COVID-19: Response and Recovery Resources for Giving Families

This Content Collection was curated in the spring of 2020 to compile funding opportunities, resources, and tools in the immediate wake of COVID-19 and the widespread calls for racial justice. More recent resources on how family funders are adapting their practices following the crises, can be found in these Content Collections:

Balancing Purpose, Payout, and Permanence: Strategy Guide

This Strategy Guide and the accompanying Discussion Guide were produced in partnership with the Council on Foundations to help you answer one of the most essential questions: How much should we spend?

Balancing Purpose, Payout, and Permanence

Report

How much should we spend? This is an essential question for foundations, and one of the most complex, particularly in moments of change or turmoil. This Strategy Guide invites you to reflect more deeply on how your foundation chooses to balance four factors—purpose, conditions and trends, time horizons, and assets…

Issue Brief: Leadership in Difficult Times: Guidance for Donors and Families

This guide offers an initial compilation of lessons and inspirations to help donors and families act in the near-term, as well as a variety of tips for family philanthropy’s long-term response. Included are ideas and resources from giving families, family funders, and philanthropy leadership organizations.

Leadership in Difficult Times: Guidance for Donors and Giving Families

Report

Leadership in Difficult Times provides resources and inspiration from giving families, funders, and philanthropy organizations for short-term responses to the COVID-19 and economic crises.

COVID-19 Response and Recovery Funds

This list and map of funds were compiled in partnership with Giving Compass. We invite you to browse funds both locally and nationally that were created or activated in response to COVID-19. Please email maggie.mcgoldrick@ncfp.org to submit your fund for consideration.

NCFP Community Conversation Webinars and Recordings

June 25, 2020

Using an Equity Lens in COVID-19 Response and Recovery

In many ways, the COVID-19 crisis is one of equity. Those who were more at-risk at the beginning of the crisis have fewer safety nets, less support, and deeper challenges, and many nonprofits who are positioned to support these communities face those same barriers. With data now confirming the unequal…

June 12, 2020

Grantmaking Strategies for Family Funders: Supporting Resiliency and Recovery

We know from past disasters that there are many phases of rebuilding and recovery, and during this time there is a great risk to populations whose needs will not be supported. How do you identify those needs and what strategies will work best? How do you decide what portion of…

May 27, 2020

Collaborative Philanthropy in the Time of COVID-19

Creating an organized collaboration among funders has proven to be a powerful mechanism to collectively achieve greater impact. As COVID-19 continues to spread across the globe and affect nearly every corner of society, collaboration is needed more than ever. In response to COVID-19, philanthropy must quickly adapt to the crisis…

May 14, 2020

Funder Collaboration: Leveraging Partnerships for Outsized Impact

No matter your current strategies or focus, leveraging a trusted and proven intermediary can help you make the most of your philanthropic assets. By convening and collaborating with peer funders and community leaders working to find solutions to shared issues, you bring expertise to your partnerships and a deep knowledge…

April 29, 2020

Financial Stewardship in Troubled Times: Managing Endowments and Spending Policies

The economic downturn that has resulted from COVID-19 has many funders worried about the state of their endowments and long-term philanthropic investments. In this webinar, join a candid dialogue between an investment professional and family foundation leader as they discuss the state of the market, how to assess and protect…

Chalkboard with graph that is increasing

April 15, 2020

Beyond 5%: Increasing Support in a Time of Crisis

The COVID-19 pandemic has created unprecedented need in communities across the globe, yet the economic crisis is threatening the very existence of the nonprofits who provide essential services. What can funders do to help during this difficult and unprecedented time? NCFP has joined other key philanthropic support organizations to urge…

April 1, 2020

Ask the Lawyer: Legal Issues Related to COVID-19 Grantmaking

Join Andras Kosaras, Counsel at Arnold & Porter, for an open discussion on legal issues that have arisen for philanthropic families and foundations during COVID-19. Andras will present advice and updated guidance on topics including: Governance issues in times of emergency (e.g., board meetings/action, “emergency bylaws,” individuals authorized to take…

March 27, 2020

Family Philanthropy’s Response to COVID-19

COVID-19 poses an existential threat to the lives of millions and communities across the globe. There are many unknowns at this point; yet as the world waits, giving families are searching for ways to help and provide support. Grantee communities who were at risk before COVID-19 will now be faced…

NCFP Friends of the Family: COVID-19 Grants and Support

COVID-19 Grants and Support from NCFP Friends of the Family

Sample

Ausherman Family Foundations Joins Frederick County COVID-19 Collaborative Gulf Coast, Barancik Foundation Award First Grants from COVID-19 Response Initiative The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation, the Wilbur and Hilda Glenn Family Foundation, and the Zeist Foundation join Coalition Funding The Farmer Fund COVID-19 Emergency Relief Campaign The Arthur M. Blank…

Articles and Resources

There are a growing number of helpful resources and perspectives on how philanthropic families and donors can best understand and respond to the COVID-19 crisis. Below are several initial resources that we have found to be most useful. NCFP staff will continue to update this list with more current information as it becomes available; please let us know if you have a resource to suggest.

