Williamsburg Community Foundation: Community Emergency Response Fund

About

Working with community leaders, the Williamsburg Community Foundation has created a Community Emergency Response Fund to respond to the impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the greater Williamsburg area. City of Williamsburg Vice Mayor Douglas G. “Doug” Pons and Councilman Benming “Benny” Zhang have personally pledged $10,000 to seed the Community Emergency Response Fund. The Williamsburg Community Foundation has also committed $10,000 to the effort, thanks to the Genevieve K. Meder Trust, which was created to assist local people in natural disasters such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

This Community Emergency Response Fund will provide flexible grants to nonprofit organizations that provide direct services to our community’s most vulnerable citizens and support basic needs. This includes our service area of the City of Williamsburg, James City County, and upper York County.

The goal is to provide local nonprofits with the support they will use to help those residents most in need due to the economic downturn resulting from COVID-19. This could include seniors, children, those with health conditions, and those who work in tourism and hospitality. These grants will help those nonprofit organizations that directly assist residents who are disproportionately affected by the pandemic, and who may be in need of food, shelter, utilities and housing, or healthcare.

About the Host

The Williamsburg Community Foundation connects people who care with causes that matter in our community. The Foundation is a collection of gifts given by local donors. The gifts are invested. Each year earnings are returned to the community in the form of grants. These funds grow with each new gift and produce income that will continue to meet local needs for generations to come.