Leadership at the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta and United Way of Greater Atlanta began discussing swift community response. A joint fund was created in less than one week’s time, and the teams began approaching corporate, individual and foundation donors.

Governor Brian Kemp announced that all schools, colleges and universities would close until a to-be-determined date in April. This would set in motion a food insecurity crisis because 20% of students in our region receive free or reduced-cost meals through their schools.

View announcement  »

The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation announced a $5 million commitment to the Fund.

Read the AJC article »

During a briefing of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, Dr. Anthony Fauci recommends face coverings for all Americans; unprecedented unemployment claims are predicted.

View the White House briefing »

Read the Reporter Newspapers »

A second round of grants was announced, with $2.665 million to 14 organizations for emergency response that included financial and legal support for tenants facing eviction, loans for Black business owners, shifts to virtual learning, telehealth infrastructure for nonprofits and expanded testing services.

View the grant announcement »

Read the partner spotlight »

Georgia’s Governor announced a statewide shelter-in-place order.

View Governor Kemp's order »

Third round of grants totaling $4.6 million to 27 organizations was announced, focused on immediate and critical needs to support those most vulnerable. These grants supported education supports, emergency loans for small business owners, emergency financial support for rent and food, health clinics and support for people experiencing homelessness. Nearly one quarter of grants went to smaller organizations with annual budgets under $1 million.

View the grant announcement »

Read Afro News »

United Way and Community Foundation deployed a digital listening tool to capture input from over 300 organizations and community leaders to date.

Fourth round of grants
was announced: $1.8 million to 18 organizations. These grants focused on emergency financial assistance, food distribution and expanded capacity needs for nonprofits facing higher telephone and online outreach from constituents.

Watch the 11 Alive clip »

Fifth round of grants is announced. These grants largely addressed an emerging crisis in education that required a swift and significant financial commitment – technology and connectivity. At the start of the pandemic, an average of 36.5% of students in our 23-county area are estimated to be without devices – with some specific districts as high as 93%.

Read more about ensuring equitable access to learning remotely »

Data continues to confirm that the impact of COVID-19 is being felt hardest amongst our neighbors who are Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC). Black Americans occupy 39% of the jobs at risk of reduced hours, are 30% more likely to have health conditions that increase the risk of getting COVID-19 and exacerbating the effects of the disease, and have a 3.57x higher mortality rate from COVID-19 than White Americans.

A sixth round of grants
is announced, with $5.3 million to 245 nonprofits. These grants were based on an open application process and informed by our[1]  digital listening tool that garnered 650 applications and $69M in grants. The grant review committee, which included 35 staff members from the Community Foundation and United Way and a volunteer advisory committee, placed strong consideration on racial and gender equity in their decisions.

Read the Saporta Report »

View the grant announcement »

Community Foundation and United Way hold deep listening sessions with 33 Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) nonprofit leaders who received grants from the COVID-19 Fund. Valuable input is used to fuel the next wave of grants.

Read more on The Georgia Social Impact Collaborative’s blog »

The Woodruff Foundation commits an additional $2.5 million in funding for ongoing COVID response.

Delta commits $1 million toward the digital divide.

Second open application process opened with an aim of distributing $5.5 million.

Open application receives over 600 requests.

Grants totaling $6.511 million distributed to 214 organizations for education-focused interventions, food insecurity, housing and mental health services. BIPOC-led (Black, Indigenous and People of Color) organizations were prioritized and received 71% of funding. View the grant announcement.