$10 Million Milestone for Emergency Grants from MCF: A Single Month Response to COVID-19 Needs in Marin
Posted on April 16, 2020
Share This Page
Addressing the extraordinary needs generated by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Marin Community Foundation (MCF) announced today that it had passed a major milestone of having distributed in the last month alone emergency grants totaling more than $10 million.
MCF has made these urgently-needed grants across a wide array of nonprofit community agencies throughout Marin County, addressing needs for emergency rental assistance, food, child care, medical and social services, as well as for specialized services extended to older adults and people with disabilities.
“The COVID pandemic has impacted everyone in the community, bringing disruption, anxiety and uncertainty to all,” said MCF President & CEO, Dr. Thomas Peters. “But to thousands of already struggling individuals and families it has also brought devastating economic consequences, sudden loss of income, threats to housing and immediate food insecurity.”
The MCF grants have allowed Marin’s network of trusted community nonprofit agencies to augment their services to those most in need. “It’s the striking generosity of MCF donor families from across the Bay Area that supported more than $7 million in emergency grantmaking in a month’s time. They stepped forward with heartfelt compassion and requisite urgency to help make this immediate assistance available,” said Peters.
In addition, funding of over $2 million drawn from the Buck Family Fund of MCF added to the foundation’s support of a number of the most essential safety-net service agencies throughout the county, and to establish a co-funding partnership with the County of Marin that has a central focus on emergency rental assistance, food and child care.
MCF’s $10 million milestone was augmented by the latest round of distributions from the COVID-19 Fund of MCF, which has now supported grants into the community totaling over $1 million. The fund grew courtesy of contributions from scores of MCF donors and other Marin residents, as well as donations from Marin businesses, community groups such as Rotary San Rafael, and donors of regional and national philanthropies.
“All of us at MCF are painfully aware that given the current depth of biological and financial distress, even this multi-million-dollar milestone pales in comparison to the breadth of needs,” added Peters. “But commitment to the health and well-being of our neighbors keeps us determined to marshal as much support as we possibly can.”
**********************
The MCF grants have supported a wide range of Marin’s trusted community nonprofit agencies. This has included, for example, the social and economic assistance services of Adopt A Family of Marin, Community Action Marin, North Bay Community Services, West Marin Community Services, Canal Alliance, Homeward Bound, Ritter Center, Whistlestop, Marin Center for Independent Living, West Marin Senior Services, Marin City Community Services District, St. Vincent de Paul, and the Marin Child Care Council.
Grants for medical care have gone, for example, to Marin Community Clinics, Marin City Health & Wellness Clinic and the Coastal Health Alliance. And support has been distributed for food pantries and delivery by ExtraFood.org, Conscious Kitchen, San Geronimo Valley Community Center, the Agricultural Institute of Marin and the SF-Marin Food Bank.
