Stavros Niarchos Foundation Global Relief Initiative to Help Alleviate the Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic
Responding to the severe and unprecedented challenges posed around the globe by COVID-19, the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) has announced a major new initiative which aims to help address the impacts of the pandemic.
This initiative, rooted in SNF’s philanthropic philosophy of public-private collaboration and working closely with grantee partners around the world, will focus both immediately and in the long term on some of the most pressing issues related to the pandemic.
The first area of focus is medical research. Knowing that combating the virus effectively at the global scale will require both new vaccines and new treatments, SNF will provide support for research efforts focused on effective testing, treatment, and prevention. To this end, SNF has provided an immediate grant of $3 million to The Rockefeller University to support the world-class institution’s round-the-clock research related to COVID-19. Rockefeller’s Nobel Prize-winning researchers are well positioned to speed development and deployment of vaccines and treatments that could have global impact.
The pandemic has wide-reaching socioeconomic implications that have already stretched far beyond the immediate health crisis, and SNF is committed to being part of the movement to help address the pandemic’s many dimensions. In times when isolation is part of the solution, we must continue to stand by the most vulnerable to ensure that their essential needs are met.
A multifaceted effort will aim to promote physical wellbeing, mental health, and the socioeconomic welfare linked to both. SNF will work with public and private entities and our grantee partners to ensure food security for those in need. The Foundation will also work with organizations around the globe to address the mounting psychological needs arising from the pandemic. In addition, SNF will support organizations working to alleviate the multifarious effects of the socioeconomic crisis deepening along with the current health crisis. This means both strengthening the social safety net and sustaining systems that encourage us to help one another recover.
Special attention throughout will be payed to the evolving situation in Greece, which is not only the homeland of SNF’s founder, but is also where a significant part of the Foundation’s grantmaking is focused. Having only recently emerged from a draining, decade-long socioeconomic crisis, Greece is particularly vulnerable to the economic and social impacts of the pandemic, and SNF is committed to remaining a strong partner to public and private organizations in avoiding relapse...