FLINT, Mich., April 10, 2020 — The Ruth Mott Foundation Board of Trustees has awarded a $100,000 grant to the Greater Flint Urgent Relief Fund at the Community Foundation of Greater Flint.
The fund was created by a coalition of philanthropic, business and government partners to provide a source of immediate aid to nonprofit organizations that provide critical services to residents amid the COVID-19 pandemic. With this grant, the fund has raised $855,000 to date toward its initial goal of $1 million, and donations can be made online at www.loveflint.org.
Grants are approved on a rolling basis and several organizations in the Ruth Mott Foundation’s focus area of north Flint have been awarded funds. In one example, Catholic Charities of Shiawassee and Genesee County received $50,000 to support increased services, including daily meals, filtered water stations, personal care items, foster care programming, and telemedicine (phone) counseling to clients. A $50,000 grant to United Way of Genesee County will support nine centers in Genesee County that will provide food to people referred from the Sheriff’s emergency line and 2-1-1.
“The pandemic has impacted nonprofits serving north Flint, both personally and organizationally, in harsh and unanticipated ways,” said Raquel Thueme, president of the Ruth Mott Foundation. “Given the rapidly evolving nature of the situation, the Ruth Mott Foundation is proud to be a partner of this emergency response fund to help focus and coordinate timely resources to organizations providing essential services to children, families and vulnerable residents.”
Application information and information about grants awarded from the fund can be found on the Community Foundation’s website. The fund’s three main priorities are assisting with immediate and anticipated direct service needs/gaps; maintaining or expanding critical nonprofits’ internal operations and infrastructure; and supporting costs associated with additional volunteer capacity as needed in this time of crisis.
Other Urgent Relief Fund partners include the United Way of Genesee County, Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, City of Flint, Flint & Genesee Chamber of Commerce, Hagerman Foundation and Hurley Medical Center.