Community Urgent Relief Fund

GIVE TODAY TO THE COMMUNITY URGENT RELIEF FUND

UPDATE APRIL 2, 2020: Match Gift Challenge

The Richard G. Tomlinson Family Fund initiated a match challenge on March 27 to help Kalamazoo Community Foundation (KZCF) raise more funds for impacted families. The Tomlinson family will match gifts dollar-for-dollar to KZCF's Community Urgent Relief Fund up to $15,000. Read the full story here about the Tomlinson Family and the match challenge.

Your gifts, large or small, can help us raise a total of $30,000 to support local nonprofits providing meals, shelter, childcare and other necessities for families and individuals impacted by COVID-19 in Kalamazoo County.

As of April 2, we have met 100 percent of Tomlinson Family gift match challenge in less than a week. Thank you everyone for your generosity and contribution to the fund. Your support of this gift match has allowed us to raise an additional $30,000 for the joint funds to meet the emerging needs in our community.

How is KZCF helping?

During this time of uncertainty and isolation with the coronavirus (COVID-19), we are working diligently in partnership with many nonprofits and community members on addressing the impact of COVID-19 on the most vulnerable in our community.

Our community has demonstrated commitment to coming together and supporting each other during times of crisis while ensuring those who struggle financially and economically are supported in every way possible.

• If you or someone you know is in crisis, dial 2-1-1 to connect with support services. For more information about COVID-19 and relief resources, check out the following links: 
  • Kalamazoo Public Library's COVID-19 Self-Isolation Information and Resources (updates daily)
  • Southwest Michigan First COVID-19 Business Resources
    
  • WMU Student Emergency Relief Fund
  • KVCC COVID-19 Student and Faculty Resources
  • Kalamazoo College COVID-19 Student Resources
    
  • MLIVE How to apply for unemployment during coronavirus crisis
  • Help Kalamazoo basic need delivery service
  • CASE at Duke COVID-19 Capital Relief resources for entrepreneurs
  • City of Kalamazoo's Small Business Loan Fund
  • Small Business Administration Loan
  • Economic Injury Disaster Loan
  • Michigan Paycheck Protection Program
    
• Gryphon Place has put together a list of COVID-19 relief volunteer opportunities, visit their website to learn more on how you can help.
  
  
• We recognize that certain ethnic groups are being blamed for this outbreak. As a community, we must stand firm against these ill-informed opinions. We invite you to learn about the impact on these groups in order to help disrupt and address issues of hate and bias. Learn more from the Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy website. Here is another great resource from Racial Equity Tools about applying a racial equity and social justice lens to COVID-19 response.
  
  
• NONPROFIT PARTNERS: We encourage you to join the Kalamazoo County Response Consortium (KCRC) coordinated by Gryphon Place. Adam Castle, Community Resilience Program Manager at Gryphon Place, will be convening weekly calls every Monday at 10am that will allow the full nonprofit sector to collaborate, problem solve, and collectively identify needs as they emerge. Further information about accessing local funds will be shared during these calls. A Facebook group has been started for this consortium, join here to collaborate with other nonprofits and get the latest update.
  
  If you have any other questions regarding the grant application process, please do not hesitate to contact Sandy Barry-Loken, sbarry-loken@kalfound.org or Alyssa Stewart, astewart@uwbckr.org.
  
  The conference call information for the Monday weekly calls are as follows:
  ZOOM URL: https://zoom.us/j/586436896   Meeting ID: 586-436-896
  
  
• We have partnered with United Way to activate our respective community crisis relief funds (United Way's Disaster Relief Fund and KZCF's Community Urgent Relief Fund) to address the emerging needs that are surfacing in key services for our most vulnerable community members.
  
  The three priorities that we will fund jointly are as follows:
  • Assist with immediate and anticipated direct service needs/gaps
  • Maintain or expand critical internal operations and infrastructure and 
  • Support costs associated with additional volunteer capacity as needed in this time of crisis.
• As of April 6, $745,907 has been distributed to nonprofits in Kalamazoo County from the joint crisis funds to support families and individuals impacted by COVID-19. Read more about the urgent relief grant recipients who are supporting our community during this unprecedented time.
  

We will keep you informed as we take further actions. Thank you for your compassion, courage and support for our community.