The newly-created “Quick Response Community Fund” at the Eau Claire Community Foundation (ECCF) – intended primarily to provide emergency funding for local nonprofit organizations facing increased demand for their services – is off to a flying start.
As of mid-afternoon Thursday, contributions to the fund totaled more than $68,000, according to information distributed by the ECCF. That general email also said the foundation is still in the process of finalizing the process through which funding applications can be submitted
Susan Bornick, ECCF’s executive director, said in an email to the CVPost that “our number one priority is to have the working mechanisms in place (so) that we can start distributing grants quickly and efficiently.”
The ECCF website states that the fund “will help a variety of nonprofits address the community’s greatest needs, especially basic needs like food and health care.”
Priority will be given to nonprofits “that are suddenly facing increased demand for their services” because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but other needs may also be supported, according to the general ECCF email. The foundation said that all donations to the fund will go to area nonprofits, without the its usual small deduction to help cover operating costs.
“This fund provides a great option for donors who want to support the community’s greatest needs but aren’t sure where to direct their funding,” the foundation said.
It added that the funding applications will be fairly brief, aimed only at collecting “enough information for our grant reviewers to direct funding to the current greatest needs.” The ECCF also said that it is “encouraging donors to connect with nonprofits that are important to them and find out what help the organizations might need to weather the crisis.”
Donations to the fund can be made by clicking on this link: https://eccf.fcsuite.com/erp/donate/create?funit_id=1747