Giving Compass' Take:

• Nick Grono urges readers to consider the importance of supporting local organizations fighting COVID-19 on the front lines of vulnerable communities.

• Where can you offer your support to make the most impact on the global pandemic? Are you prepared to start supporting local organizations now?

• Read coronavirus resources for donors. 

As the economy closes down globally, supply chains are freezing, factories in the Global South are being rapidly shuttered, and workers instantly dismissed. While many of those jobs may have been exploitative, the alternatives in a time of economic stress are often worse. Desperate former workers are at risk of being lured and coerced by traffickers into situations of forced and bonded labour. Severe financial stress in vulnerable communities often leads to greater sexual violence and abuse against women and girls, and the early marriage and trafficking of girls.

The most effective way to tackle this approaching tsunami of infection and consequent exploitation is to invest in frontline community organisations. The non-profit I lead, the Freedom Fund, has long pursued this strategy in combating modern slavery and human trafficking. We have found that, with the right support, these local organisations play an outsize role in building the resilience of their communities, in the following ways.

First, they are invariably the quickest to respond. As they are close to the communities they serve, they are usually the first to identify looming problems, and react. Funders can take advantage of this to deploy emergency funding packages though them, to urgently get financial assistance to those who most need it.

Second, they are generally the most trusted interlocutors for their communities. This is particularly important when it comes to conveying accurate information and countering the misinformation and rumours that are so rife in times of fear.

Third, they are low cost, and hence provide a big return on philanthropic investment.

Finally, they are often highly resourceful, in part because their limited funding encourages them to come up with innovative solutions. They also benefit from their closeness to their communities, enabling them to help develop imaginative, locally grounded, approaches to the challenges they face.

Read the full article about supporting local organizations to stifle coronavirus by Nick Gronto at Thomson Reuters Foundation.