On behalf of the Directors and staff of The Nelson Foundation, below is an update on what the Foundation has been doing over the last two weeks to support you, our grantee partners:

  • All 2020 second-year installment grant payments are complete and had an expected check receipt date of Friday, April 3, 2020.
  • The Directors have approved grants for the 2020 core spring grantmaking cycle. Award letters are being sent today and electronic grant agreements are due on Friday, April 10, 2020 with the goal of sending payments early next week for receipt by grantees on April 17, 2020. This is approximately three months earlier than usual.
  • Finally, as mentioned previously, the Foundation was one of the initial organizations to contribute to the PHL COVID-19 Fund. I am happy to report that as of April 1st, the fund had more than $10 million committed, including a large number of institutional and individual donors. This week, the fund expects to distribute its first round of grants. Click hereto learn more about the fund and to apply for a grant if needed.
  • In the coming weeks, staff plans to make a second set of recommendations to the Foundation’s Board of Directors to continue to address the disruptions and pain caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Please know that Jenny and I want to be accessible to you as much as possible. As you likely know, a number of new funds and resources have been set up to support nonprofits in the Philadelphia region, from county-specific initiatives to small business funds open to nonprofit applicants, the CARE Act, as well as other tools and resources. While Jenny and I are not experts, we have been making every effort to stay abreast of what is available, and would be happy to be a sounding board for you or to help you navigate the options. So, please feel free to reach out to the Foundation if you would like to talk about the options you have as well as about concerns you have for your organization and the community you serve.

In a final note, we have received a number of calls and emails regarding concern over not being able to meet stated outcomes and expected results. I want to assure you that we understand that nearly every nonprofit is in the same situation with a severe, if not a complete, disruption to normal programming and significant stress financially. Your survival through this tumultuous time is of paramount importance and we recognize that it will take time to get your organization stable and operating normally, so please do not worry about the reporting of your outcomes and results.

We are working to all get through this together! Thinking of each of you.

As much as possible, Stay Home, and Stay Healthy!!!
Mindy