Hawkeye Reporter

Delaware State Chamber of Commerce issued the following announcement on April 10

The Delaware Does More COVID-19 Rapid Response Fund (the Fund), managed by United Way of Delaware (UWDE) as part of a coordinated statewide relief effort that includes the Delaware Community Foundation (DCF), the Delaware Alliance for Nonprofit Advancement (DANA) and Philanthropy Delaware (PD), today released an additional $90,000 in community investments aimed at helping Delawareans struggling to find food, shelter, utilities and rent assistance, and other critical services in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis. The second round of funding follows an initial $150,000, which was disbursed on March 27th.

 

Second round recipient organizations (see list below) were selected by a committee of funders including United Way of Delaware, the Santora Group CPAs, Delmarva Power, DuPont, Chesapeake Utilities Corp. and Highmark Health. Recipients were chosen for the strength of their on-the-ground operations in key population areas across the state, and because each has the scope, scale and experience to manage emergency relief efforts.

United Way of Delaware President and Chief Executive Officer Michelle A. Taylor said, “More than three weeks into this crisis, the Rapid Response Fund is helping close resource gaps as an increasing number of Delawareans are turning to the Fund for assistance with critical human needs. By working collaboratively with government and community-based organizations, United Way of Delaware is working hard to provide rays of hope for Delawareans struggling through this terrible time.” Taylor added that UWDE has expanded the scope of its Stand By Me financial coaching program to incorporate strategies for helping new and existing program participants move from COVID-19-related crisis to long-term financial stability. “This crisis will end, and when it does, we want to be sure Delawareans quickly regain their financial footing by developing long-range personal financial strategies now.”

 

In response to the COVID-19 crisis, the Delaware Fund For Women decided to re-direct a $200,000 gift that had been earmarked for programming impacting women and girls, into support for both the Rapid Response Fund ($100,000), managed by UWDE, and the Strategic Response Fund ($100,000), managed by DCF. Commenting on the group’s decision, Fund For Women Chair Lynn Kokjohn, said, “While we recognize that these programs are vitally important to women and girls in Delaware, we also acknowledge that because of the COVID-19 crisis, we are in a very different environment today. We decided to dramatically change course and to re-direct this year’s funding into the critical community work being managed by United Way and the Delaware Community Foundation.”

 

Also as part of its COVID-19 Emergency Response Initiative, UWDE is coordinating with the Delaware Emergency Management Agency, the state Division of Social Services, and the Department of Public Health to provide free access to the Delaware 211 Helpline, now expanded to seven-days-per-week. The 211 Helpline is available to connect residents, including the newly unemployed, with resources to address food insecurity, assistance with housing and utilities expenses, and other critical service needs. And for those who are able to assist in this crisis, UWDE is also providing volunteer matching services through its UVolunteer web portal (www.uwde.galaxydigital.com).

Second-round recipients of the Delaware Does More Rapid Response Fund are:

- Catholic Charities ($25,000)

- First State Community Action Agency ($30,000)

- Latin American Community Center ($25,000)

- Modern Maturity Center ($5,000)

- Delaware 211 ($5,000)

 

A partial list of supporters of the Delaware Does More COVID-19 Rapid Response Fund (to date) includes:

- Bank of America

- Delmarva Power

- DuPont

- Exelon

- Fund for Women

- Highmark Delaware

- Jessie Ball duPont Fund

- JPMorgan Chase

- Longwood Foundation

- M&T Bank

- New Castle County Government

- Santander Bank

- United Way of Delaware

- Wells Fargo Bank

- Wilmington University

- WSFS Bank

- …and a community of caring people

Rapid Response Fund Background

Shortly after the initial reports of the COVID-19 outbreak, United Way of Delaware convened a virtual meeting of more than 100 leaders from state government, nonprofits, foundations and community-based organizations to develop a comprehensive, coordinated response to the crisis. One outcome of the meeting was the formation of the Delaware COVID-19 Emergency Response Initiative, a four-part strategy aimed at addressing immediate and long-term demand for financial help, information and referral services, and coordination of volunteer activities. The Delaware Does More COVID-19 Rapid Response Fund, managed by UWDE, will address near-term demand for financial and other resources; the Strategic Response Fund, managed by DCF, will address some of the operational and capacity needs of nonprofits whose resources are being strained in the current crisis.

Original source can be found here.