COVID-19 News Digest: June 2020 - Hirsch Philanthropy Partners

Here is this month’s selection of thought-provoking readings and resources that we’ve found useful for navigating the philanthropic response to the coronavirus pandemic:

How the Virus Won | A visualization by the New York Times that analyzes travel patterns, hidden infections and genetic data to show how the epidemic spun out of control. “We traced the hidden spread of the epidemic to explain why the United States failed to stop it. At every crucial moment, American officials were weeks or months behind the reality of the outbreak. Those delays likely cost tens of thousands of lives.”

Philanthropy Rises in Pandemic as Donors Heed the Call for Help | A New York Times article by Paul Sullivan summarizing two reports which show that giving has surged during the pandemic, surpassing donations during the 2008 recession and after 9/11. “Grants to food banks and other food assistance programs were up 667 percent nationally, including more than 800 percent in the Mid-Atlantic. At the same time, donors continued to give to their local and other regular charities, according to the report, which tallied 750,000 transactions to more than 100,000 charities.”

Racial Data Dashboard | A very helpful data tracker by the COVID Tracking Project that provides race and ethnicity data for states that are collecting the data.

Leading Foundations Pledge to Give More, Hoping to Upend Philanthropy | The Ford Foundation, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation are raising their annual payout to 10% or more in response to the health and economic crisis facing the nonprofit sector and the people they serve. “The decision by the five influential foundations — major sponsors of social justice organizations, museums and the arts and environmental causes — could shatter the charitable world’s deeply entrenched tradition of fiscal restraint during periods of economic hardship.”

SF Mayor London Breed Announces Soda Tax Funding Will Provide Emergency Food for People Affected by COVID-19 | A timely announcement from San Francisco Mayor London Breed’s office. “Because the COVID-19 pandemic exploits the pre-existing inequities in our society, it impacts communities that experience health disparities, economic inequality and discrimination more significantly. Due to these impacts, the funds from the Soda Tax will specifically support low-income people; seniors; pregnant and breastfeeding women; and undocumented immigrants.”

As Higher Ed Giving Tanks, What Will Happen to Big Capital Campaigns? | A thoughtful piece in Inside Philanthropy by Mike Scutari, covering the very relevant issue of higher education fundraising in the midst of the pandemic. “Of the institutions that were planning to enter the quiet phase of a campaign during the next fiscal year, 77% are still moving ahead. Three out of four of these institutions say they may change the public launch date, and 10% have already done so. Across all institutions currently in a campaign, 45% say they are ‘still deciding about whether to delay their closing date.’ More than one in 10 have pushed the close date back a year or more.”

Summary of UCSF’s Response Efforts |A report on UCSF’s research on treatments and vaccine, and community support prepared for Hirsch. This link within the report is a great Q&A on vaccine development and immunity. “UCSF epidemiologists and infectious disease specialists will partner with several community organizations and the San Francisco Department of Public Health (SFDPH) to offer comprehensive, voluntary COVID-19 testing to residents of the Bayview, Sunnydale and Visitacion Valley, three medically underserved neighborhoods in the southeast region of the City with significant African-American, Pacific Islander, Chinese and Latinx populations.”

Give2SF COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund | The Latest update on San Francisco’s Response and Recovery Fund. To date nearly $27M has been raised, and $9.8M has gone out to the community.

Update from Silicon Valley Community Foundation on the status of the 7 COVID-19 related response funds they are holding | These are notes from a conversation I had with SVCF staff last week. As shared previously $52M has been raised with $37M having gone out to the community. “Federal assistance continues to be very insufficient across the board, and in particular, the Lead Agencies are seeking ways to support the undocumented community…in some counties two-thirds of all assistance is going to undocumented residents.”