Charting the Course: Philanthropy’s Response to COVID-19 in 2021
There is no denying that a long road remains ahead of the United States in 2021. Even as a new year brought with it fresh hope for a more coordinated federal response and vaccine rollout, in January we saw the disease’s deadliest day to date overlooked as media outlets covered an insurrection at the nation’s Capitol. Bringing an end to the COVID-19 pandemic, ensuring equitable economic recovery, and healing a deeply divided nation are all monumental undertakings that must be achieved in the next year.
This is a critical moment for philanthropy to continue and deepen its support for the populations most impacted by the pandemic. In the first half of 2020 alone, independent philanthropic organizations gave $1.7 billion in COVID response funding globally, and total philanthropic giving, including corporations and corporate foundations totaled $11.9 billion. This support has been critical in providing health and economic relief to millions of people across the world.
In order to achieve this scale of giving so quickly last year, many philanthropies rapidly pivoted from previously planned giving, shifting their portfolios to meet the highest needs of their grantees. Funding in 2020 was more reactive than other, more meticulously planned and executed, years. At the start of 2021, there are key ways the philanthropic sector can build towards longer-term recovery and resilience as we continue to contend with the virus and its aftermath in the months and years ahead.
As foundations begin to develop their giving strategies for 2021, there are many well documented best practices for the giving process — flexible funding, quick awards, and non-burdensome reporting, for instance.
What has been less widely discussed is how these philanthropies should be forming their strategies for determining what interventions they should support in the year ahead.
How can philanthropies accelerate positive outcomes for the communities they serve? How can they mitigate the negative impacts of the pandemic for those most at risk? And how can philanthropy promote long-term change and resilience?
Unlike last year, philanthropic funders can be more intentional and planful when addressing the very real current and future needs during the still raging pandemic.
Here are three key considerations for philanthropy as organizations develop their 2021 COVID giving strategies:
1. Give in ways that will impact or serve those suffering the most.
Some populations have been, and will continue to be, disproportionately impacted by the pandemic from both an economic and health perspective. Black, Latinx, people of color and tribal communities are getting sick and dying from COVID-19 at rates up to 1.5 times their share of the population. In August of 2020, the CDC released data showing that Blacks, Latinos, and American Indians were experiencing hospitalizations at rates 4.5 to 5.5 times higher than non-Hispanic whites. A recent study led by Princeton University researchers found life expectancy for Black Americans is projected to shorten by 2.10 years to 72.78 years, and for Latinos, by 3.05 years to 78.77 years as a result of the pandemic.
These populations are also those that have been hardest hit economically. Nearly 12% of the country is living in poverty. Poverty rates have risen the most among Black families, families with children, women, and those with a high school education or less. These populations are more likely to work in high-exposure jobs in the most impacted industries. Women have struggled enormously across the board, as the pandemic has exacerbated traditional household power dynamics. One study found that “one of four women who became unemployed during the pandemic reported the job loss was due to a lack of childcare, twice the rate of men surveyed.”
There are a few interventions philanthropy could consider. From a public health perspective, efforts to address vaccine hesitancy in Black and brown communities, as well as with healthcare workers and other trusted community messengers, will be critical. Philanthropy might support community-based organizations leading these messaging efforts in the neighborhoods they serve. Economic responses could include philanthropic investment in jobs and workforce initiatives that focus on building pathways to high quality jobs for those who have historically not had access to them, or grants to support affordable childcare, enabling caretakers to return to the workforce.
As the economy continues to take a K shaped recovery, disparities between the wealthy and the poor will widen. Those who have struggled to feed their families and pay for the roof over their heads will continue to face these challenges. It is imperative that philanthropies continue to invest in these communities and keep these populations at the heart of their work.
2. Align COVID giving with broader philanthropic goals to move the needle.
By assessing drivers of the pandemic and economic recovery, as well as their own institutional capabilities and strategic goals, philanthropies can narrow in on what type of work aligns best with their intended impact footprint for 2021.