Read the latest on our blog for other resources and perspectives on COVID-19.

A Conversation with Dr. Chris Murray of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation

Blog Post

NCFP President and CEO Nick Tedesco recently interviewed Dr. Chris Murray, Chair and Professor of Health Metric Sciences and Director of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington. IHME has been a leader in COVID-19 data capturing and projections. Dr. Murray discussed the role of…

Family Foundation Messaging to Grantees

Ball Brothers Foundation

Barr Foundation

Charles Stewart Mott Foundation

Conrad N. Hilton Foundation

David and Lucile Packard Foundation

Field Foundation of Illinois

GHR Foundation

Heising-Simons Foundation

Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund

Walter & Elise Haas Fund

Walton Family Foundation

William Caspar Graustein Memorial Fund

Zellerbach Family Foundation

Difficult Discussions

Difficult Discussions at Difficult Times (NCFP)

Expanding Your Comfort Zone: A Window Into Risk in Family Philanthropy (NCFP)

Essential Questions for Foundation Boards in a Time of Crisis (Center for Effective Philanthropy)

Six Questions to Guide Your Pandemic Charitable Giving (Urban Institute)

Endowments: Balancing Increasing Grantmaking Needs with Decreasing Returns

Recent strategies and perspectives:

Balancing Purpose, Payout, and Permanence: Strategy Guide (NCFP and COF)

In the Time of Coronavirus: Can nonprofits and foundations use their endowments as a resource for recovery? (Dorothy A. Johnson Center for Philanthropy)

Foundations Can Increase Payout: Here’s How (FSG)

Mission First: Giving Counter-Cyclically (Center for Effective Philanthropy)

Amid the Covid-19 Crisis, Foundations Should Stop Treating the 5% Payout as Holy Writ (The Chronicle of Philanthropy)

An Update on Our COVID-19 Response (Larry Kramer, William and Flora Hewlett Foundation)

Grant Maker Dilemma: Spend More Now or Protect Shrinking Endowments? (The Chronicle of Philanthropy)

The Power And Precedent Of Countercyclical Grantmaking: What The Funders Who Gave More During The Great Recession Can Teach Philanthropy During The Covid-19 Crisis (HistPhil)

Accessing Charitable Endowment Funds to Address Critical Needs During COVID-19 (Davis Wright Tremaine LLP)

The Need to Up Giving Levels Even When You Have Less (Center for Effective Philanthropy)

Now Is the Time for Philanthropy to Give More, Not Less (The Chronicle of Philanthropy)

How Bridge Loans Can Aid Nonprofits and Social Enterprises Through the Covid-19 Crisis (Barron’s)

Response to COVID-19: Bridge Loans Strategy (Open Road Alliance)

Spending, flexibility, and dealing with economic downturns (William and Flora Hewlett Foundation)

A ‘Balancing Test’ for Foundation Spending (Stanford Social Innovation Review)

Market Volatility in the Face of COVID-19 (Exponent Philanthropy)

Foundation Grantmaking over the Economic Cycle (Urban Institute)

The Ethical Argument for Foundations to Increase Their Annual Payout Rate Beyond 5% (Vu Le)

Prudent Portfolio Management in an Uncertain Time: Best Practices for an Investment Committee (Goldman Sachs)

NCFP Passages Issue Briefs with Lessons Learned from Past Financial Crises:

Managing Risk: Board Oversight of Foundation Investments (NCFP, 2010)

Families Step Up to Meet Economic Crisis (NCFP, 2009)

Giving Until it Hurts: Coping with a Tough Economy (NCFP, 2003)

Equity and Social Justice

Shifting Practices, Sharing Power? How US Philanthropy is Responding to the 2020 Crises (Council on Foundations, Dalberg Advisors, Philanthropy California)

Fighting COVID-19’s Disproportionate Impact on Black Communities With More Precise Data (Stanford Social Innovation Review)

Overcoming Racial Bias in Philanthropic Funding (Stanford Social Innovation Review)

Racial Equity and Philanthropy: Disparities in Funding for Leaders of Color Leave Impact on the Table (The Bridgespan Group)

In Philanthropy, Race is Still a Factor in Who Gets What, Study Shows (The New York Times)

COVID-19: In Color, By the Numbers (Embrace Race)

Bainum Family Foundation: COVID-19 Decisions Must Protect the Most Marginalized and Vulnerable (NCFP)

COVID-19: Using a Racial Justice Lens Now to Transform Our Future (NCFP)

