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COVID-19 Resources

Funding and Resources in Response to COVID-19

COVID-19 Relief Funds: 

Donors Race to Aid India During Covid Surge - The Chronicle of Philanthropy, 5/5/21

Funders - note that some of these funds are accepting donations as well as being sources of funding for nonprofits and individuals. 

  • Massachusetts COVID-19 Relief Fund: First Lady Lauren Baker and the One8 Foundation launched a statewide fund where philanthropists, business leaders, and other key partners are supporting those most affected through a rapid response relief fund. To date, contributions have reached $22 million. 
  • Massachusetts' COVID-19 PPE Procurement and Donation Program: Donate or sell personal protective equipment to support Massachusetts' COVID-19 response efforts
  • All of Massachusetts: The US Small Business Administration (SBA) is offering loans for small businesses including Nonprofits through funding provided by the Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act. Those that have been impacted should download & submit the SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) More info can be found at the SBA website.
  • Massachusetts and Beyond: Verizon and Local Initiative Support Corporation have announced the Verizon Small Business Recovery Fund providing grants of up to $10,000 for small businesses and nonprofits, especially entrepreneurs of color, women-owned businesses and other enterprises in underserved communities who don’t have access to flexible, affordable capital.  Email here for questions
  • Asian American Resource Workshop: List of COVID-19 resources for the community
  • Asian American Community: Nellie Mae Education Foundation has launched a rapid response fund, the Racism is a Virus Too Rapid Response Grant Fund, to respond to the hate crimes and bias against Asian American communities resulting from COVID-19. 
  • Barnstable County, Dukes County, Essex County and Nantucket County: The Tower Foundation COVID-19 Response Grant Guidelines for 2020. Please review for geography and issue-focused guidelines. Deadline May 27. 
  • Berkshires: The Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation's Neighbor-to-Neighbor Fund makes one-time emergency grants for medical and heating bills, food and other critical needs for people in crisis around our region. It operates through trusted social service, health care and other providers who direct these funds where they are needed most.
  • Berkshire United Way and Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation established the COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund for Berkshire County 
  • Business Equity COVID-19 Emergency Fund (BECEF): supports Black- and Latinx-owned businesses in Massachusetts which are particularly vulnerable to the financial hardships resulting from the coronavirus crisis.
  • Boston area/Merrimack Valley: United Way of MA Bay/Merrimack Valley has established the COVID-19 Family Support Fund, a dedicated resource for working families affected by the COVID-19 public health emergency.
  • Boston: The Boston Resiliency Fund is the City of Boston’s effort to help coordinate fundraising and philanthropic efforts to provide essential services to Boston residents whose health and well-being are most immediately impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. We are also working to help first responders and critical care providers.
  • Boston/Greater Boston: COVID-19 Response Fund at The Boston Foundation Issuing one-time operating grants on a rolling basis to non-profits whose operations in support of elders and other vulnerable populations have been stressed by the outbreak. The Boston Foundation encourages institutions, companies and other funders to contribute to the Fund.
  • Boston Medical Center:  BMC’s COVID-19 Emergency Social Services Fund
  • Brookline Community Foundation:  BCF Safety Net COVID-19 Response  
  • Cambridge: Cambridge Community Foundation's COVID-19 Emergency Relief Fund to support vulnerable populations most affected by COVID.
  • Cape Cod & Islands: Cape and Islands Major Crisis Relief Fund  A program of the local Needy Fund, which vets applications and distribute funds.
  • Cape Cod Community Foundation: Community Response to COVID-19
  • Charlesview Inc. COVID-19 Emergency Fund: The Fund has been created to serve as an emergency measure to help organizations continue to function during the COVID-19 restrictions or when they begin to reopen as restrictions are revised by our local and state governments.
  • Codman Square Health Center: Codman Fights COVID-19 and a PPE donation form.
  • Commonwealth Children’s Fund (CCF): launched the Massachusetts Family Child Care Emergency Fund (MAFCEF) to provide financial support to high quality family child care providers so that they may remain a viable option for vulnerable families as they return to work. 
  • Community Foundation of North Central MA: established the Critical Needs COVID-19 Fund
  • Eastern Bank:  Commits Over $10 Million To Aid Individuals And Families, Small Businesses, And Nonprofit Organizations Impacted By The Coronavirus (COVID-19) Crisis
  • Essex County: The Essex County Community Foundation is launching the Essex County COVID19 Response Fund. Details on the fund will be forthcoming. Donors may make contributions online and designate in the comments the name of this fund. 
  • Framingham: The Feed Framingham COVID-19 Fund has been established to help ensure food access to vulnerable populations across the City of Framingham. All of the proceeds of this emergency fund will go directly to nonprofit organizations working to facilitate direct access to hunger relief efforts in Framingham. Established by the Foundation for MetroWest in partnership with The City of Framingham.
  • Give Together Now: All donations are handled by the Family Independence Initiative.
  • Greater Lowell Community Foundation:  COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund   
  • Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Foundation: March 30th HPHC Foundation contributes $40,000 to Coastal Foodshed to sponsor and coordinate the New Bedford COVID-19 Meal Delivery Project.  Recently announced support for two other local organizations as part of its $3 million COVID-19 relief efforts: United Way of Greater Fall River and United Way of Greater New Bedford each received a $10,000 grant for their COVID-19 Relief Fund.
  • Haymarket People's Fund: Increasing Urgent Response Funding 
  • Health Equity & Housing: Mass Smart Growth Alliance (MSGA) - Kresge funding opportunity for grassroots organizations: Advancing health equity through housing in Massachusetts.
  • Individuals in Boston: Union Capital Boston established a one-time direct gift campaign to send Visa gift cards to those who need it urgently in the Greater Boston area. 100% of donations will go to families in need.
  • International Resources: sources vetted by New England International Donors (NEID) 
  • Jewish Community: Combined Jewish Philanthropies has established the CJP Coronavirus Emergency Fund for the Jewish Community. With schools, businesses, and community gathering spaces closed, many people across Greater Boston are facing dangerous isolation, financial crisis, and lack of access to food and other basic necessities.
  • Life Science Cares’ new COVID-19 Response Fund 
  • MetroWest: The MetroWest Emergency Relief Fund at the Foundation for MetroWest is NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS from non-profits for one-time operating grants.At this time, the Foundation will prioritize organizations who are providing emergency basic needs to our most vulnerable residents, families and youth.
  • Nantucket: The Community Foundation for Nantucket is setting up two funds, one specifically to offset the cost of feeding our school children who qualify for free and reduced lunch, and the other will be an emergency fund that we process through our discretionary grant making fund to support our local nonprofits.
  • New England: The New England Grassroots Environment Fund's COVID19 rapid response funding through the Seed grant program is available to all community groups (whether you are new to the Fund or already have an active grant/application for another project) for urgent needs to offer community responses to COVID19. Grants are up to $1,000 and we will work to get funding out as quickly as possible.
  • The New England Food System Resilience Fund is a joint philanthropic effort designed to reinforce, restore, and promote the resilience of the regional food system in a time of unprecedented disruption.
  • Newton/United Way of MA Bay & Merrimack Valley - Newton’s COVID-19 Care Fund 
  • Opioid Task Force COVID-19 Emergency Grants Program - This fund is available only for the 30 towns that comprise the Franklin County and North Quabbin Region in Western MA.
  • Parenting Journey for parents and families - It Takes a Village Emergency Fund
  • South Coast: The Community Foundation of Southeastern MA has established the South Coast Emergency Fund
  • Tufts Health Plan Foundation commits $1 million to address COVID-19; will support efforts driven by community and nonprofit organizations supporting older people affected by coronavirus in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire and Connecticut.
  • United Way of North Central MA - Community Fund, Stand United to support local residents impacted by Covid-19. Funds will provide food access and financial support to children and families impacted by work and school closures.
  • United Ways of Pioneer Valley, Hampshire County and Franklin County - have established the COVID-19 Recovery and Relief Fund to provide aid and resources to those affected by the current public health emergency.
  • Upham’s Corner Health Committee:  Stand with Upham’s in Fighting the Spread of COVID-19
  • Watertown Community Foundation has created the Community Resilience Fund to respond to the impacts of the COVID-19 emergency
  • Western MA: The Community Foundation of Western MA has started a fund to help with urgent and longer-term needs.
  • Worcester: The Greater Worcester Community Foundation has established a Covid-19 Response Fund Funds will be distributed by grants that will support the interim and long-term needs of organizations working with communities disproportionately impacted by the outbreak.
  • Women’s Foundation of Boston Response Fund - offers rapid relief grants to Greater Boston women and girls serving nonprofits to help offset costs incurred to maintain operations or mitigate the health and financial impacts caused by COVID-19.
  • Youth and Families: The Schott Foundation for Public Education has started the Loving Communities Response Fund to support community-led grassroots organizations who serve youth and families directly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • The Lenny Zakim Fund: COVID-19 Emergency Response & Recovery Fund for current and former LZF grantees. https://thelennyzakimfund.org/emergency/.

