Seattle, WA, April 13, 2020 -- Giving Compass, an online platform that curates philanthropic content to help donors give in ways more likely to make a difference, and National Center for Family Philanthropy, a resource center and community of inspired donors, are partnering to launch the Coronavirus and COVID-19 Funds directory to ensure that all givers have access to giving opportunities that promote effective relief and recovery from this COVID-19 crisis.

The creation of these funds underscores the important role intermediary organizations play in sourcing, conducting diligence, and directing funding to nonprofit partners well positioned to deliver services quickly and reach the most vulnerable. “Funds simplify giving,” said Nicholas Tedesco, president and CEO of the National Center for Family Philanthropy. They are particularly suited to donors who seek to deploy significant dollars to an array of organizations with a single gift.

The centralized directory includes roughly 350 vetted funds (with more being added regularly) hosted by intermediaries. Donors can access the full list of organizations through the Giving Compass or NCFP websites.

Giving Compass and NCFP recognize the opportunity to bring these resources to donors more quickly by working together. Partnering NCFP’s community and philanthropy knowledge with the technology and expertise of Giving Compass, the organizations are focused on finding and elevating funds with a social justice and/or a community-based focus.

In addition, the two organizations are coordinating with Candid, the Community Foundation Awareness Initiative, the Council on Foundations, and Indiana University’s Lilly Family School of Philanthropy to streamline funds’ data collection and analysis efforts with the intention of sharing learnings in the future.

Featured Funds and Characteristics

As the pandemic dominates headlines, donors are looking for convenient ways to give to trustworthy organizations. All funds in this dataset are:

  • Vetted by philanthropy experts to assure they are hosted at 501(c)3 organizations with a good financial track record
  • Accepting online donations via the host organization
  • Searchable, mapped, and can be filtered by issue focus

A sample of organizations who are hosting rapid response funds featured in the dataset includes:

“The paradox of choice is a real challenge facing donors in the immediate wake of a crisis, and this pandemic is unique in that there is need everywhere,” said Stephanie Fuerstner-Gillis, senior advisor at Giving Compass and head of the Impact-Driven Philanthropy Initiative at the Raikes Foundation. “Giving through intermediaries allows donors to leverage others’ relationships and due diligence to reach organizations working with those who most need help. Through these funds, donors also can address specific issues such as treatments or vaccines when they may not have knowledge or time to do the research themselves.”

“We at Giving Compass have deep technology expertise that we seek to leverage on behalf of the sector,” said Jina Heverley, CEO at Giving Compass. “Partnering with NCFP to build the dataset avoids duplication and allows us to focus more time on how the funds are presented to donors. We also are building tools that allow our other partners to bring these giving opportunities to the donors they are supporting.”

“The world is in crisis, yet there is something powerful in how philanthropy is answering its call,” Tedesco said. “Individual philanthropists across the world are inspired to act, and we are helping them sift through the deluge of available information to identify opportunities that align with their goals. We are pleased to partner with Giving Compass to elevate the powerful programs of local and national organizations working tirelessly to mobilize dollars to communities in need. Collaboration is essential during this time, and it’s our hope that the philanthropic community will more fully embrace the possibility of partnerships to strengthen the sector and drive more meaningful results in the future.”

About Giving Compass
Giving Compass is a nonprofit organization that leverages the best of technology and the knowledge of philanthropy to bring individual donors content, resources, and tools to give with greater impact. Launched in 2017, Giving Compass was co-founded by Seattle philanthropists Jeff and Tricia Raikes, who identified an opportunity to provide targeted resources to guide donors’ strategic giving. Learn more at givingcompass.org.

About National Center for Family Philanthropy
Established in 1997, the National Center for Family Philanthropy (NCFP) is a catalyst for the greater good; it provides donors and their families with comprehensive resources, expertise, compassionate support and community. We are rooted in the belief that family participation enriches philanthropy and that philanthropy strengthens families. We empower donors and their families to define and pursue their purpose, establish thoughtful policies and practices, and build community to make a positive impact through their giving. More information is available at https://www.ncfp.org.

Media Contacts:

Nick Tedesco
nick@ncfp.org
(646) 858-9500

Stephanie Fuerstner-Gillis
stephanie.g@givingcompass.org