Philanthropy in the Time of COVID-19 (NCFP)

Fair Resource Allocation During the COVID-19 Pandemic (Ruderman Family Foundation)

Here’s How Nonprofits Can Get Americans to Fight the Racism Laid Bare by Covid-19 (The Chronicle on Philanthropy)

Five Ways Donors Can Act Now For A More Just Post-Pandemic World (Giving Compass)

Coronavirus and Racial + Social Equity: Centering Justice During Times of Uncertainty and Four Things You Can do Right Now (The Justice Collective)

The Coronavirus Crisis: An Unprecedented Opportunity to Advance Authentic Disability Inclusion in our Sector and Beyond (Candid)

Coronavirus: Wisdom from a Social Justice Lens (Podcast from Irresistible fka Healing Justice Podcast)

The Hardest Hit: Who is Supporting Communities of Color During COVID-19? (Inside Philanthropy)

Talking About COVID-19: A Call for Racial, Economic, and Health Equity (Opportunity Agenda)

Ten Equity Implications of the Coronavirus COVID-19 Outbreak in the United States (NAACP)

Grantmaking

Ask the Center: Loosening Restrictions on Grants During COVID-19 Crisis (NCFP)

The Power and Precedent of Countercyclical Grantmaking (HistPhil)

6 Steps for Grant Makers to Take Now to Ensure Nonprofits Recover From Coronavirus Spread (The Chronicle of Philanthropy)

Foundations: Use Your Balance Sheet to Help (FSG)

Help for Nonprofits During the Coronavirus and Uncertain Economic Times (The Chronicle of Philanthropy)

How Philanthropists Are Helping During the Crisis (The New York Times)

Philanthropy Has a Duty to Respond Quickly to the COVID-19 Outbreak. Here’s How We Can Do It (Inside Philanthropy)

Risk Management Toolkit (Open Road Alliance)

What Philanthropy Can Do Today to Support Grantees Through the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Crisis (The Bridgespan Group)

Impact Investing

Rapid Response Funding Partnerships in the Fight Against SARS-CoV-2 (NCFP)

COVID-19 Recoverable Grants & Investments (CapShift)

A Message to Our Mission Investing Partners on the Foundation’s COVID-19 Response (The David and Lucile Packard Foundation)

How Impact Investors Can Respond to COVID-19 (Arabella Advisors)

Place-Based Impact Investing Collaborations: Opportunities For Cross-Sector Partnerships That Drive Change (Giving Compass; Mission Investors Exchange)

Three Ways for Impact Investors to Respond to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic (The Bridgespan Group)

Operations and Self-care

4-7-8 Breathing Exercises (Dr. Andrew Weil)

10 Habits of a Healthy Family Culture (Pullen Consulting Group)

11 Things You Can Do to Manage Your Coronavirus Anxiety (WBUR)

Anxiety and Purpose: How to Handle the Stress Around COVID-19 (Six Seconds, The Emotional Intelligence Network)

Coronavirus Anxiety: Coping with Stress, Fear, and Uncertainty (HelpGuide)

Coronavirus Healthy Habits for Emotional Well Being (ChangeDirection)

How to Facilitate Effective Virtual Meetings (Beth Kanter)

How to Get People to Actually Participate in Virtual Meetings (Harvard Business Review)

Virtual Meetings Untangled (BoardSource)

Wellbeing in Times of Uncertainty (Full Frame Initiative)

What One Nonprofit Has Learned About Telework After a Bumpy Start (The Chronicle of Philanthropy)

Resources for Grantees

As COVID-19 Pushes Some Nonprofits to the Brink, at What Point Do Donors Abandon Ship? (Inside Philanthropy)

Nonprofit COVID-19 Survey Results (La Piana Consulting)

COVID-19: What Nonprofits Should Do Right Now (Nonprofit Finance Fund)

Crisis Funding and Debt: What Organizations Need to Know (Nonprofit Finance Fund)

Cutting Through the Jargon: How the CARES Act Works for Nonprofits (Nonprofit Quarterly)

Responding to the Coronavirus Outbreak: Resources to Help Nonprofits (The Chronicle of Philanthropy)

Nonprofit Coronavirus Resources (Massachusetts Nonprofit Network)

Statements on Philanthropy’s Response to Specific Populations

We Must Be in It for the Long Haul: Black Foundation Executives Request Action by Philanthropy on Anti-Black Racism (ABFE)

Joint Statement on Collective Care in Response to COVID-19 (The Circle on Philanthropy and Aboriginal Peoples in Canada, International Funders for Indigenous Peoples, Native Americans in Philanthropy)

Open Letter to Philanthropy: The Cure to Viral Racism is Within Our Hands (Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy)

Statement on Coronavirus Outbreak (Hispanics in Philanthropy)