The Coronavirus Response Fund

The Coronavirus Response Fund, hosted by Community Foundation of the Chattahoochee Valley (CFCV) in partnership with United Way of the Chattahoochee Valley (UWCV), is providing flexible resources to organizations in the Columbus area that are working with our most vulnerable citizens: members of communities who are disproportionately impacted by Covid-19 and the economic consequences of this outbreak. We are working closely with government, business partners and other philanthropic resources to help the Response Fund rapidly deploy resources to community-based organizations at the front lines of our area’s Coronavirus pandemic.

Charitable grants help fund organizations and programs that have deep roots in our community and strong experience working in areas such as access to food, healthcare, financial help for individuals, housing/shelter, childcare and youth services, and other basic needs. The Fund is designed to complement the work of local public health, nonprofit, and government entities, and to expand local capacity to support individuals and families experiencing hardship because of the outbreak and related closures and disruptions.

Our first phase of these rapid-response grants is increasing resiliency in disproportionately affected communities by addressing the immediate and basic needs of economically vulnerable populations caused by loss of work or reduced wages, school and business closures, and the increased demand for healthcare information and support among our most vulnerable community members. We have also used funds to minimize the number of people who are exposed to Covid-19 and to raise the level of critical care available to people hospitalized with the disease.

CFCV makes grants from the Response Fund in partnership with UWCV and in close collaboration with community partners and local governments. Together, we proactively identify potential grant recipients, solicit guidance on potential partnerships and recommend final awards as quickly as possible. Funds are released on a weekly basis, allowing us to move resources quickly and adapt to evolving needs in subsequent funding phases.

Both CFCV and UWCV are waiving the administrative fees that would normally be associated with this Fund. Banking fees, including credit card transactions for contributions to the Fund, will apply.

Donate online: https://cfcv.givingfuel.com/coronavirus

Donate by text: Text the amount of your donation in numbers (10, 50, 100, etc.) to 706-523-GIVE (4483).

Donate by check: Make checks payable to Community Foundation of the Chattahoochee Valley and indicate that your gift should be directed to the Coronavirus Response Fund. Mail checks to: Community Foundation of the Chattahoochee Valley, Attn: Coronavirus Response Fund, 1340 13th Street, Columbus, GA 31901

CFCV can facilitate other types of donations, including donations from Donor Advised Funds and stock transfers. For questions about making a charitable donation, please contact JJ Musgrove at jmusgrove@cfcv.com.

If your business or company would like to join the coalition and provide a corporate gift, please email JJ Musgrove at jmusgrove@cfcv.com.

CFCV is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit charity and all donations to the Fund are tax deductible as allowed by law.

Coronavirus Response Fund Grants Now Total $1,339,910

March 17, 2021

This week the Coronavirus Response Fund is announcing additional grants totaling $23,000, bringing the total awarded since the Covid-19 pandemic began to $1,339,910, Community Foundation President Betsy Covington and United Way President Ben Moser jointly announced. The Fund, a partnership between the two organizations and area donors, provides flexible resources to Columbus-area organizations that are serving our most vulnerable populations: members of communities disproportionately impacted by Covid-19 and the economic consequences of the outbreak.‬‬‬‬‬
 
The funds have been awarded to the organizations below and are listed in order by date.
 
The Coronavirus Response Fund is receiving daily contributions from area individuals, businesses and foundations. Giving is easy; see cfcv.com/coronavirus for more information. Aflac’s $100,000 match offer continues, matching donations to the Coronavirus Response Fund dollar-for-dollar, up to $2,000 per gift. 
 
Organizations can share their needs and be considered for future funding by registering here. 
 
The Fund will continue to make grants on an as-needed basis.

 

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To deploy resources rapidly, we will not be accepting requests for funding or posting a grant application. We will instead work together with community advisors and funders to identify organizations currently providing types of support to area residents that are aligned with the priorities of the Response Fund to expand available resources and relief. Priorities in the first phase of funding will include: food, childcare, transportation, and healthcare or prescription assistance.

 

To let us know more about the work you are doing and your needs, please complete this form.

For questions regarding the Coronavirus Response Fund, and how grant funds will be deployed, please email impactCRF@gmail.com. This email will be monitored by:

Kelli Parker
Director, Grants & Community Partnerships
Community Foundation of the Chattahoochee Valley

Jennifer St. John
VP, Community Initiatives
United Way of the Chattahoochee Valley

As all of us work together to vanquish COVID-19, we at the Community Foundation and United Way are fielding a lot of questions. Both donors in our community, many of whom give through our organizations, and nonprofits with whom we partner as funders are assessing their situations and looking for ways to serve most effectively.

