Delaware’s philanthropic community continues to help First State nonprofits affected by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
The Delaware Alliance for Nonprofit Advancement (DANA) is taking another look at the impact the virus is having statewide.
“There are a lot of factors that are playing out in our communities that impact those who live here in Delaware and then of course the nonprofits that provide services,” said DANA president and CEO Sheila Bravo.
She says DANA issued a follow-up online survey to nonprofit organizations statewide in June - assessing their current needs during Phase 2 of Delaware’s reopening and how those needs evolved since their first survey in March.
“I think that we continue to see - from the very beginning in early March - the concerns about having financial resources - was raised," said Bravo. "In some cases, nonprofits that are providing what we’ll call the critical needs support - food, financial assistance, housing and shelter.”
Bravo says some nonprofits have seen the need for their services more than double. And she notes that while many have found ways to navigate COVID-19 and continue to serve, the cost is taking its toll.
“You had a huge surge in service demand and then those agencies needing to have funding to support that," said Bravo. "Then you look at the rest of the sector that are providing services in education, arts and cultural initiatives, the environment and on welfare - a variety of different types of programmatic support to make our communities wonderful places to live in.”
Bravo says the Delaware COVID-19 Emergency Response Initiative - made up of DANA, the Delaware Community Foundation(DCF), Philanthropy Delaware and the United Way of Delaware - has distributed more than $4 million over the last five months to help nonprofits across the First State.
Bravo adds that through the remainder of 2020 - nonprofit sector leaders are inviting businesses, organizations and individuals to help out by renewing their commitment to charitable giving:
- Delaware Does More: COVID-19 Rapid Response Fund at United Way.
- Delaware COVID-19 Strategic Response Fund at the DCF.
