Lehigh Valley Community Foundation and United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley receive $65,000 grant from the Momentum Fund
Allentown, PA, September 29, 2020—Lehigh Valley Community Foundation (LVCF) and United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley (UWGLV) announced today that they have received a $65,000 grant from the newly-formed Momentum Fund. This grant will support collaborative relief work with community-run organizations actively mitigating the pandemic’s impact with an explicit focus on social justice.
The grant was one of 129 grants, totaling $8.5 million, awarded by United Philanthropy Forum’s Momentum Fund to 501(c)(3) organizations around the country managing COVID-19 relief funds that provide grants and other forms of direct support to community-run organizations working with communities of color, historically marginalized populations, and other groups being disproportionately impacted by the pandemic.
“This grant will help to deepen our understanding of the impact of systemic racism and COVID-19 on the BIPOC community in the Lehigh Valley,” said Megan Briggs, Director of Community Investments, Lehigh Valley Community Foundation. “By centering our efforts through the lens of racial equity and being more intentional in this work, it will inform our strategies that address racial disparities.”
“This crisis has made it clear: we need to work together to address deeper structural inequities that continue to affect our community. We cannot turn a blind eye to the disproportionate impacts of COVID-19 on Black Indigenous People of Color. With support from the Momentum Fund, we can further expand the Fund’s focus on racial equity to create lasting change,” said Jill Pereira, Vice President of Education and Impact, UWGLV.
The Momentum Fund grant will power the ongoing work of the Greater Lehigh Valley COVID-19 Community Response Fund, a partnership of 23 funders including LVCF and UWGLV. With an explicit focus on racial equity, the Community Response Fund provides a rapid, informed and coordinated approach to assessing community need and getting dollars where they are most useful.
Momentum Fund support will help to successfully and quickly build the bridge from COVID-19 response to an infrastructure that combats racism at the systems level and drives long-lasting and comprehensive change across multiple sectors of our community.
“We are witnessing a historic and unprecedented level of suffering and need that must be addressed before this nation falls even further into a state of absolute humanitarian crisis,” said Amanda Misiko Andere, CEO of Funders Together to End Homelessness and Chair of the Momentum Fund Advisory Board. “It is essential that the philanthropic sector continues to dedicate itself to this work, which includes addressing the devastating and deadly human health, economic, and social impacts that are befalling millions of people of color and vulnerable families across the nation every day.”
The Momentum Fund was launched in May 2020 with a vision of ushering in a new model of philanthropic giving that unapologetically centers racial equity and explicitly prioritizes the needs of Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) communities. The Momentum Fund is managed by United Philanthropy Forum.
To view a complete list of Momentum Fund grantees, visit www.momentumfund.org.
Mission of United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley
The mission of United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley is to provide the leadership, convene the partnerships, and develop the resources and solutions that improve our community. We remain committed to these goals and sincerely appreciate the continued support of partners, program providers and donors throughout the Lehigh Valley. www.UnitedWayGLV.org
About the Lehigh Valley Community Foundation
For more than five decades, the Lehigh Valley Community Foundation has helped donors with their charitable contributions with a simple, powerful, and highly personalized approach. LVCF connects people who care to causes that matter, grow their charitable legacies, and fund nonprofit organizations to improve the quality of life in the region. Learn more at: www.lvcfoundation.org