As the COVID-19 outbreak continues to evolve rapidly around the world, we’re taking action to support the broader communities in which we live and work. That’s why we recently announced that the Vertex Foundation is committing $5 million to support global COVID-19 relief efforts in the U.S. and Europe.
We’ve made donations to organizations that are on the ground providing health care and health supplies and support for vulnerable populations through food, care and education. In addition, the Vertex Foundation is expanding its Matching Gift program and is doubling its match for charitable donations to eligible organizations responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, donating $2 for every $1 dollar donated by an employee. Charitable grants made by the Foundation to organizations in response to the pandemic are in addition to the annual grants the Foundation makes to organizations focused on STEAM education, social innovation and healthy families. We’re also offering Vertexians opportunities to volunteer virtually and support nonprofits in our local communities.
Providing Essential Health Care and Health Supplies
Direct Relief, France, Germany, Greece, Spain, UK and U.S.
Direct Relief is a humanitarian aid organization whose mission is to improve the health and lives of people affected by poverty or emergencies — without regard to politics, religion or ability to pay. In response to the COVID-19 outbreak, Direct Relief is shipping emergency personal protective equipment, including protective masks, exam gloves and isolation gowns, to health care facilities and workers in areas with confirmed cases. The Foundation made a $1 million donation to help launch Direct Relief’s European relief efforts, specifically in the UK, Spain, France, Germany and Greece, and help the organization expand its response in the U.S. Learn more about Direct Relief’s efforts here.
“Direct Relief is deeply grateful to the Vertex Foundation for their generosity in supporting COVID-19 relief efforts in the United States and allowing us to ramp up our efforts in Europe.”
-Thomas Tighe, President and CEO, Direct Relief
Partners HealthCare, Boston, MA
Partners is an integrated health care system, founded by Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital, that offers patients a continuum of coordinated and high-quality care. Partners is also one of the nation’s leading biomedical research organizations and is a principal teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School. The Foundation made a $500,000 donation to support its integrated response and enhance testing capacity for COVID-19. Read more about this donation here.
CDC Foundation, U.S.
The CDC Foundation is an independent nonprofit that mobilizes philanthropic and private-sector resources to support the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s critical health protection work. The Vertex Foundation donated to the CDC Foundation’s Emergency Response Fund to enhance public health laboratory capacity, support innovative ways to conduct testing in communities, and support local health centers. Learn more about the CDC Foundation’s work here.
La Croix-Rouge français, France
The French Red Cross is an independent charity that works with governments and public authorities to provide humanitarian, health, social, welfare and training services. The Foundation made a donation to support on-the-ground front-line response and humanitarian relief efforts to enhance the government’s response in France. Learn more about Croix Rouge’s COVID-19 response here.
Scripps Health Foundation, San Diego, CA
Scripps Health is one of the premier health systems in Southern California, providing innovative care and treatment to help San Diegans live longer and healthier lives. Through philanthropy, they help to heal, enhance and save lives. During this unprecedented time, they’ve set up a special SCRIPPS COVID-19 Fund to directly support their response to the health care needs of the San Diego community. The Vertex Foundation made a donation to support drive-through testing centers in San Diego. Learn more about how Scripps is responding to COVID-19 here. The photo below shows a COVID-19 testing tent at Scripps Clinic Torrey Pines.
EMERGENCY Ong Onlus, Milan, Italy
EMERGENCY Ong Onlus is a nonprofit nongovernmental organization based in Italy that provides high-quality medical and surgical care to victims of war, landmines and poverty. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic they are working with local health authorities to provide aid and expertise for managing the outbreak. The Foundation made a donation to support the organization’s on-the-ground efforts to provide medical care to the most vulnerable populations in the Lombardy region of Italy where the crisis is severe. Learn more about what EMERGENCY is doing in Italy and all over the world here.
Supporting Vulnerable Populations
Boston Resiliency Fund, Boston, MA
The mayor of Boston, Martin J. Walsh, announced the creation of a new fund that is coordinating fundraising and philanthropic efforts to assist Boston residents whose health and well-being are most immediately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The priorities of the fund are to provide food to Boston’s children and seniors, provide technology to students in Boston Public Schools for remote learning and provide support to first responders and health care workers so they can effectively do their jobs. The Vertex Foundation made a $1 million donation to help establish the fund.
The Trussell Trust supports a nationwide network of food banks and together they provide emergency food and support to people locked in poverty, and campaign for change to end the need for food banks in the UK. The Foundation donated to support the Trussell Trust’s nationwide network of food banks and provide emergency food and support needed as a result of COVID-19. The donation will also help to build on and support the development of a national helpline and referral system to enable food banks to meet the increased demand for emergency food. Learn more about the impact of COVID-19 on food banks in the UK here.
