BRIDGES awarded $50,000 operating grant
Mid-South COVID-19 Regional Response Fund
announces $2.5 million in grants for recovery and resiliency
Second phase of funding brings total deployed to $4.9 million
MEMPHIS, TENN. (Oct. 1, 2020) – In its second phase of funding, the Mid-South COVID-19 Regional Response Fund, managed by the Community Foundation of Greater Memphis, awarded $2,473,791 to stabilize 78 nonprofits that are directly responding to the significant consequences of, and disparities exacerbated by, the public health crisis.
Since March, the fund has distributed $4,880,291 to serve 138 distinct organizations, focusing on immediate relief in its first phase of funding and recovery and resiliency efforts in its second phase.
Of the 78 agencies served in Phase 2, sixty-three percent are led by executive directors/CEOs of color. Thirty-eight percent have annual operating budgets under $500,000.
“We know that the coronavirus pandemic has only accentuated longstanding inequalities in our community,” said Community Foundation president Robert Fockler. “We are committed to strengthening organizations that serve and represent all sectors of our community. This round of awards not only reflects the Community Foundation’s equity-focused vision for community investing, but also demonstrates our trust in organizations of all sizes to know and ably serve their stakeholders.”
The Mid-South COVID-19 Regional Response Fund is the unified community relief effort to support organizations impacted by novel coronavirus and the economic consequences of the pandemic. To date, individual, corporate, and foundation donors have contributed $5.4 million to the fund. A third phase of recovery grants is to address future COVID-19-related recovery efforts.
About the Mid-South COVID-19 Regional Response Fund:
The Mid-South COVID-19 Regional Response Fund is managed by the Community Foundation of Greater Memphis, in partnership with City of Memphis, Shelby County Government, United Way of the Mid-South, and Momentum Nonprofit Partners/Mid-South Philanthropy Network. It provides flexible funding to nonprofit organizations serving community members dealing with the economic consequences of the outbreak in West Tennessee, Eastern Arkansas, and Northern Mississippi.
About the Community Foundation of Greater Memphis:
The mission of the Community Foundation of Greater Memphis is to strengthen the community through philanthropy. Founded in 1969, the Foundation last year awarded $163 million in grants to nonprofit organizations. The Community Foundation manages 1,200 charitable funds, with assets of $739 million. For more information, visit cfgm.org.
Contact: Julia McDonald, Community Foundation of Greater Memphis, 901.722.0056, jmcdonald@cfgm.org
