2020 Coronavirus Support for Individuals and Small Businesses Fund

Mercy Corps U.S.

Supporting small businesses: Small business are the backbone of the economy and as communities around the world take precautions of social distancing and self-isolation to protect against COVID-19, the economic impacts are being felt both near and far. Mercy Corps is poised to support small businesses with financial and other immediate and long-term support to overcome any shocks to their business and income, support development of business continuity plans and disseminate critical information. Across the globe, they are drawing on their expertise in delivering emergency cash, business support and online business mentoring through their flagship global platform, MicroMentor, and preparing to help impacted businesses survive and recover. Preventing the spread: Their programming is helping communities protect themselves against the spread of infectious disease by providing information and resources for safe handwashing and other hygienic practices. Their local teams know how critically important it is for communities to have access to clean, safe water and reliable information about hygiene and sanitation.

GiveDirectly

GiveDirectly has launched a national direct-giving response to the COVID crisis in the U.S. They are giving $1,000 digital cash transfers to low-income families enrolled in the federal government’s food assistance program (SNAP) across the country. They launched this program because: Any relief program in the face of this global pandemic needs to be swift, effective and minimize person-to-person interaction. Digital cash meets all of those criteria. This community has been hit hard: 80% of recipients are women, 41% single mothers and 79% report not having enough money or goods to get through >3 days.

Craft Emergency Relief Fund, Inc.

CERF+ was started by artists for artists in the craft community as a grassroots mutual aid effort in 1985 and has since emerged as the leading nonprofit organization that uniquely focuses on safeguarding artists’ livelihoods nationwide. CERF+ serves artists who work in craft disciplines by providing a safety net to support strong and sustainable careers. The COVID-19 Response Fund was created to support artists working in craft disciplines. This fund is essential to our rapid and effective response to those artists who are suffering severe health impacts from the coronavirus, ensuring that CERF+ has the funds necessary to respond to this unprecedented crisis.