The global COVID-19 pandemic affects all of us on a deeply human level, but it disproportionately affects countless human beings in vulnerable and marginalized populations. We’ve cultivated this list of ways to help in the current crisis and also get the help you need, with charitable organizations, volunteer programs, resources to understand the CARES Act and much more.
Multi-Sector Charitable Funds | |
|---|---|
| ORGANIZATION | HOW IT COULD HELP |
| Silicon Valley Bank COVID-19 Response Fund | This fund is dedicated to stopping the spread of COVID-19, supporting medical response, and mitigating the social cost of this pandemic by providing relief to affected families. |
| Center for Disaster Philanthropy COVID-19 Response Fund | Directs donations to benefit healthcare workers and clinics, quarantined and especially vulnerable individuals, including hourly wage earners, workers in the gig economy, immigrant/New American populations, older adults, people with disabilities and other communities vulnerable to the physical health, mental health and economic impacts of the pandemic. |
| Tides Foundation | An emergency response fund to support a social ventures network of 140+ fiscally-sponsored organizations that advance innovative solutions, improve lives, and drive lasting social change. These social ventures have increased demand to serve high-risk communities or those who have suffered unrecoverable losses due to COVID-19. |
Lists of Multiple Charities Directly Helping with Coronavirus | |
|---|---|
| ORGANIZATION | HOW IT COULD HELP |
| ImpactAssets COVID Response Funds | The ImpactAssets COVID Response Funds rapidly deploy charitable donations to worthy causes addressing the most pressing issues emerging from the pandemic. The Funds will dynamically evolve as the world moves through stages of response, recovery and reinvention. Donations will be allocated to beneficiaries as forgivable loans, low-interest loans, project-based donations and other impact investing structures. |
| Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors | Suggestions and Clearinghouse of Recommendations for Donors. |
| Eldercare Locator | With this tool, you can find all of the local organizations assisting older people in your community and support them directly. |
| COVID-19 Mutual Aid Fund for LGBTQI+BIPOC Folks | Support for the LBGTQI community. |
| Navajo & Hopi Families COVID-19 Relief Fund | Helps Navajo and Hopi families affected by Coronavirus. |
| Charity Navigator | List of COVID-19 helping charities, by sector; from medical supplies to relief agencies, domestic to global. |
| National Center on Family Philanthropy | Compiled in partnership with Giving Compass, these funds include a social justice lens and/or community-based focus, but also include select strategic response funds. (US based) |
| Effective Giving | Funding opportunities that could help turn the tide on this pandemic and make sure that another pandemic of this ilk never happens again. |
| Nonprofit & Social Sector Resources | Reference guide for funding, tools, and other resources to support nonprofit and social enterprise operations in response to the COVID-19 epidemic. |
Individual Charities | |
|---|---|
| ORGANIZATION | HOW IT COULD HELP |
| National Domestic Workers Alliance | Domestic Workers’ Care Fund: supporting in-home care workers, nannies, and house cleaners during this crisis. |
| Restaurant Workers Community Foundation | Relief to workers and nonprofits serving them; zero interest loans to restaurants. |
| No Kid Hungry | Helping kids during school closures and all year long. |
| Meals on Wheels | Provides meals to seniors (National). |
| One Fair Wage | Supports tipped workers (whose minimum hourly wage qualifies them for almost no unemployment insurance). |
| Support + Feed | Food donations to women’s and food shelters, senior centers, and first responders. |
| The Town Kitchen Provisions | Delivering meals and essentials to people in need (US: San Francisco). |
| West Valley Community Services | Emergency food and health services to neglected populations in Santa Clara County (Cupertino). |
| Feed the Hood | Food distribution in Oakland/East Bay. |
| Direct Relief | Delivers personal protective equipment to health care workers (US). |
| Clean the World | Distribute one month’s worth of soap to one person (US: LA, WA, MO, NY), Haiti, Mexico, Bangladesh, Philippines, Dominican Republic, Somalia, Guatemala, Zambia. |
| DC Central Food Bank & MCN | Providing meals to children in need (US: DC). |
| Ceres Project | Ceres supports individuals dealing with serious illness with free and low-cost, delivered and nutrient-rich prepared meals, nutrition education, and a community of caring. Serving Sonoma and Marin counties in Northern California. |
| The Women’s Foundation of California | This California statewide, publicly supported foundation focuses on achieving racial, economic, and gender justice by centering the experience and expertise of communities most impacted by systemic injustice. As a response to COVID-19, they began the Relief and Resilience Fund to help organizations on the frontlines. |
| Habitat for Humanity LA | Habitat LA’s COVID-19 Emergency Relief fund provides emergency food, essential items, and financial resources to families in greater Los Angeles who have been affected by COVID-19 due to sickness, loss of income, or quarantine. |