We are providing this assessment tool so that nonprofit organizations in the Chattahoochee Valley can tell their stories. Hopefully these stories will offer supporters an objective way to assess the developing impact of COVID-19, the ways our nonprofit community is responding, and opportunity for investment in both the short & long term.

Here’s what you need to know:

•  Any 501(c)(3) organization doing business in the Chattahoochee Valley is eligible to complete the survey.
• Organizations (preferably executive directors) can complete a survey at any time. Logging in from the same computer and browser they used to initially complete the survey, they can update their information as situations develop. Be sure to update the date on your survey as you adjust your answers.
• If you’d prefer to skip a specific question, you may do so.
• Survey results will be posted every Monday, capturing the most recent data available.
• It is very important to note that every organization’s information will be listed publicly. Any question can be left blank if the organization doesn’t want it to be public information.
• Results will be posted in Excel, sorted alphabetically by Organization Name. They can be downloaded and resorted by the Organization’s City and/or Organization Type.
• We also offer a version of the results in a downloadable PDF document, one page per Organization, sorted alphabetically. We’re improving the tool and our reporting mechanisms continually; offer suggestions to JJ Musgrove, CFCV director of donor services, at jmusgrove@cfcv.com.

Take the Survey

Request the Impact Assessment Survey Results

Betsy Covington
President and CEO
Community Foundation of the Chattahoochee Valley
bcovington@cfcv.com

Ben Moser
President and CEO
United Way of the Chattahoochee Valley
bmoser@unitedwayofthecv.org

ValleyHelp.org (#ValleyHelp) is a resource for information and connectivity for our area during the Covid-19 pandemic. #ValleyHelp is a simple, organized, and concise clearinghouse of critical and relevant information for citizens, nonprofits, and small businesses in the region. It is meant to be a beginning, and not an end; an intersection, not a destination. The information consolidated here is 100% community driven and community led.

We understand many individuals and families have already been affected by the outbreak and more will continue to be affected. On behalf of the Fund’s partners, CFCV is working to move resources to community-based organizations that are directly supporting residents and families who are most affected by emerging health, economic, and social impacts.

While the Fund is not able to provide grants to individuals, it is funding community-based organizations that have the experience and history of providing people and families with services and support. We will work to update you on the organizations that have received grant funding. If you are looking for resources now, please contact 211 for information about direct assistance organizations.

We understand the coronavirus outbreak is impacting nonprofits in many ways, including increased demand for services, lost revenue due to closures and cancelations, as well as other challenges. We are working closely with UWCV, local governments and community partners to ensure that the grants awarded meet the greatest needs in communities disproportionately impacted by coronavirus. To move resources quickly, we are not hosting a formal application process for the Fund. You may email complete this form to make sure we are aware of your needs and can keep them in mind as the granting process progresses and needs become more clear.

To ensure we move resources as efficiently as possible and respond to needs of communities most impacted, we are not able to restrict donations at this time. The Coronavirus Response Fund was created in hopes of providing a way to coordinate as many resources as possible across our service area. If an organization you normally support is involved in this work and you would like to continue that support, we encourage you to donate to them directly (see the next question).

This Fund was not created to be the only vehicle for getting needed resources into the community, but to help facilitate getting more targeted resources into the community. This is a critical time for so many, including the nonprofit organizations who’ve benefited from your giving in the past, as well as those who’ve had to cancel their annual fundraising events or depend heavily on public gatherings. Please continue to give to organizations you regularly support, and those that need your help at this crucial time. Now is the time to double down for our community.

We anticipate multiple phases of funding to address both the acute needs now and the longer-term impacts of the outbreak and recovery. In this first phase, we are prioritizing community-based organizations that are serving communities and individuals who are immediately and disproportionately suffering from this crisis. Our immediate focus areas include access to food; access to health care and prescription medications; access to transportation, and access to child care.

Based upon the charitable structure of the Coronavirus Response Fund, our grants are limited to 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations, groups fiscally sponsored by a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, or other charitable organizations able to receive a tax-deductible contribution, such as schools, faith-based organizations, and other public entities. We will do our best to use philanthropic resources to address needs that are outside of governmental responsibility, but we also appreciate that philanthropy can often act nimbly in a way that government cannot.

The Coronavirus Response Fund will prioritize grants to community-based organizations within the Columbus, GA, area. We are doing this with a recognition that many nonprofits serve workers and residents in our neighboring counties.