“The generous donation from the Vertex Foundation means we can remain agile to respond to the fast-changing situation and ensure food banks continue to provide the lifeline of emergency food and additional support for people in crisis. Everyone should be able to afford their own food and we’ll be continuing our work to end the need for food banks, but right now more people than ever are likely to need a food bank’s help. This donation will make a significant difference to our ability to respond to the current crisis. Thank you.”
-Emma Revie, CEO, The Trussell Trust
Crisis, UK
Crisis is the national charity in the UK for homeless people; their mission is to end homelessness. They provide vital help so that homeless people can rebuild their lives and are supported out of homelessness for good. The Foundation made a donation to provide on-the-ground support for the homeless including “essentials” packages of food, tissues and hand sanitizers.
Age UK, UK
Age UK is the country’s largest charity dedicated to helping everyone make the most of later life. They provide companionship, advice and support for older people who need it most. The Age UK network includes around 130 local Age UKs reaching most of England. The Foundation donated to support older people, particularly those ages 70 and older, who are worst hit by the pandemic physically and psychosocially. Learn more about Age UK’s efforts and ways to support older people here.
Cáritas Española, Madrid, Spain
Caritas Española’s mission is to carry out the charitable and social action of the Church in Spain. The Foundation made a donation to provide home delivery of food to elderly persons and support homeless shelters and health needs in Madrid. Learn more about their work here.
Les Restos du Coeur, Paris, France
Les Restos du Coeur, meaning “Restaurants of Love,” is a French nonprofit organization that focuses on distributing food and hot meals to those in need. The Foundation donated to support their food distribution efforts and to provide hygiene products to volunteers who are distributing the food.
Cesvi, Bergamo, Italy
Cesvi is an independent Italian humanitarian organization that operates globally to support the most vulnerable populations in promoting human rights and achieving their ambitions for sustainable development. The Foundation donated to provide at-home health and food to elderly residents in Bergamo and Brescia. Learn more about how Cesvi is helping to take care of elderly people in need here and how it’s delivering personal protective equipment to health workers at Papa Giovanni XXIII Hospital here.
Feeding San Diego, San Diego, CA
Feeding San Diego’s mission is to connect every person facing hunger with nutritious meals by maximizing food rescue. It is the leading hunger-relief and food rescue organization in San Diego county, providing more than 26 million meals every year to children, families, seniors, college students, military families, veterans, people facing homelessness and other underserved populations. The Foundation made a donation to provide healthy food through emergency food distribution centers and provide food to students in San Diego who rely on free meals. Learn more about Feeding San Diego’s COVID-19 response here.
“This grant will play a significant role in helping us to provide much needed meals to children who can no longer access food at school.”
-Vince Hall, CEO, Feeding San Diego
Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts, Pioneer Valley, MA
The Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts aims to be a catalyst for positive change and to enrich the quality of life of the people living in western Massachusetts. They are hosting the COVID-19 Response Fund for the Pioneer Valley to provide flexible resources to organizations that are working with communities that are most vulnerable to the virus and most impacted by inequity. The Vertex Foundation made a donation to support these efforts. Learn more about the COVID-19 Response Fund for the Pioneer Valley here.
The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts, Berkshire, Franklin, Hampden and Hampshire counties, MA
The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts provides food to member agencies in Berkshire, Franklin, Hampden and Hampshire counties who are on the front lines of emergency food assistance in the region. In response to the COVID-19 crisis, member agency meal sites and food pantries continue to operate to provide emergency food assistance. The Brown Bag: Food for Elders program and Mobile Food Bank also continue to operate. The Foundation made a donation to provide 400,000 meals for The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts’ emergency feeding programs. Learn more about their work here.
United Way of Greater Fall River, Fall River, MA
United Way of Greater Fall River is partnering with community agencies, philanthropists and businesses to offer an organized response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the Greater Fall River area. Through the United We Help Greater Fall River COVID-19 Relief Fund, they are focusing on distributions to support the needs of the SouthCoast community. The Foundation donated to support their COVID-19 relief and recovery efforts.
Supporting Long-Time Partners
In addition to the Vertex Foundation donations, Vertex is continuing to support the missions of nonprofit organization in the cystic fibrosis community as they work to address unmet community and educational needs that are a result of COVID-19. We understand the significant impact this outbreak is having on the nonprofit community and will continue to assist the groups and causes we support throughout the year.