Charities Offering Long-Term Research & Support | |
|---|---|
| ORGANIZATION | HOW IT COULD HELP |
| Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security | The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security explores how new policy approaches, scientific advances, and technological innovations can strengthen health security and save lives. |
| Effective Altruism Long Term Future Fund | Fields such as AI alignment and biosecurity are still relatively new, and it’s crucial to develop talent and provide researchers with the opportunity to make progress on important issues. The Fund has made numerous grants that support individual researchers – working in academia or alongside it – to develop skills and work on key problems. |
| 80,000 Hours | Helps talented people dedicate their careers to the big problems whereby their efforts will have the greatest probability of doing the most good. |
| Forethought Foundation for Global Priorities Research | Aims to promote academic work that addresses the question of how to use our scarce resources to improve the world by as much as possible. |
Action | How It Could Help |
|---|---|
| Sign up for a Daily Generosity Alert from Giving Tuesday | Join the national generosity wave by signing up to receive daily ideas for things you can do to help your neighbors, community and world. |
| Join the ServiceSpace Movement | ServiceSpace is an organization run entirely by volunteers leveraging technology to encourage everyday people around the world to do small acts of service. See all their volunteer opportunities online and learn about other ways you can contribute to the community. |
| Volunteer your Time and Skills with Crowdfight COVID-19 | If you are a researcher not currently involved in COVID-19 research, you can help with different levels of involvement (even with virtually no involvement at all). Sign up and list any specific professional skills you have. Researchers and others who may need your skills can then get in touch if you can help. |
| Send a Neighborly Invitation Regarding Coronavirus | Use this sample letter to offer help to elderly neighbors and others that have been affected in your community. |
| Find Volunteer and Job Opportunities through 80,000 Hours | 80,000 Hours is a non-profit that provides research and support to help people find careers that effectively tackle the world’s most pressing problems. Learn about the available opportunities to help with the COVID-19 crisis — most in bio-science and engineering, but quite a few looking for layperson volunteers (scroll down the linked page for a full list of opportunities). |
| Learn About Projects Seeking Volunteers from 80,000 Hours | Find a list of projects being undertaken by individuals and groups to battle Coronavirus currently seeking volunteers (scroll down the linked page for list). |
| Give Blood with American Red Cross | Find out if you’re eligible and where you can donate. Even if near-term dates are full, sign up for available slots. |
| Find Community Organized Relief Effort Volunteer Opportunities | CORE is providing free drive-through testing to California communities in Los Angeles, Atlanta, Napa, and Malibu. Find out how you can support COREs efforts to combat COVID-19, and find volunteer opportunities in your area. |
For Everyone | |
|---|---|
| RESOURCE | HOW IT COULD HELP |
| How to Navigate Unemployment During COVID-19 | Learning to navigate new financial terrain in a time of crisis can be stressful and challenging but it’s important to understand all of the options available for those affected by COVID-19. |
| Check the Status of Your Economic Impact Payment | Visit the IRS website to check the status of your Economic Impact Payment, payment type, and whether the IRS needs more information to process your payment. Expect longer loading times due to high traffic on this site. |
| CARES Act 101: What You Need to Know | Critical ways the CARES Act can help individuals and small businesses. |
| Abacus Pro Bono Financial Planning Services | Through our pro bono program, individuals and families have access to the highest standards of fiduciary advice and financial planning. Abacus Financial Advisors will host a 45-minute phone session with you to clarify steps you can take to achieve your most important goals. |
| CARES Act | Economic relief plan for individuals and businesses approved by Congress – download the full bill as signed. |
| PA Department of Revenue Coronavirus Page | Information about extended filing deadlines and some relief. |
| Duke University Capital Relief Sources | A searchable database for global, national and regional capital sources, currently including over 90 programs offering ~$15B in relief payments to businesses, non-profits, and individuals. |
For Individuals | |
|---|---|
| RESOURCE | HOW IT COULD HELP |
| Your Money: A Hub for Help During the Coronavirus Crisis | The New York Times shares synopses of information on payments to individuals, debt relief, unemployment benefits, and homeowner/renter relief. |
