Giving Compass' Take:

• Don Gips spoke with Devex about the importance of collaborating and embracing different voices in giving to the fight against COVID-19.

• How can we make sure we're hearing the voices of those most affected by the pandemic? What are you doing to collaborate with foundations and other donors in your coronavirus giving strategy?

• Read about the importance of your giving right now during the coronavirus pandemic.


Collaboration and coordination are the only way to overcome COVID-19, says Don Gips, CEO at the Skoll Foundation, a private foundation working to drive social change through innovation and social entrepreneurship.

“I think that it’s going to take a truly collaborative approach and listening to different voices than we’ve listened to before, bringing them into the conversation and then helping to do the right work, hoping policies can be changed around the world to address those,” he said.

Having already committed to doubling its grant funding in 2020 at the start of the outbreak, the Skoll Foundation announced in April that it expected to double that again following a $100 million gift from founder Jeff Skoll. Much of the first wave of funding went toward strengthening health systems in Africa, expecting that the health systems would struggle to sustain the pandemic.

“At that point, we were most concerned about Africa,” Gips said. “But it quickly became clear this was a global challenge and that it was going to take both a sprint to address some of the immediate challenges, but also a marathon to try and think through the longer-term.”

Speaking to Devex, Gips explained how the foundation’s COVID-19 response has since evolved, why partnerships have been central to that, and the lasting impact he hopes to see.

"We've really been on a global journey of trying to figure out where we can make a difference, both on the medical and public health side of the pandemic, but also the economic and social ripple effects on some of the most vulnerable. Wherever we work to invest, we try to figure out a way to do that to address the short-term need while looking at the long-term rebuilding."

Read the full article about embracing different voices to fight COVID-19 with Don Gips at Devex.