Responding to COVID-19

Dear Friends of the Foundation,

I am writing to share what we are doing to help mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 coronavirus on the health of our community, our staff, our partners, and our collective work as we move through this situation together.

PROVIDING CRITICAL RESOURCES

As the capital region’s community foundation, we are uniquely positioned to respond to local emergencies, like those that are resulting from the novel coronavirus pandemic.

In mid-March, we activated our Sacramento Region Disaster Relief Fund, which we seeded with an initial investment and which has grown with the support of fundholders, individual donors, and other regional partners. Those partners include The California Endowment; The James B. McClatchy Foundation; Blue Shield of California Foundation; Sierra Health Foundation, as part of the Donate4Sacramento campaign; Pacific Gas and Electric Company, the primary funder of The PG&E Corporation Foundation; Aerojet Rocketdyne Foundation; Wells Fargo; California Healthcare Foundation; Nugget Markets; Intel Employees; and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

After surveying hundreds of area nonprofits to assess the immediate- and long-term impacts the coronavirus will have on their work, we are now rapidly deploying emergency funding into the community. To date, we have awarded over $840,500 to 118 organizations that provide vital services within the Sacramento region — including emergency assistance, food security, healthcare, and childcare — and face severe operational challenges and non-recoverable expenses as a result of this pandemic. 

Read about grants from the Fund

Awards from the Relief Fund are flexible, one-time grants to benefit nonprofits in El Dorado, Placer, Sacramento, or Yolo counties.  

DONATE TO SUPPORT RESPONSE EFFORTS

We invite donors to contribute to this effort with a gift to the Sacramento Region Disaster Relief Fund. 

GIVE WITH A CREDIT CARD TODAY

Foundation Donor Advised Fundholders: You can make a grant from your charitable fund to support this effort through the donor portal. Please contact Chelsea Fahr, Director of Donor Engagement, with any questions at chelsea@sacregcf.org or (916) 921-7723 ext. 2021. 

In addition to these efforts, we want you to also be aware that the Foundation is among a coalition of philanthropic, government, and business leaders that recently launched “Donate4Sacramento,” a campaign to deploy resources to individuals, small businesses, and nonprofits impacted by COVID-19 in Sacramento County. A portion of the donations made to the campaign will be specifically set aside for nonprofit support and sent to and distributed through our Sacramento Region Disaster Relief Fund. 

This outbreak will have cascading effects on the nonprofits that serve the capital region. We have heard from so many nonprofit partners who report they have lost revenue or are likely to lose future revenue due to canceled events and programs. We urge you to consider giving to organizations you regularly support, and those that need your help at this unprecedented moment. When giving, consider making your gifts unrestricted, which allows nonprofit professionals the ability to put donations to work where they believe the need is greatest, whether it be direct program costs or operational needs.

PREVENTING THE SPREAD OF THE VIRUS

In addition to providing critical resources for local nonprofits, we have taken action to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in our community. We are monitoring information from public health authorities and following their recommendations. As a result, we have postponed all upcoming in-person events or have moved them online. We thank you for your understanding.

The Foundation’s business continuity plan is designed to ensure our operations continue should unexpected challenges like the COVID-19 pandemic occur, so we are able to carry on serving this community on your behalf. If you have any questions or comments, we invite you to reach out to our team.

Like you, our thoughts are with those whose lives are affected by this pandemic in our community and around the world. We are always heartened by the Sacramento region's response to crises and are inspired by our community’s resilience. Thank you, and we send our best wishes for good health to all.

Sincerely,

Linda Beech Cutler
Chief Executive Officer