Creative philanthropy as a means for offering stability, blessing, and hope

Photo Credit: McCormick Foundation

Every day in the COVID-19 era seems to bring new uncertainty to the social sector. Nonprofits are working overtime to meet the needs of their communities and offer services to help respond to the coronavirus, while at the same time, many are having to completely rethink their general operating procedures — from fundraising strategies to utilizing volunteers.

As PACE has explored the impact of this novel coronavirus on philanthropy, and with calls for increased giving top of mind, we’ve learned that many of our members are mobilizing resources to respond to the pandemic in creative ways. Philanthropy’s willingness to think beyond “traditional” giving strategies does not come natural to some funders, but this type of responsiveness can be invaluable in offering stability and hope during this uncertain time.

Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation has committed to doubling its payout; Robert Sterling Clark Foundation has added a full year to all their grants, including some that ended in 2019. Over 500 foundations (and counting) have pledged to flex their granting and reporting requirements; many of those commitments build off the practices and principles of trust-based philanthropy.

John Esterle of The Whitman Institute wrote recently that “given its financial resources — and the simple legal requirements it must adhere to for spending them — philanthropy has a potentially unique role to play in modeling how to meet the moment we are in with responsiveness, adaptability, and creativity.”

I agree. So I wanted to lift up a couple additional responses we’re seeing from within the PACE membership — some which are very creative and unique, and all which we look forward to learning from into the future.

Some of our members are serving as backbones of collaborative response funds; many are contributing to ones in their areas, too:

• Delaware COVID-19 Emergency Response Initiative aims to align Delaware’s nonprofit community’s efforts in alleviating the impact of the crisis across the state. The partnership between United Way of Delaware, the Delaware Community Foundation, Philanthropy Delaware, and the Delaware Alliance for Nonprofit Advancement ensures a comprehensive response for the state.
• Chicago Community COVID-19 Response Fund is hosted at the Chicago Community Trust as a partnership between the City of Chicago and United Way of Metro Chicago to unite the funds raised by Chicago’s philanthropies, corporations, and individuals to support the region.
• The Robert R. McCormick Foundation teamed up with the MacArthur Foundation, the Chicago Community Trust, the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, the Polk Bros. Foundation, and the Field Foundation to create the Chicago COVID-19 Journalism Support Fund which is granting up to $10,000 for media organizations meeting unique info needs related to COVID-19

Some of our members are employing creative giving techniques for immediate-term, non-bureaucratic engagement that empowers nonprofits organizations, and in some cases, staff to directly support response efforts:

• The Democracy Fund launched a rapid response fund to offer support to smaller grantees “who often have the least flexibility in their budgets to respond to unexpected events.” The fund provides $10,000 for all existing grantees with organizational budgets less than $1.5 million — no application or reporting required.
• The Fetzer Institute was hearing from their employees that they felt blessed, even amidst the uncertainty, and wanted to find ways to translate that to support for others and give back to their community. The foundation launched the “Blessings into Action Fund” which set aside $60,000 so that each of their 60 employees can designate a local nonprofit to receive a $1,000 donation.
• The Houston Endowment is matching up to $1 million in gifts local residents make to the Greater Houston Recovery Fund (in addition to providing their own $1 million lead gift). The Fund is backboned by the United Way of Greater Houston and the Greater Houston Community Foundation.

This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to ways that philanthropy is stepping up to stabilize and support the social sector during this crisis. Where else are you seeing philanthropic creativity on full display right now? Whether tactical or strategic, let’s lift up examples of imagination, purpose, and ingenuity as we all strive to combat the sense of uncertainty and powerlessness many of us are feeling.