 Strategic Response Fund today awarded $260,592 to 19 nonprofit organizations providing services to communities throughout the state.
The grants will address a broad range of community needs during the pandemic. Grantees are:
- Beau Biden Foundation for the Protection of Children – $22,000 for virtual training to protect Delaware children and keep them safe from abuse.
- Brandywine Valley SPCA – $10,000 to provide veterinary care for pets of families in need in Kent County.
- Choir School of Delaware – $20,000 for summer camp programming in Wilmington.
- Code Purple Kent County – $12,000 to provide shelter and food for homeless people in Kent County.
- Delaware Art Museum – $10,775 to provide educational art kits for children in Wilmington.
- Delaware College Scholars – $18,000 for technology to support high-achieving public-school students from low-income families statewide.
- Downtown Visions – $10,000 to provide safety services and trash removal in downtown Wilmington.
- Easterseals Delaware & Maryland’s Eastern Shore, Inc. – $30,000 for thermal scanners for Delaware locations statewide.
- EDGE for Tomorrow – $9,000 for technology to provide underserved children in Edgemoor with tutoring and mentoring.
- Fellowship Health Resources Inc. – $6,500 for technology to provide telehealth services for individuals in recovery in Sussex County.
- Georgetown Public Library – $16,000 for sanitizing equipment and sneeze guards.
- Habitat for Humanity of New Castle County – $10,000 for technology to provide remote services and facilitate social distancing to reopen the ReStore.
- Harrington Senior Center – $2,500 to help them safely deliver food to seniors in Kent County.
- Latin American Community Center – $25,000 for emergency assistance for families in Greater Wilmington.
- Laurel Community Foundation, Inc. – $4,000 to provide emergency housing for homeless families in western Sussex County.
- Literacy Delaware – $15,567 for technology to provide virtual literacy instruction to adults statewide.
- Ministry of Caring Inc. – $11,000 to make capital improvements to allow for safely relaunching dental services in Wilmington.
- One Village Alliance, Inc. – $15,000 to provide virtual tutoring, mentoring and support to underserved children in greater Wilmington.
- Wilmington Children’s Chorus – $13,250 to provide virtual summer programming in Wilmington.
In this eighth and final round of weekly grants, 56 applicants requested $1.4 million from the COVID-19 Strategic Response Fund, which is housed at the Delaware Community Foundation (DCF).
The fund, which launched on March 18, has awarded $2.3 million to 94 Delaware nonprofits so far.
Based on the nature of the applications, initial grants focused largely on immediate community needs. In recent weeks, the grants have broadened to address a combination of immediate needs and broader community needs, including the arts, culture, the environment, workforce development, animal welfare and others.
This week marked the final round of weekly grants. In June, the grants program will resume as follows:
The fund will accept additional grant applications on June 1 and June 15. The June grants will target nonprofit organizations – both large and small – playing key roles in various sectors, throughout the state.
While we cannot address the sustainability of every nonprofit organization, the goal of these grants is to strengthen the sustainability of the sectors traditionally upheld by nonprofits, including health and social services, education, the environment, workforce development, animal welfare, the arts, culture and others.
These grants target solvent nonprofit organizations with solid plans for long-term fiscal sustainability and strong leadership and management. The plans should be responsive to the changing environment for funding, as well as evolving community needs. Organizations with a history of serving underserved populations will be favored.
The application for June grants will be available next week at delcf.org/covid-grants.
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The council is actively raising money to be able to respond to community needs, said DCF President & CEO Stuart Comstock-Gay.
“As the pandemic continues, the needs are growing and evolving,” Comstock-Gay said. “We are calling on the community to help local nonprofit organizations get food, shelter, medical care and other essential services directly to the people who need it most. We also must support our workforce, arts community and other sectors to restore our quality of life post-COVID-19.”
The Longwood Foundation, which previously gave $1 million to the Strategic Response Fund, recently awarded a $500,000 grant, with the stipulation that the DCF must raise a matching $500,000 from the community by May 30.
To make a gift that qualifies for the match, give at delcf.org/covid19-fund or contact Joan Hoge-North, [email protected].
About the Fund
The Strategic Response Fund was established on March 18 to address the state’s emerging and evolving needs resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Grantees are selected through a rigorous process that involves a diverse team of more than 50 community leaders representing all three counties and a range of areas of expertise. Final decisions are made by the COVID-19 Grants Council:
- April Birmingham, M&T Bank
- Sheila Bravo, president, Delaware Alliance for Nonprofit Advancement (DANA), ex officio
- Vernita Dorsey, WSFSAlan Levin, SoDel Concepts
- Leslie Newman, retired CEO, Children & Families First
- Todd Veale, executive director, Laffey-McHugh Foundation
- Enid Wallace-Simms, Delmarva Power
- Amy Walls, Discover Bank
The fund, which is being directed by Philanthropy Delaware President Cynthia Pritchard, already includes generous gifts from the Longwood Foundation ($1.5 million), New Castle County ($500,000), Welfare Foundation ($200,000), CSC ($100,000), Crestlea Foundation ($100,000), Fund for Women ($100,000), Highmark ($100,000), Laffey-McHugh ($100,000), Discover ($75,000), DCF ($75,000), DuPont ($75,000), M&T ($50,000), JP Morgan Chase ($30,000), Bank of America ($25,000), TD Bank ($25,000), WSFS Bank ($25,000) and others. The DCF also has waived all administrative fees for this fund, so that 100 percent of the funds are going to organizations helping people in need.
The Delaware COVID-19 Strategic Response Fund is part of the Delaware COVID-19 Emergency Response Initiative, a nonprofit collaborative response to the 2020 coronavirus pandemic. The DCF, DANA, PD and United Way of Delaware are partnering to coordinate charitable resources to maximize impact statewide during this crisis.
To contribute, visit delcf.org/covid19-fund.