Overview & Priorities
The Oakland COVID-19 Relief Fund provided immediate grants to nonprofit organizations working on the frontlines. We are committed to a thoughtful, rapid, and transparent process to disburse the funds collected. The Fund will focus on four priority areas: food, homelessness, community health & education and economic security.
Food Security
Nonprofits are working overtime to get food to our most vulnerable community members, including seniors, children and low-income individuals and families. The Fund will ensure that those hit hardest by the effects of the virus, including those who suffer job loss, can count on support to feed themselves and their families.
Homelessness
The anticipated widespread job loss threatens to worsen homelessness in Oakland and our region. The Fund will work with Bay Area Community Services to deploy resources to organizations providing shelter and services and preventing homelessness through these difficult times.
Community Health & Education
Healthcare workers are fighting the virus and providing care on the front lines. We will make resources available to rapidly fortify community clinics who provide free care to community members who do not have insurance. We are working with La Clinica to open testing sites and support local clinics and health providers. Additionally, there is a critical need to support Oakland students, families, and educators. We are working with the Oakland Public Education Fund to enable successful distance learning, provide rapid relief for the most at-risk families in schools, and to ensure schools are safe and clean for return.
Economic Security
Small businesses, nonprofits, and their workers across Oakland are already feeling the economic impact of COVID-19 closures. Recovering from this will be especially difficult for minority-owned businesses, workers of color, cultural workers and others without a safety net or substantial savings. As a first step, the COVID-19 Relief Fund is partnering with Working Solutions to provide small rapid response grants to very low-income small businesses owners who have lost revenue to COVID-19.
Social Service Partnerships
In order to ensure that resources are available equitably for populations hardest hit by disasters, such as communities most impacted by racial disparities, we will also partner with several large social service organizations who will provide direct services as well as helping us to reach smaller community groups. Please note that, due to the need to deploy funds rapidly and keep overhead costs to a minimum, the COVID-19 Relief Fund is working through existing partnerships with community-based providers and is not accepting proposals or letters of inquiry. See FAQs for links to resources that are accepting applications at this time.
The Fund is also not able to provide direct financial assistance to individuals – we work solely through our community partners. See FAQs for links to resources for individual assistance.
There is still time to donate to the COVID-19 Relief Fund to help support communities impacted by COVID-19. The Relief Fund will be closing on August 1, 2021.