Tulsa charities are teaming up to create the COVID-19 response fund.
The fund is established by the Tulsa Community Foundation and Tulsa Area United Way.
The goal of the joint effort is to provide support for various nonprofits that help those experiencing hardships related to the pandemic. Hardships like temporary lost income and unplanned expenses.
So far, individual donors, area charitable foundations and corporations have already contributed $3 million in relief funds.
The funds are to help people in the Tulsa area with food, health care and living expenses as this virus changes everyone’s daily lives.
“We rely on strength of the nonprofit community which has the individual interaction and knows what the needs of our fellow Tulsans will be, and this is a way for us to materially help them with the very most basic needs they have, eating at night continuing to pay their housing bill get getting important medications for them, and these are just a few of the expenses they may be incurring right now with no resources to cover those,” said Phil Laken with the Tulsa Community Foundation.
“Right now, if you wondering where to get help immediately the best place to call is 211 and they can direct you how to find out to meet urgent needs, or you can go to www.211oklahoma.org, “ said Alison Anthony of the Tulsa Area United Way.
"The United Way is working with its partners agencies so that we can get these funds directly to individuals through nonprofit organizations,” Laken said.
“We’re working area non-profits to get them ready to receive and disburse those funds. They're in the same boat as everyone else. They're tying to make sure they have the staff to get the funds back out in to the community. So if you're having needs related to lost income, food and child care expenses, we are working hard to get those set up and be in the non-profit community by the end of the month,” Anthony said.
“We just want to assure people who may never of needed help before that there is no stigma. There is no reason to be embarrassed," Anthony said. "In fact, if you are needing help right now you've likely been donors to a charitable origanization or your church or the TUlsa Area United Way . We all need help sometimes. This isn't about us or them. It's about all of us coming together and helping each other get though this.” Says Anthony.
According to these organizations:
Of the total raised to date, $2 million will be used to seed an emergency fund to which the public can also donate to by clicking here.
$1 million has been directed by the foundations to specific organizations outside of the emergency fund. The emergency fund will be housed at the Tulsa Community Foundation and jointly managed by TCF and TAUW.
Major donors to date include the following, though donations are continuously being made and this list will continue to expand and be updated:
- George Kaiser Family Foundation
- Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation
- The Anne and Henry Zarrow Foundation
- Coretz Family Foundation
- Hardesty Family Foundation
- Hale Family Foundation
- The Judith and Jean Pape Adams Charitable Foundation
- ONE Gas Foundation
- Public Service Company of Oklahoma
- QuikTrip
- Lobeck Taylor Family Foundation
- Bank of Oklahoma
- Kivisto Family Fund
To donate now by credit card, click here.
Donations by check should be made payable to Tulsa Community Foundation and include “Tulsa Area COVID-19 Response Fund” in the memo of the check. Mail checks to Tulsa Community Foundation, 7030 S. Yale Ave., Suite 600, Tulsa, Okla., 74136. All donations are tax-deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law.
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