Supporting Grantees in Light of the Ongoing COVID-19 Situation

Lisa Pilar Cowan, vice president of the Robert Sterling Clark Foundation, shared recently how the foundation has started to take action in light of the ongoing impact of the coronavirus "to reflect where we are – off a cliff."

To reflect that reality, she says, "we are making some changes in how the foundation does business." Phil Li, the Robert Sterling Clark Foundation president, sent an email to their grantee partners with the following promises:

  • "Honor current funding commitments to our grantees."
  • "Add one additional year of funding to every grant."
  • "Relax the timing of grant reporting."
  • "Offer virtual office hours to talk through any issues or topics that are present for you and your organization."
  • "Provide a one-year subscription to the Zoom videoconferencing platform, if desired or needed, to help transition your organization to a virtual environment."
  • "Explore short-term responses with other funders."
  • "Advocate within the philanthropic community to convert project-based grants to unrestricted ones to provide more flexibility to grantees."

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