Our COVID-19 Response

December 4, 2020

COVID-19 and its far-reaching impacts have infiltrated every aspect of our lives and further revealed our interconnectedness and that we are only as safe as those members of our community who are most vulnerable – not only those with health conditions, but communities of color, immigrant communities, and low-income communities that are already in distress.

Dodge has awarded more than $2 million in COVID-19 relief and response grants using funds from the Foundation’s administrative, operating, and grants budgets as well as additional spending from its endowment. In addition to signing onto the Council on Foundations’ Pledge, Dodge pledged to stand with and support the nonprofit sector and our grantee partners, work with trusted philanthropic partners to support the emergency needs of communities, intensify our commitment to equity, steward our financials for the long-term benefit of an equitable New Jersey while tailoring our responses based on phases of the disaster lifecycle model and being respectful of and flexible to the needs of our nonprofit partners.

Since the pandemic, Dodge has provided urgent relief to the most vulnerable communities in our state, including people and communities of color, and helped nonprofits stabilize their operations and respond to the needs of their communities. In addition, Dodge is continuing to provide strategic relief and support through general operating support grants to current grantee partners to sustain their operations while also building new relationships with organizations with a focus on grassroots advocacy, community organizing, and power-building initiatives to inform, engage, and activate people and communities of color in the near-term response phase of the crisis.

As we look toward 2021 and build toward an equitable recovery, the Foundation aims to further equip people and communities of color with information and opportunities to lead to greater social change as significant federal and state stimulus infusion of dollars are deployed to meet the needs of businesses, communities, and individuals. The nonprofit sector and most impacted communities will be essential to providing expertise, knowledge, and relationships with community stakeholders to help ensure resources are equitably distributed.

COVID-19 Grants

Dodge has committed more than $2 million in COVID-19 response grants. In addition to signing onto the Council on Foundations’ Pledge, Dodge pledged to stand with and support the nonprofit sector and our grantee partners, work with trusted philanthropic partners to support the emergency needs of communities, intensify our commitment to equity, steward our financials for the long-term benefit of an equitable New Jersey while tailoring our responses based on phases of the disaster lifecycle model and being respectful of and flexible to the needs of our nonprofit partners.

In April, Dodge made $1 million in COVID-19 grants to support urgent relief. Read more here.

  • These grants included $600,000 to support immediate relief efforts aimed at issues and sectors outside of the Foundation’s program areas, such as food and housing insecurity: $300,000 to the New Jersey Pandemic Relief Fund, $100,000 to the United Way of Greater Newark COVID-19 Community Response Fund, $100,000 to the South Jersey COVID-19 Response Fund, $75,000 to the Princeton Area Community Foundation’s COVID-19 Fund, and $25,000 the Coronavirus Dance Relief Fund at Dance/NYC.
  • A total of $400,000 in grants were made to 56 grantee partners to help organizations stabilize operations, adapt programming, and respond to the needs of their communities, prioritizing organizations most vulnerable to economic instability, advancing equity, or stewarding a unique cultural asset as well as critical intermediaries and membership, network-support, and advocacy organizations.

In June, Dodge made $550,000 in COVID-19 grants to support additional urgent relief and strategic support. Read more here.

  • These grants included $450,000 to support additional pooled funds providing urgent support: $200,000 to the Undocumented and Immigrants Fund of the New Jersey Pandemic Relief Fund, $200,000 to the New Jersey Arts and Culture Fund, and $50,000 to the NJ Local News Lab Fund.
  • A total of $100,000 in strategic support grants were made, including $25,000 to Foundation for Educational Administration for its Trauma-Informed Schools Initiative, $25,000 to Rutgers Center for Migration and the Global City for Newark residents and community organizations to share their own stories, conduct their own community-based projects, and to share Newark’s history through digital media projects, and $50,000 to Sustainable Jersey to support its Digital Schools Project.

In September, Dodge made $385,000 in COVID-19 grants to urgent and strategic support, as well as six grants in support of the fundamental process and perceived integrity of the November election, which has been severely impacted by the pandemic. Read more here.

  • A total of $100,000 urgent and strategic grants were made, including $25,000 to the Atlantic City Community Fund, $25,000 to CATA Farmworkers Support Committee, $25,000 to Fair Share Housing Center, $15,000 to Newark Symphony Hall, $10,000 to Conservatory of Music and Performing Arts Society for the art supplies fund of the Any Given Child Trenton Art initiative.
  • Grants totaling $285,000 were made in support of election integrity, including $100,000 for Votebeat, $100,000 to the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice, $25,000 to the League of Women Voters New Jersey Education Fund, $25,000 to the NAACP NJ State Conference, $25,000 to Project Ready, and $10,000 to the Center for Cooperative Media.

In October, Dodge made an additional $275,000 in COVID-19 grants. Read more here.

  • These grants include: $100,000 to the Morristown Partnership Commercial Rent Relief Fund, $100,000 to the South Jersey COVID-19 Response Fund, $50,000 to the Foundation for Educational Administration, and $25,000 to the I Am Trenton Community Foundation.