The Center for Disaster Philanthropy (CDP) has announced a 12th round of grants totaling more than $6.3 million through its COVID-19 Response Fund.

In the United States, CDP awarded grants totaling $1.875 million in support of efforts focused on addressing learning loss and equitable access to education resources; ensuring that minority, immigrant, refugee, communities of color, and other marginalized communities where the virus continues to surge have access to vaccines; and addressing burnout among all Americans, especially families struggling to manage their day-to-day lives, marginalized communities, and domestic, healthcare, and food service workers. Recipients include Child Care Aware of America ($300,000), the OUT Foundation ($250,000), and Vibrant Emotional Health ($500,000).

In support of international organizations, CDP awarded grants totaling $4,514,500 focused on regions with greatest humanitarian need; greatest current and future risk from conflict, COVID, and climate change; the poorest and most vulnerable populations; greatest risk to COVID infection; and the least ability to access quality health care, including vaccinations, treatment, and medical advice. Grantees include Action Against Hunger ($450,000), which will help mitigate the complex and interrelated needs resulting from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Haiti earthquake of August 2021; ActionAid International and the Feminist Humanitarian Network ($165,000), which will provide support to women’s rights organizations in Nigeria, Ethiopia, Somalia, South Sudan, and Venezuela for COVID- related programs; and International Medical Corps ($250,000), which will help improve COVID-19 vaccine access in remote Indigenous communities in the Cedeño municipality of Bolívar State in Venezuela.

“When we first launched the Center for Disaster Philanthropy’s COVID-19 Response Fund in March 2020, we didn’t anticipate that we would still be experiencing the effects of what seems to be a never-ending pandemic more than two years later,” wrote Alex Gray, director of international funds, and Sally Ray, director of domestic funds in a blog post. With this 12th round of grant funding, the needs are different than they were in the beginning. But we continue to note that the COVID-19 pandemic crisis has laid bare the systemic inequities that existed long before. And we are grateful to be able to partner with programs and organizations that support addressing those inequities to provide a full and equitable recovery across the globe.”

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