Covid-19 Relief Funds and Resources for ARTS and CULTURE and JOURNALISM

  • Boston Artist Relief Fund, established by the Boston Mayor's Office of Arts and Culture
  • Boston Singers Resource's Covid-19 Emergency Relief grants
  • The Artist Relief Fund by the Cambridge Community Foundation
  • Covid-19 & Freelance Artists Resource List  
  • Essex County Artist Fund: Essex County Community Foundation’s response to the immediate and everyday needs of artists to be supported and lifted up across the county and across sectors. 
  • Henderson Foundation: For the May 1 proposal deadline, the Henderson Designators will be accepting applications online.  The Designators will have flexibility on some of the materials (including contractor/vendor bids) given challenges presented by the Covid-19 crisis.
  • National Geographic announced an emergency fund for journalists all over the world who wish to cover COVID-19 within their own communities
  • New England Foundation for the Arts has established a resource page

  • The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the six U.S. Regional Arts organizations, including New England Foundation for the Arts (NEFA): New fund for cultural organizations across the nation. NEFA grant also includes funds from the National Endowment for the Arts CARES Act. The fund prioritizes organizations, communities, populations and art forms that have historically had less access to major financial resources for sustainability and seeks in particular to support organizations that are led by and deeply engage communities of color.

  • Passim: https://www.passim.org/pearfund/
  • Robert Rauschenberg Foundation: Beginning in late May/early June 2020, the program will provide visual and media artists and choreographers with one-time grants of up to $5,000 for medical emergencies
  • Theatre Community Benevolent Fund Administered by StageSource, this fund provides financial relief in a confidential, respectful manner to individual theater practitioners and non-profit theater organizations of Greater Boston and the surrounding areas, facing occurrences of a catastrophic nature
  • The Record Co. has established Boston Music Maker Relief Fund a fund to provide financial relief to music makers in the Boston area experiencing lost revenue from gig cancellations resulting from coronavirus and COVID-19.Rapid grants of up to $200 will be made to eligible applicants on a first come, first served basis.

Additional Resources, Best Practices, and Technology & Software Resourceson COVID-19

Federal Stimulus Package for COVID-19 Summaries: 

General Resources & Pro Bono Services: 

​Best & Developing Practices: 

Technology & Software Resources

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