Deep Dive: United Way’s Process for Rapid Response Fund Allocation Decisions

UPDATE #1: Rapid Response Fund will soon issue $266,830 in second round of funding to 36 local nonprofit organizations.

United Way’s Rapid Response Fund is set to issue an additional $266,830 in the near future to 36 local nonprofit organizations in Wake, Durham, Orange, and Johnston Counties providing residents with critical resources during the COVID-19 crisis. In just 6 weeks since launching, the Fund has been able to allocate a total of $544,210 to 61 organizations within the same four-county footprint. This work is made possible by the incredible generosity of more than 980 individual donors and 20 corporate partners, whose donations have helped the Rapid Response Fund raise more than $1M to date.

But the community’s needs are much greater. The Rapid Response Fund received 104 new applications for the second round of funding with requests totaling more than $3.4M to cover only one month of service. In total, it has received more than 165 applications for funding with requests for more than $5.3M.

Here is a complete list of funds that will be distributed within each category:

And here’s how those funds will be distributed by county:

United Way anticipates making decisions for the third round of funding by the week of May 11. To apply, visit United Way of the Greater Triangle’s Apply For Funding: Rapid Response Fund page now.

Here’s a full list of the funded recipients in the second round of funding: A Place at the Table, Book Harvest, Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Raleigh, Chapel Hill-Carrboro Meals on Wheels, Child Care Services Association, Christian Community In Action (Dorcas Ministries), Church World Service (CWS) Durham, Communities In Partnership, Curamericas Global, Curryblossom Foundation, Diaper Bank of North Carolina, Durham Congregations In Action, Durham Nativity School, El Centro Hispano, Grocers on Wheels, Kramden Institute, LGBTQ Center of Durham, Inc., LIFE Skills Foundation, Lincoln Community Health Center, Inc., Meals on Wheels of Wake County, Methodist Home for Children’s Barbara H. Curtis Center and Jordan Center, Mighty Men Of Valor Outreach, Refugee Community Partnership, SAFEchild, SOAR Outreach, Southeast Raleigh Vicinity Emerging, Student U, TABLE, Inc., The Daniel Center for Math and Science, The Family Violence Prevention Center, Inc. (InterAct), The Marian Cheek Jackson Center for Saving and Making History, The Presbyterian Homes Foundation, Inc. on behalf of Capital Towers, Inc. , Ties for Guys Men’s Ministry, Inc., Tri-Area Ministry Food Pantry, True Care Solutions, Inc., and World Relief Durham.

*In applications for the second round of funding, the Rapid Response Fund did not receive applications from organizations solely serving Johnston County. However several of the awarded organizations serve multiple counties, including Johnston, and will be distributing funds into that community as needed.

**Several awarded organizations serve residents in multiple counties simultaneously.

More than 200,000 people in the Greater Triangle were already struggling with the effects of poverty before the first case of COVID-19 was reported in North Carolina.

Now one month in, more than 500,000 unemployment claims have been filed in the state alone and one nonprofit says that their client-choice food pantry program serving Wake County residents has seen a 40% increase in the number of shoppers – an average of 70 families per day – using their curbside service in the last two weeks alone.

That isn’t an isolated situation either. United Way of the Greater Triangle’s Rapid Response Fund opened applications for its first round of funding on March 26 and within one week, 67 local nonprofits had submitted requests for emergency funding totaling $1,864,488.46. Those requests were only to cover one month’s worth of increased services that each organization is providing during this global health crisis.

As everything continues, it’s clear that donations to support organizations on the front lines are more important than ever before. Donate now to support United Way’s Rapid Response Fund: https://unitedwaytriangle.org/response

THE APPLICATIONS:

The community need during this crisis continues to change and as a result, so do the solutions. To ensure that United Way of the Greater Triangle’s Rapid Response Fund provides emergency funding support where it’s needed most, we asked nonprofits on the front lines to provide the information that would help inform those first investments.

Nearly half of the requests for funding in this first round (49.86% or 34 individual applications) came from organizations providing food to residents experiencing food insecurity as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. These organizations estimate that the cost of their services, for now, amounts to $929,588.18 per month.

Following that, 16.65% or 22 of the applications came from organizations providing housing and rental assistance. These organizations estimate their costs of services are now totaling $310,376.00 per month.

Most of the remainder of the applications came from organizations providing childcare and education support (13.65% or 15 of the applications) and those providing healthcare services (10.42% or 11 applications). Combined, these organizations estimate their new monthly cost of services total $447,166.48.

United Way is also intentionally separating applications from organizations that don’t fall within the initial four funding categories in order to be able to quickly identify how community needs might change. This “other” category received 11 applications with a total request of $177,357.80 to support new monthly services. While applications in this category did not receive funding in this first round, the intention is that funding categories could shift throughout the duration of this crisis as community needs continue to evolve.

THE FUNDING DECISION PROCESS:

Speed and efficiency are essential when responding during times of crisis. United Way of the Greater Triangle has committed to assessing community needs and available dollars every two weeks with the latter driving distribution and ability to meet the needs of organizations applying for funding.

United Way’s Community Investment Committee is leading the application review and decision-making process with a focus on the organizations that could make the most impact at the lowest cost. Companies represented on this committee include Cisco, Coastal Credit Union, Collective Impact Forum, Duke Energy, Truist, and more.

Once all committee members are aligned, recommendations are then shared with United Way’s Executive Committee which includes representatives from companies and entities including Durham County, First Citizens Bank, Pinnacle Financial Partners, RSM US, and more.

Funding decisions for the first round were originally intended to be made by Friday, April 3 but were delayed in the midst of Durham Public School’s announcement that its meal program was ending on Monday, April 6 after an employee tested positive for COVID-19. The list was officially and unanimously approved on Wednesday, April 8.

The needs in our community are currently exceeding the amount that the Rapid Response Fund has available to distribute and as a result, some of the organizations approved received partial funding in this first investment round. Those decisions were made after a deep and careful review of the itemized budgets provided by each organization.

Here are the organizations that received funding in the first round: Alliance Medical Ministry, Book Harvest, CASA, Chapel Hill-Carrboro Public School Foundation, Chapel Hill Training Outreach Project: KidScope, Church in the Woods, Durham Public Schools Foundation, Families Moving Forward, Good News Buenas Nuevas, Hope Center at Pullen, Housing For New Hope, Inter-Faith Food Shuttle, Johnston Lee Harnett Community Action, Meals on Wheels of Durham, Oak City Cares, Orange Congregations in Mission, Partnership For Children, PORCH Chapel Hill-Carrboro, Refugee Support Center, Sharing Community Love, StandUp-SpeakOut, Triangle Family Services, Urban Ministries of Durham, Urban Ministries of Wake County, Wake County Boys and Girls Club, and YMCA of the Triangle.

Here is a complete list of funds that will be distributed within each category:

And here’s how those funds will be distributed by county:

To apply, visit United Way of the Greater Triangle’s Apply For Funding: Rapid Response Fund page now.