April 2020
Dear Fundholder,
First and foremost, I hope you and yours are in good health and managing well during these difficult circumstances. Strengthened by your partnership, our team is working hard to help address the pandemic throughout the state.
Quarterly Statements & Market Activity
Because we are working remotely, we are providing only online access to fund statements for the quarter ending March 31, 2020, in lieu of printing and mailing statements. Review fund activity 24/7 by logging on to DonorCentral®.
If you need assistance logging in or have other questions, contact Marie Stewart, donor services manager, mstewart@delcf.org or 302.504.5230.
Statements include each fund’s relevant investment pool performance. Each pool’s full dashboard, along with SEI’s Quarterly Review, is available at delcf.org/investments.
While the market has been extremely volatile during the first quarter, to say the least, the performance of the DCF’s portfolios has demonstrated the effectiveness of our investment strategy – and have seen a measurable rebound since the first of April.
The DCF’s investment strategy is designed to maximize growth while preserving capital and minimizing volatility. Our portfolios have taken hits, like everyone else’s, but the losses have been less compared to some of our more aggressive counterparts. This aligns with our goals – steady growth with tempered peaks and valleys.
Our Response to the Pandemic
While the DCF Investment Committee and SEI, our outsourced chief investment officer, continue to focus on wise stewardship of our investments, the rest of the DCF team is deeply engaged in helping the community use philanthropic resources effectively to respond to the pandemic.
On March 18, the DCF launched the Delaware COVID-19 Strategic Response Fund. The fund is part of the Delaware COVID-19 Emergency Response Initiative, a nonprofit collaborative response to the coronavirus. The DCF is partnering with the Delaware Alliance for Nonprofit Advancement, Philanthropy Delaware and United Way of Delaware to coordinate charitable resources to maximize impact statewide during this crisis.
In the past four weeks, we have already awarded $1.2 million in grants from the Delaware COVID-19 Strategic Response Fund to nonprofits throughout the state, addressing homelessness, hunger, health care needs and other issues caused or exacerbated by the pandemic. In the coming weeks, we will continue to award grants for as long as resources allow and community needs persist.
The fund already includes generous gifts from the Longwood Foundation ($1.5 million), Welfare Foundation ($200,000), Crestlea ($100,000), Fund for Women ($100,000), Highmark ($100,000), Laffey-McHugh ($100,000), Discover ($75,000), DCF ($75,000), DuPont ($75,000)and others.
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. In addition, Stripe, our credit card processing company, has agreed to waive fees up to $50,000 for online gifts.
If you would like to contribute, visit delcf.org/covid19-fund. And today you can double your impact! Every dollar that you give to the fund by May 30 will be matched by the Longwood Foundation up to a total match of $500,000.
During this difficult moment in history, we thank you for your continuing partnership in our work to build opportunity for all people in Delaware. We are eager for the day when we can see you again and thank you in person. Until that time, all of us at the DCF are thinking of you with gratitude.
With best regards and thanks for all you do,
Stuart Comstock-Gay
President & CEO
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