SPOKANE, WA, April 7, 2020; The M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust announced a donation of $250,000 to the COVID-19 Community Response and Recovery Funds for Eastern Washington and North Idaho.
This commitment from the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust brings the COVID-19 Response and Recovery Funds to over $1,630,000, with donations from businesses, philanthropic organizations and individual donors. Funds will be distributed through grants to community-based organizations at the front lines of the region’s coronavirus outbreak.
The COVID-19 Response and Recovery Funds are hosted at Innovia Foundation in partnership with Empire Health Foundation and Spokane County United Way in Eastern Washington, and Equinox Foundation, Avista Foundation and Idaho Community Foundation in North Idaho.
“We are grateful to the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust, and all of our funding partners, for their tremendous level of support for the COVID-19 Community Response and Recovery Funds for Eastern Washington and North Idaho. These generous contributions will positively impact our region’s most vulnerable populations,” said Innovia Foundation CEO Shelly O’Quinn.
The $250,000 grant from the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust is part of a $5.4 million dollar commitment that the trust announced in late March to support the COVID-19 outbreak response efforts.
“Addressing challenges like those presented by the COVID-19 pandemic require a deep understanding of the unique needs of an individual community, an ability to nimbly activate resources and a willingness to collaborate with diverse partners to serve the common good,” said M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust Executive Director Steve Moore. “We are incredibly grateful to organizations like Innovia Foundation that are working tirelessly to help serve the urgent needs of individuals, families and communities across the Inland Northwest.”
The first distributions from the Response and Recovery Funds are expected by April 10 and will continue on a rolling basis as fundraising continues throughout the outbreak and recovery phases of the crisis. Grants will be administered in partnership with a regional community advisory group consisting of residents and leaders from health, economic and human services sectors.
The COVID-19 Community Response and Recovery Funds will provide funding to organizations that have deep roots in community and strong experience serving the elderly, homeless, residents without health insurance and/or access to sick days, communities of color, people with limited English language proficiency, healthcare, hospitality and gig economy workers, and low-wage employees, among others. The advisory councils are seeking input from the public to better understand the needs in their communities. Individuals interested in filling out a 5-question survey that will help local advisory councils direct financial and other resources in the first round of funding should visit covidresponse.questionpro.com/ to respond.
Individuals and organizations can donate and find additional information about the COVID-19 Response Funds via www.innovia.org/covid19.
COVID-19 Response and Recovery Funding partners: Innovia Foundation, Empire Health Foundation, Spokane County United Way, Avista Foundation, BECU, Better Health Together, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Burlington Northern, Community Building Foundation, Delta Dental of Washington, Equinox Foundation, Health Sciences & Services Authority of Spokane County, Itron, Lewis-Clark Valley Healthcare Foundation, MultiCare Health System, M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust, Perigee Fund, Premera Blue Cross, Providence Health Care, Umpqua Bank, Wells Fargo and Women Helping Women Fund.
