Cape Cod Foundation Assisting Local Organizations Amid COVID-19

YARMOUTH – Since the initial spread of the coronavirus months ago, the Cape Cod Foundation has been working to mitigate the impacts of the virus through a variety of relief efforts. 

Beginning the first week of restrictions, the Cape Cod Foundation launched the Strategic Emergency Response Fund.

Initially seeded with $100,000 in discretionary funding, the fund went towards supporting the community’s immediate needs as well as long-term recovery efforts for local nonprofits.

“Since that time we’ve raised $1.1 million for the Fund and we are just getting ready to announce our fifth round of funding for $200,000 which will bring our total number distributed over the last 3 months to $780,000 back into the community right here on Cape Cod,” said Kristin O’Malley, President and CEO of The Cape Cod Foundation.

Recently, the foundation deployed $130,000 in grants to local nonprofits including the Cape Cod Children’s Place, the Cape Cod Community College Educational Foundation, and the Homeless Prevention Council.

O’Malley said that a vital part of their work has been able to distribute funds provided by the Massachusetts COVID-19 Relief Fund.

“That’s an essential part of the work we have been doing, being able to use those funds which are really intended to support immediate human needs, as well as have some flexibility with our other resources that we have in our Emergency Response Fund to fill in some of the gaps there,” said O’Malley.

“From a regional perspective, it’s been great to have Cape Cod at the table as part of this state-wide initiative to support different regions of the Commonwealth. We’re happy to be a partner in that and to be able to help give away those resources to the organizations here that need it.”

O’Malley said that the Foundation’s existing partnerships acquired over the last 31 years and its ability to ramp up its services made it only natural that the Foundation would step into this role.

“It’s really an honor to be able to serve the community in this way,” said O’Malley.

“It’s a testament to the strength of our community and the generosity and the caring Cape Codders have for each other to ensure that our community can weather the storm together and come out even stronger on the other end.”

O’Malley said that the Cape Cod Foundation is doing its best to foresee where the needs of the community will be in the coming weeks and months as the COVID-19 pandemic continues.

“For people who are planners, like myself, it’s a little hard to see around the corners. But what we’re trying to do with the resources we have is be as strategic and thoughtful as we can be so that we’re continuing to meet those immediate needs as they arise, those humanitarian needs, but also helping our nonprofit partners think about how they go through the reopening process,” said O’Malley.

“How do they think about maybe restructuring, or think about their business in a different way that will strengthen that organization and also the impact on the community. It’s a multi-tiered approach.”

O’Malley said that they will remain flexible and adapt as the COVID-19 situation changes.

“This is why we’re here. Why we build the resources that we do and why the structure of a community organization is so important in that we do have the flexibility to help meet those needs and adapt and respond as we need to,” said O’Malley.

About Grady Culhane

Grady Culhane is a Cape Cod native from Eastham. He studied media communications at Cape Cod Community College and joined the CapeCod.com News Center in 2019.



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