| CA Employment Development Department Coronavirus Page | A very helpful resources for California residents about unemployment benefits, paid family leave, disability (if you have the virus), including assistance for the self-employed. Note: you do not have to have been fired, nor be working zero hours to possibly receive benefits. |
For Organizations: Small Businesses & Non-Profits | |
|---|---|
| RESOURCE | HOW IT COULD HELP |
| CARES Act: Small Business Owner Resources | Some helpful details and frequently asked questions about a few of the programs available for small business owners through the CARES Act. |
| Video: Breaking Down the CARES Act For Small Business Owners | Wondering what the CARES Act can do for your business? In this video interview, Abacus CEO and CFO disucuss elements of the CARES Act that are beneficial to small business owners. |
| US Chamber of Commerce Small Business Provisions of CARES Act | The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has issued this Coronavirus emergency loans guide and checklist to help small businesses and self-employed individuals check eligibility and prepare to file for a loan. |
| Payroll Protection Program (PPP) Fact Sheet | PDF of program provisions for borrowers with helpful information and links for eligibility and applications. |
| The Small Business Owner’s Guide to the CARES Act | From the Senate Committee on Small Business & Entrepreneurship: Summary of all the CARES Act programs that could benefit small business. This guide provides information about the major programs and initiatives that will soon be available from the Small Business Administration (SBA) to address these needs, as well as some additional tax provisions that are outside the scope of SBA. |
| SBA Highlights of the CARES Act | From Mann Gelon Glodney Gumerove Yee, LLP: Helpful summary with examples and links to SBA’s page and a loan application. |
Resource | How It Could Help |
|---|---|
| Self-Curated At-Home Mindfulness Retreat | You know what you need more than anyone else. Use this article offering guidelines for building your own retreat, choosing from a variety of structures, teachings and more. |
| Money Meditations | Join Abacus Co-Founder Spencer Sherman as he leads our new series of powerful guided meditations, helping you recenter and explore what’s most valuable in your life. |
| Anxious and overwhelmed? Here’s how to find calm. | Some guidance on self-care, social distancing, and mindfulness to support mental and physical health from our team here at Abacus. |
| Start an At-Home Yoga Practice | Boost immunity and bring peace of mind. |
| Free Online Health and Wellness Services Compiled by Kensho | For anyone who is feeling isolated, stressed, sick, recovering and/or simply plowing through this COVID19 environment. This list of offerings includes live and on-demand classes, workshops and communities on topics such as: yoga, wellness, dance, fitness, therapy, cooking, breath work, coaching, and still growing! |
| 3 Ways to Help Your Financial Fears | Abacus Co-Founder Spencer Sherman shares ways to work with your financial fears, and even use them as an opportunity for personal growth. |
| Compassion in the Time of Coronavirus with Jack Kornfeld | In this 13-minute practice, a renowned meditation teacher helps us anchor in compassion during this time of uncertainty. |
| 5 Mindfulness Practices that Change How We Relate to Money | Reduce your financial stress and gain peace of mind with these 5 mindfulness practices. |
| Self-Guided Mindfulness Retreat: Looking for Refuge? | Recenter and refocus to find peace of mind. Jack Kornfield & Tara Brach offer materials for a half-day, self-guided mindfulness retreat, outlining each step so you can easily lead yourself through the process. |
| Surviving Homeschool | With so many kids at home for the foreseeable future, Abacus advisor Stacie Rasmussen (former teacher and current homeschool mom) has offered some practical advice and resources to parents on how to survive. |
Resource | What It’s About |
|---|---|
| Note from the CIO: Is This Time Different? | Words from our Chief Investment Office, Darius Gagne, on navigating the current climate. |
| Reflections on Market Swings | A note from our advisory team addressing global events and market volatility. |
| Webcast: Perspective on Recent Market Volatility | In this 40-minute webinar, Dimensional (DFA) Head of Client Communications, Jake DeKinder, and Head of Global Client Services, Mark Gochnour, discuss recent volatility in financial markets and provide perspective on these events. |
Disclosure: Abacus Wealth Partners, LLC (Abacus) is an SEC registered investment adviser with its principal place of business in the State of California.
The information provided is for educational purposes only and should not be construed as personalized financial planning or investment advice. Information was based on sources we deem to be reliable, but we make no representations as to its accuracy. Information presented herein is subject to change without notice and should not be considered as a solicitation to buy or sell any security.
For additional information about Abacus, including fees and services, send for our disclosure brochure as set forth on Form ADV from us using the contact information herein. Please read the disclosure brochure carefully before you invest or send money.
