United Way’s Rapid Response Fund Distributes $206,785 in Third Round of Funding

United Way of the Greater Triangle announced today that its Rapid Response Fund is distributing an additional $206,785 in funding this week to 29 nonprofits in Wake, Durham, Orange, and Johnston Counties providing residents with critical resources during the COVID-19 crisis. To date, the Fund has provided a total of $751,015 to 85 organizations including Inter-Faith Food Shuttle, Johnston Lee Harnett Community Action, and Village of Wisdom — 74% of which are led by people of color and/or women (see below for more information).

The impact made by Rapid Response Fund grants to date includes:

• 334,454 healthy and nutritious meals provided to the most vulnerable populations in the Greater Triangle. With schools closing and income reduced as a result of wide-spread layoffs, access to food has emerged as the most urgent immediate need for families, according to Rapid Response Fund applications for funding.
• 2,012 people provided with emergency rental assistance and emergency housing services to prevent displacement and ensure a safe, affordable place to stay.
• 17,460 children provided with the resources necessary to support their educational needs while out of school. In-home book deliveries, providing computers, and online tutoring are some of the ways that United Way’s Rapid Response Fund recipients are adjusting to meet the needs of the community.
• 26,204 adults received the necessary medications, products, and services to address pre-existing health conditions and ensure their physical and mental health during isolation and contact restrictions.

Rapid Response Fund grant decisions are made by internal and external United Way representatives who consider factors including the race and gender of each applying organization’s leadership, as well as their intended impact, when making final commitments. To date, 35.42% of the total grant awards went to organizations led by people of color and provided each organization with an average grant of $6,539.35. 38.54% of the grant awards went to nonprofits led by white women and provided each with an average grant of $8,579.49. To date, the organization has received a total of 179 applications for funding, with requests totaling $5.6M.

“In only two months, we’ve been able to distribute nearly 70% of the donations that Rapid Response Fund has collected so far. That is an incredible feat and it wouldn’t be possible without every single person that has chipped in to support,” explains Eric Guckian, United Way of the Greater Triangle’s President and CEO. “But while this is encouraging, the need in the community is still so great and we’re thankful for everyone that continues to donate as they’re able.”

The Fund has raised more than $1.1M to date thanks to more than 1,000 individual donors as well as generous contributions from corporate partners including Burns & McDonnell, Burt’s Bees, Caterpillar Foundation, Coastal Credit Union Foundation, Coca-Cola Consolidated, Credit Suisse, Deloitte, F.M. Kirby Foundation, Google Fiber, GSK, Nationwide Foundation, NetApp, Novozymes, Oak Foundation, Pentair, Pinnacle Financial Partners, PNC, RTI International, Syngenta, Triangle Community Foundation, Truist Foundation, UPS, Wells Fargo Foundation, and more. 100% of the funds raised will go back out into the community through multiple funding rounds.

The following organizations will receive funding from the Rapid Response Fund during this third funding cycle: Club Nova Community, Inc., Community Empowerment Fund, Dementia Alliance of North Carolina, Durham Children’s Initiative (DCI), Durham Technical Community College Foundation, Easterseals UCP North Carolina, Emily K Center, Families Together, Farmer Foodshare, Inc., Good News Buenas Nuevas, H.E.A.R.T.S., Johnston Community College Foundation, Inc., Johnston County Industries, Inc., Johnston Lee Harnett Community Action, Inc., Lucy Daniels Center, Monarch, Partners for Youth Opportunity (PYO), Partnership for Children of Johnston County, Passage Home, SouthLight, Student U, Tammy Lynn Center, The Green Chair Project, Transplanting Traditions Community Farm, True Care Solutions Inc., U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants, US Veterans Corps, Village of Wisdom, and Youth Villages

United Way is now taking a couple of weeks to collect additional community data that will help ensure future funding decisions continue to provide support where it’s most needed. The organization expects to make its next funding decision in mid-June. To donate, visit www.unitedwaytriangle.org/response.

To learn more about the Rapid Response Fund, including a full list of grant recipients and where organizations can apply for funding, visit United Way of the Greater Triangle’s website.