MetLife Foundation Provides Millions in Grants to Support Ongoing COVID-19 Relief Efforts
MetLife Foundation today announced that it is providing $4 million in grants to support COVID-19 relief efforts for low-income people and small businesses across the United States. The grants complete MetLife Foundation’s $25 million commitment to the global response to COVID-19 and underscore its ongoing commitment to helping underserved communities.
“The pandemic has compounded housing and food insecurity in our communities and continues to have an outsized impact on small businesses,” said Mike Zarcone, head of Corporate Affairs and Sustainability for MetLife and Chairman of MetLife Foundation. “These grants will provide relief to people and businesses that need help the most during these challenging times.”
MetLife Foundation is providing the following grants:
- $375,000 to Breaking Ground and $375,000 to the YMCA of Greater New York, to address the impact of COVID-19 on homelessness in New York City through local outreach, transitional housing, and critical social services.
- $1.25 million of total support to food banks in communities where MetLife has a significant presence in New York, New Jersey, Rhode Island, North Carolina, Nebraska, Illinois, Florida, Ohio, and Missouri. Additionally, MetLife Foundation will match MetLife employee contributions to food banks through the end of 2020.
- $2 million to the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) in support of small businesses. These funds will be directed to business development organizations across multiple markets, with a focus on minority and women-owned businesses in historically underinvested communities that need operational support.
On top of the MetLife Foundation donation to LISC, MetLife is providing the organization a $10 million loan as part of its impact investing program. The funds will be used to support affordable housing and other economic development activities in low-income and racially and ethnically diverse communities.