COVID-19 Regional Response Fund REPORT

What's In the Report?

The story of how the Fund raised $3,259,139 from individual gifts, private foundations, and philanthropic contributions, as well as the reallocations of our own resources. Included is a list of donors to date.

In responding to community needs, the report contains the $1,456,000 gone back to the community through 120 grants to community organizations, institutions, public agencies, and grassroots leaders within the first five months of the pandemic.

An overview of the role of the Community Response Team, created to rapidly respond, help the area recover, and foster resilience for the remainder of the pandemic—and beyond—additionally provided about 1,500 hours to conduct outreach, direct response support, and guidance.

As COVID-19 emerged, other issues emerged because of our unique rural context. The progress report details how resources were rapidly distributed to address food infrastructure and distribution gaps, lack of capacity for processing goods despite being a food distribution region. Another distinct set of challenges and opportunities, the report addresses, are ones that surfaced around the sovereignty, security, and traditions of the region’s 20 tribal nations. The economic challenges of tribes, individuals, families, nonprofits and small businesses are compounding and pervasive themes throughout the report.

Examples described throughout the COVID-19 Progress Report: Rapid Response, Recovery, and Rural Resilience—led the Humboldt Area Foundation, Wild Rivers Community Foundation and Humboldt Health Foundation to form special projects. Additionally, the foundation collaborative, formed system-adaptation teams to focus on more complex immediate needs. The first five months of response and recovery, whose resilience story is told in the progress report, were used to untangle underlying conditions and develop longer-term solutions. Infrastructure grants and both low interest and zero interest loans—combined with professional and technical support—led to learning more lessons and developing more collaborations for empowering the most vulnerable in the community for capacity building, rebounding and long-term rural resilience.

For contributions, giving and fund information email Luis Chabolla or call 707-267-9905.

For questions about grants from the fund email Sara Dronkers or call 707-442-2993 ext. 307.

For media inquiries email Luis Chabolla or call 707-267-9905.