In its fourth and fifth round of grants, the Delaware COVID-19 Strategic Response Fund awarded $488,000 to 13 nonprofit organizations providing services to communities throughout the state.
The fund has awarded nearly $2 million in funding.
The grants will address a broad range of community needs during the pandemic. Grantees are:
- Arise Delaware – $4,300 to purchase sensory equipment to lend to families with special needs children in Kent County.
- Boys & Girls Clubs of Delaware – $30,000 to provide food to families in Wilmington.
- Catholic Charities – Diocese of Wilmington – $12,500 to provide case management for families in need statewide.
- Central Delaware Habitat for Humanity – $35,000 to complete construction of houses and provide mortgage relief for families in Kent County.
- Christina Cultural Arts Center – $15,000 to provide distance learning support for underserved families in Wilmington.
- Communities in Schools Delaware –$12,500 to provide technology for staff supporting underserved students statewide.
- Community Education Building –$5,000 to provide laundry services for low-income families in Wilmington.
- Delmarva Community Services – $5,700 for technology to serve residents of group homes for developmentally delayed individuals in Sussex County.
- Family Promise of Northern New Castle County –$25,000 for housing for homeless families.
- Ingleside Homes – $30,000 to pay for staff and supplies for additional cleaning and individual meal delivery to residents.
- Rehoboth Art League – $15,000 to help pay for staff and maintenance of facilities.
- Survivors of Abuse in Recovery (SOAR) – $3,000 for technology to support telehealth.
- Sussex County Habitat for Humanity – $40,000 to complete construction of houses and provide mortgage relief for families in Sussex County.
- A Wave of Healthy Meals – $2,000 to provide meals for medically fragile individuals in Sussex County.
- Choir School of Delaware – $17,500 to provide virtual afterschool tutoring to students in Wilmington.
- Children & Families First – $20,000 for technology to continue providing telehealth and state-mandated monitoring.
- ContactLifeline – $7,000 to increase staffing meet increasing demand for the statewide crisis intervention hotline.
- Delaware Breast Cancer Coalition – $15,000 to support social platforms and communications tools to provide survivors with mental health services.
- Delaware Center for Justice – $25,000 to serve individuals statewide re-entering the community after incarceration.
- Delmarva Adult & Teen Challenge Home of Hope – $25,000 to provide housing and services for individuals recovering from addiction in Sussex County.
- Frederica Senior Center – $10,500 to purchase food and personal hygiene items for seniors and veterans in Kent and Sussex County.
- Friendship House – $30,000 to provide housing for homeless individuals in New Castle County.
- Latin American Community Center – $25,000 to provide emergency support for low-income immigrant families in Wilmington.
- St. Patrick’s Center – $20,000 to set up outdoor distribution of food and hygiene kits for vulnerable populations in Wilmington.
- What is Your Voice – $8,000 for technology to serve victims of violence in Sussex County.
- YMCA of Delaware – $50,000 for food for the community statewide and the residents of the Central Y.
The fund, which launched on March 18, has awarded $1.5 million to 62 Delaware nonprofits so far.
The fund will provide weekly grants through Memorial Day. The grants program will then resume two weeks later, as described here.
The fund will accept additional grant applications on June 1 and June 15. These grants will be focused on strengthening sectors largely upheld by nonprofits, including the arts, culture, environment, workforce development, animal welfare and others.
The June grants will target nonprofit organizations – both large and small – playing key roles in various sectors, throughout the state. This program is still being developed, and additional information is not yet available. Specific guidelines and applications will be announced in May on the websites and social media channels of DANA, the DCF and PD.
The council is actively raising money to be able to respond to community needs, said Stuart Comstock-Gay, who chairs the council.
“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 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 May 30.
To make a gift that qualifies for the match, give at delcf.org/covid19-fund or contact Joan Hoge-North, jhoge-north@delcf.org.Applications will be accepted until Monday noon.
The fund, which is being directed by Philanthropy Delaware President Cynthia Pritchard, already includes gifts from the Longwood Foundation ($1.5 million), Welfare Foundation ($200,000), Fund for Women ($200,000), Highmark ($100,000), Laffey-McHugh ($100,000), Discover ($75,000), DCF ($75,000), WSFS Bank ($25,000) 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.
