News

Jul
23

$508K IN PIERCE COUNTY CONNECTED FUNDING Goes To Rapid Response And Emerging Needs Under COVID-19 Conditions

PIERCE COUNTY CONNECTED is an aligned philanthropic response to COVID-19 in Pierce County

Released 7/23/20 5:30pm

Media Inquiries Contact:

VP Communications, GTCF

The PIERCE COUNTY CONNECTED Fund announced its latest round of funding with $507,840 going to 18 local organizations addressing rapid response and emerging needs under COVID-19 conditions. This brings the total funding through PIERCE COUNTY CONNECTED to $4.1 million.

Further requests for funding are now being accepted. Details are available at GTCF’s website.

The following organizations received fund support:

Cassandra Mitchell, Vice President and Corporate Responsibility Officer, Key Bank, and member of the PIERCE COUNTY CONNECTED Funding Committee, “As a Committee, we quickly realized that basic needs like housing, food, and access to healthcare are urgent needs for many communities in Pierce County. In these uncertain times, we are required to be nimble, make timely decisions, and do our best to address the needs of our community. PIERCE COUNTY CONNECTED is committed to our local community and the desire to see everyone thrive. Supporting organizations during this time is critical as they have the ability to make an impact immediately. This impact comes from their history in the communities in which they serve, the trust built with community members and solid relationships, especially with those who are most vulnerable. It is important to PIERCE COUNTY CONNECTED that we all come together and help those in need. Not only as an organization but as individuals. Our community members still need support and if we work together, we can make a difference.”

T’wina Nobles, President & CEO, Tacoma Urban League, “COVID-19 is putting the food services, retail, and accommodation industries at immediate risk. Many women and minority owned businesses are in services such as hair and nail salons and pet care businesses, which have been among the hardest hit. These businesses require close proximity to clients in many cases and the cost for safety items when they already have lost income may be the difference between staying in business and closing up shop. Funds will be used to market to women and minority owned businesses to offer PPE and assess for other needed items or services. This will be done by phone calls and mailings as well as press releases and social media/website/e-newsletters and mentioned in our Straight Talk community conversations series. Our directory of black-owned businesses will be a key starting list to call, for example. We want the community to know we hear them, and we see them, and we will do everything we can to support them.”

Asia Tail, Curatorial Team member, yəhaw̓ – Indigenous Creatives, “COVID-19 is having an outsized impact on Native communities already burdened with higher rates of pre-existing health conditions and socio-economic instability. We are hearing from many Indigenous artists that they have lost their main sources of income with canceled shows and the closure of job sites. In addition to the economic impact, many Indigenous peoples are experiencing higher rates of mental, emotional, and spiritual distress with so many gatherings and in-person services not available. We will use these funds to launch our interrelated Black Lives Matter solidarity and COVID-19 relief work into the next phase in Pierce County and beyond.”

PIERCE COUNTY CONNECTED funding for vulnerable populations under COVID-19 conditions is made possible through generous contributions from 308 individual donors and 54 philanthropic funding partners. So far, contributions to PIERCE COUNTY CONNECTED total a combined $7.3 million.

One funder, CHI Franciscan, supports the community as a partner of health with the enduring goal of fulfilling the spiritual, emotional, and physical needs of the people they serve. Ketul J. Patel, CEO, CHI Franciscan, “The strength of our community to come together and support our neighbors and families during this unprecedented time is inspiring. We are proud to partner with so many organizations that share the same vision of helping our communities through this crisis and recover from the economic and health impacts caused by COVID.”

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PIERCE COUNTY CONNECTED funding partners are committed to delivering rapid funding to organizations in a way that supports their continued services to vulnerable populations with the fewest barriers possible.

The members of the funding committee include: Co-Chair Dona Ponepinto – United Way of Pierce County, Co-Chair Brad Cheney – Ben B. Cheney Foundation, Alisha Fehrenbacher – Elevate Health & One Pierce, Cassandra Mitchell – KeyBank, Georgia Lomax – Pierce County Library System, Holly Bamford Hunt – Bamford Family Foundation, Janece Levien – Greater Tacoma Community Foundation, Jeff Woodworth – Woodworth Family Foundation, Lois Bernstein – MultiCare, Nick Russell – The Russell Family Foundation, Richard Woo – retired CEO The Russell Family Foundation, Seth Kirby – Greater Tacoma Community Foundation, Todd Silver – Todd & Teresa Silver Funds, Tyler Zemanek – Windows of Hope Foundation

Organizations and entities with services based in Pierce County can now submit requests. Information about the funding opportunity can be found at the PIERCE COUNTY CONNECTED Emergency Response Fund web page.

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The PIERCE COUNTY CONNECTED fund was launched as the public health response to COVID-19 in Pierce County escalated on Friday, March 13, 2020. The purpose of the fund is to support organizations in Pierce County providing services that meet urgent health and basic human needs due to COVID-19.

United Way of Pierce County and Greater Tacoma Community Foundation partnered to create the aligned philanthropic response. GTCF seeded the fund with $1,750,000.

Individual donors can make a difference for their communities during COVID-19 by contributing in any way they can. The aligned philanthropies encourage individual donors to give directly to the causes and organizations that matter to them.

To support funding for organizations directly serving vulnerable populations during COVID-19, donors are encouraged to donate to PIERCE COUNTY CONNECTED fund.

DONATE NOW TO PIERCE COUNTY CONNECTED.

https://ssl.charityweb.net/uwpc/COVID19.htm

PIERCE COUNTY CONNECTED FUNDING PARTNERS

Amazon

Anonymous

Ballmer Group

Bates Family Foundation

Beardsley Family Foundation

BECU

Ben B. Cheney Foundation

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Campbell Family Foundation

Campbell/Loan Family Charitable Fund

CHI Franciscan

Columbia Bank

Corry & Donna J. McFarland Foundation

Elevate Health & OnePierce Community Resiliency Fund

Elliott Family Foundation

Foundation for Tacoma Students

JayRay

JP Morgan Chase

Laird Norton Family Foundation

Laird Norton Wealth Management

Laird Norton Trust Company

LT Murray Family Foundation

KeyBank

Korum for Kids Foundation

Laird Norton Foundation

Medina Foundation

MJ Murdock Trust

MultiCare

Names Family Foundation

Oscar T and Olivann Hokold Foundation

Pacific Source

Perigee Fund

Premera Blue Cross

Propel Insurance

Puget Sound Energy Foundation

Rotary 8

Roy & Patricia Disney Foundation

Ruth Foundation

Satterberg Foundation

South Sound 100 Women

Stewardship Foundation

Stolte Family Foundation

The Baker Foundation

The Bamford Foundation

The Russell Family Foundation

Todd & Teresa Silver

Tom and Meg Names Family Foundation

Umpqua Bank

United Way of Pierce County

Wells Fargo

Whisper Foundation

Woodworth Family Foundation

All contributors to PIERCE COUNTY CONNECTED are recognized at United Way of Pierce County’s website. Click here to see the full list.