$3 million awarded to 139 nonprofits since fund launched March 18

For its July grants, the Delaware COVID-19 Strategic Response Fund at the Delaware Community Foundation awarded $210,426 on Friday to 11 nonprofit organizations providing services to communities throughout the state.

Friday’s grants will address a broad range of community needs during the pandemic. Grantees are:

• Delaware Children’s Museum — $20,000 for safety materials for visitors, social distancing signage, sneeze guards and other equipment to ensure a safe reopening.
• Kent-Sussex Industries — $25,000 for equipment and renovation of program space.
• Sussex County Habitat for Humanity — $27,440 for technology for various purposes, including a website redesign to integrate online ReStore sales.
• West End Neighborhood House — $20,086 for an outdoor classroom, disposable masks and a temperature screening system.
• YMCA Delaware — $50,000 to improve indoor safety and air quality through ventilation and filtration.
• Code Purple of Kent County — $25,000 for a food truck to deliver food to the homeless in Kent and Sussex County.
• Delaware Zoological Society — $6,600 for online ticketing software.
• Developing Artists Collaboration (Dewey Artists) — $3,400 for electronics for the Creative Career Service Program. 
• Kalmar Nyckel — $5,400 for a virtual field trip program.
• Serviam Girls Academy — $20,000 to prepare for a safe reopening, including health and safety training for teachers and administration.
• Historic Lewes Farmers Market — $7,500 for signage and equipment to reopen safely.

For grants in the month of July, 49 applicants requested $1.7 million from the COVID-19 Strategic Response Fund.

The fund, which launched on March 18, has awarded $3 million to 139 Delaware nonprofits so far. Through the Community Needs Grants Program, the fund awarded weekly grants March 27-May 22, two rounds of grants in June, and is slated to award monthly grants July-December.

The next application deadline is Aug. 10. For information and to apply, visit delcf.org/community-needs-grants.

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Donations to fund are still needed to respond to community needs, said DCF President & CEO Stuart Comstock-Gay.

“As the pandemic continues, the needs are growing and evolving,” Comstock-Gay said. “We are calling on the community to help local nonprofit organizations get food, shelter, medical care and other essential services directly to the people who need it most. We also must support our workforce, arts community and other sectors to restore our quality of life post-COVID-19.”

The Longwood Foundation, which previously gave $1.5 million to the Strategic Response Fund, recently awarded a $500,000 grant, with the stipulation that the DCF must raise a matching $500,000 from the community by Aug. 31.

To make a gift that qualifies for the match, give at delcf.org/covid19-fund or contact Joan Hoge-North, jhoge-north@delcf.org.

About the Fund

The Strategic Response Fund was established to address the state’s emerging and evolving needs resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Grantees are selected through a rigorous process that involves a diverse team of more than 50 community leaders representing all three counties and a range of areas of expertise.

The fund, a partnership of the DCF and Philanthropy Delaware (PD), already includes generous gifts from the Longwood Foundation ($1.5 million), Barclays ($700,000), New Castle County ($500,000), Welfare Foundation ($300,000), CSC ($100,000), Crestlea Foundation ($100,000), Fund for Women ($100,000), Highmark ($100,000), Laffey-McHugh ($100,000), Discover ($75,000), DCF ($75,000), DuPont ($75,000), M&T ($50,000), WSFS Bank ($50,000), JP Morgan Chase ($30,000), Bank of America ($25,000), Capital One ($25,000), TD Bank ($25,000) and others.

Nearly 300 individual donors have donated $135,000. The DCF also has waived all administrative fees for this fund, so that 100 percent of the funds are going to organizations helping people in need. 

The Delaware COVID-19 Strategic Response Fund is part of the Delaware COVID-19 Emergency Response Initiative, a nonprofit collaborative response to the 2020 coronavirus pandemic. The DCF, DANA, PD and United Way of Delaware are partnering to coordinate charitable resources to maximize impact statewide during this crisis. To contribute, visit delcf.org/covid19-fund.