Explore weekly segments from the Greater Giving Moment on WKNO 91.1. FM, where Julia McDonald from the Community Foundation of Greater Memphis shares how to give smarter and do more good for your causes and your community.
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(Mar. 17, 2022) Like yours, the Community Foundation’s world changed in March 2020. As the pandemic’s threat was just reaching Greater Memphis, we received a call asking us to lead the local philanthropic response. The result was the Mid-South COVID-19 Regional Response Fund. Over 20 months, the Fund raised and distributed $14.5 million for relief, recovery, and resilience efforts—and in that time, we learned a lot. We really listened to the nonprofits on the front lines helping neighbors in need. While awarding grants to 212 organizations in 47 ZIP codes, we learned a lot.
First: The Mid-South will respond to a call to action. We are a generous city, and nearly 1,000 donations made a huge impact. Second: The COVID crisis disproportionately affected communities of color, and it was important to support organizations by and for Black and brown Memphians. Third: We’re not out of the woods. Nonprofits and small businesses are still feeling the effects and need support as much as ever. Click here to read the Mid-South COVID-19 Regional Response Fund Impact Report.