Giving Compass' Take:

• Loren McArthur highlights four areas where philanthropists can help to advance equity during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. 

• McArthur urges funders to be even more generous during this challenging time. Are you ready to rise to the occasion? 

• Find COVID-19 relief funds to support. 

As our nation confronts the most dangerous pandemic in over 100 years, public health officials warn that the actions we take now have enormous public health implications: they could save hundreds of thousands, or even millions, of lives. Our actions in the coming days, weeks, and months are equally consequential for the future of our economy, our political institutions, and the larger social order. Will we work to correct the vulnerabilities that the pandemic has exposed: to repair and strengthen our safety net, reduce the inequities that undermine our nation’s moral fiber and threaten our collective health and security, bridge the partisan and ideological divides that make us weaker, and renew our commitment to effective government that serves the broader public good? Or will we continue on a different path?

In addition to using their resources to help meet immediate human needs related to healthcare, food, shelter, and basic economic security, philanthropists should consider these questions about the future of our society now—and lean into the public policy arena, where politicians and special interests are already shaping decisions that will determine the nation’s political and economic future. Here are four priority areas:

  1. Support all Americans impacted by COVID-19’s economic fallout by permanently strengthening the nation’s safety net.
  2. Expand and sustain access to health care and paid time off for all Americans.
  3. Ensure the safe and democratic implementation of the 2020 elections, and make future elections more representative of the country.
  4. Promote social cohesion and prevent fearmongering and the scapegoating of vulnerable communities.

Philanthropists will need to open their coffers, often as never before, in order to support efforts to preserve life, protect the well-being of our most vulnerable, safeguard our institutions, and steer the country toward a better and stronger future.

Read the full article about working toward a more equitable future during COVID-19 by Loren McArthur at Arabella Advisors.