There are several key health-related and economic factors that will affect the course of the pandemic, how quickly it can be ended, and how effectively the country can recover. Health drivers, like the vaccine and its roll out, contact tracing, testing, and bolstering the country’s health infrastructure will all be instrumental in bringing an end to the pandemic in the near term. Economic levers like business and workforce development, basic needs including housing and food insecurity, and education and early childhood will all play a role in the nation’s recovery moving forward.
All organizations have unique capabilities that enable them to make an impact in differentiated ways. These should be embraced when considering a strategy for supporting those affected by COVID in 2021, as it will allow for meaningful change in the areas that philanthropy is best positioned to address. Foundations that currently work on climate and sustainability do not necessarily need to drop what they are doing to work on business and workforce development in order to bring an end to the pandemic. Rather, they could consider how COVID recovery fits into their existing theory of change — if economic recovery is a pillar of COVID recovery, perhaps a climate funder could explore partnerships to fund a green jobs initiative, focused on low-income populations that lost their jobs during COVID. Long-term strategic goals that are oriented towards specific broader outcomes are still valuable, and do not need to be abandoned to meet the moment.
Foundations should also consider the time frame of potential funding opportunities. Smaller, more nimble, community organizations may be better positioned to provide immediate relief to the populations they serve. This work might include continuing to support basic needs with direct cash assistance to struggling families, funding to local food banks, and local affordable housing initiatives, such as rent relief and assistance programs. Larger institutional foundations should consider funding community organizations to do immediate relief work, and focus other, more involved, funding efforts on longer-term recovery initiatives, such as a large jobs training program, piloting and scaling innovative approaches, or reimagining the country’s public health infrastructure.
3. Understand what will be covered by the most recent federal stimulus and what the Biden administration is planning for, then find ways to amplify impact and fill the gaps.
In the final days of the Trump administration, Congress passed a stimulus to provide overdue relief to many Americans. While the bill is an important step, it is far from comprehensive. The most recent stimulus will offer extended unemployment benefits, targeted aid for small business, and individual cash payments; it will not, however, cover undocumented immigrants, small businesses that do not qualify for loans, working mothers, training for unemployed Americans, or those that do not qualify for federal unemployment insurance.
The Biden Administration has committed to a “Build Back Better” economic recovery plan, which includes providing immediate relief to working class families, small businesses, and communities disproportionately impacted by the crisis. Democratic control of Congress should enable Biden to rapidly pass both economic relief as well as implement a robust COVID support package. In order to be effective in supporting economic recovery, it will be important for philanthropy to understand who is being helped by federal and local government, and seek ways to bolster these initiatives, including through public private partnerships where there is alignment. An equally important role for philanthropy is to identify and help fill gaps not met by the government response.
Many organizations have already played a critical role by participating in strategic public-private partnerships that have leveraged government funding and extended the reach and impact of COVID relief initiatives. The state of California successfully launched 27 public-private partnerships in 2020 that totalled $3.9 billion in philanthropic contributions, and leveraged $1.34 billion in public funding. One example of such a partnership is the Immigrant Resilience Fund, in which Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees, the CA state government, and over 70 philanthropic partners contributed to a combined $150 million fund that provided direct cash assistance to undocumented immigrants in California that were not eligible for any federal stimulus support. Examples of successful public-private partnerships exist across the country, in Austin, Texas; Jackson, Michigan; Rochester, New York, and in countless other cities, counties, and states.
These are just a few lenses through which philanthropy can develop a giving strategy for COVID-19 response in 2021. There are many other questions philanthropic organizations could consider and much remains unknown with regard to the pandemic and how it may play out in the year to come, and the process of developing a giving strategy may feel daunting. My hope is that these considerations can help guide philanthropies to make strategic decisions that have a meaningful impact on the lives of those struggling most during this dark time in the country’s history.
Last year, philanthropy rose to the challenge and in ways big and small provided immediate relief and support during a public health crisis that shook the world to its core. This year offers the opportunity for knowledge sharing, partnership and collaboration, all of which are tools for philanthropy to build a better, more equitable, and more resilient, future.
