Stavros Niarchos Foundation Continues Pandemic Relief Efforts with New Grants Totaling over $27.7 Million
Part of the Foundation’s $100 million global COVID-19 relief initiative, grants focus on U.S. community response and health care in Europe and Africa.
The Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) has announced the second round of grants in its $100 million global relief initiative to help alleviate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Twenty-five grants totaling more than $27.7 million focus on responding to urgent community needs across the United States, including food aid, essential services, educational opportunities for young people, and the arts; increasing Greece’s intensive care facilities and COVID-19 testing capacity; and strengthening key health-care services in Europe and Africa.
“This crisis has shown us that people all around the world are bound together by the same threats and challenges,” said SNF Co-President Andreas Dracopoulos. “But it has shown that, if we choose, we can also be bound together by the good we are able to do with, and for, one another. These organizations are providing vital services to meet the immediate needs of the most vulnerable in communities around the globe, and SNF is deeply grateful for their work and for the opportunity to be of help.” Mr. Dracopoulos added, “I would also like to thank our late founder and my great-uncle Stavros Niarchos. Without him there would be no SNF—his foresight in endowing SNF has enabled the Foundation to continue to contribute for a better tomorrow.”
United States
Supporting Local Communities
Confronting a crisis that affects every sphere of life but with unequal impacts requires a perspective that is at once holistic and granular. Community foundations and community-based organizations are uniquely positioned to implement a coordinated, comprehensive response that meets the particular needs developing across their region in real time. SNF grants totaling more than $2 million support organizations in the regions of Bangor, Detroit, New Orleans, New York, and San Antonio that are pooling resources to most effectively serve local families in need.
“We are grateful for the generous investment and partnership from SNF to help improve food security in Southeast Louisiana during COVID-19,” said Andy Kopplin, President and CEO of the Greater New Orleans Foundation. “As this crisis has extended over two months, our nonprofits on the front lines have experienced shortages of funds, food, and volunteers. This increased support will help our foundation strengthen their capacity and help them provide greater food security to our most vulnerable communities.”
- United Way for Southeastern Michigan, Detroit: Shoring up budgets of nonprofits as they meet new demand, supporting organizations that provide childcare to essential workers and engage students at home, and making emergency relief microgrants to individual households
- Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan, Detroit: Helping local food pantries combat food insecurity while implementing distribution systems that keep the community safe
- Greater New Orleans Foundation, New Orleans: Supporting organizations serving seniors requiring urgent care, people experiencing homelessness, low-wage workers in need of essential goods, and the African American communities disproportionately affected by the pandemic
- San Antonio Food Bank, San Antonio: Meeting an exceptional level of food need across a wide area of southwestern Texas, serving tens of thousands of additional people each week
- Bangor Region YMCA, Bangor: Providing childcare and meals for the children of essential workers in Maine, totaling over 200 visits per week
- The New York Community Trust, New York City: Giving nonprofits in the social services and cultural sectors the tools and resources they need to keep delivering essential services to some of the city’s most vulnerable populations
“Our philanthropic partners have rushed to help the nonprofits that form a safety net for our most vulnerable,” said Lorie Slutsky, President of The New York Community Trust. “As tough as this public health crisis has been, the altruism of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation is a welcome reminder that the city will get through this and emerge even stronger.”
Supportive Networks for Young People and the Arts
One potentially devastating and long-lasting effect of the pandemic stems from the lost educational and developmental opportunities for young people, opportunities that if missed are extremely challenging to recover. SNF grants totaling over $1.6 million aim to help kids—and adults—stay engaged in their own academic, personal, and creative growth.
A $1 million grant will help the Big Brothers Big Sisters of America (BBBS) national office and fifteen key local agencies across the United States continue to offer young people adult mentorship to help them reach their potential. The grant will help BBBS agencies that together serve almost 10,000 children a year in Cincinnati, Birmingham, Southeast Florida, East Tennessee, Southwest Michigan, and elsewhere innovate and adapt to ensure kids stay virtually connected to their mentors during this time of physical distancing. Trusted in communities nationwide, BBBS local leaders often serve as a crucial conduit between the families of mentees and other essential resources in their communities...