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By Ellen Cagle – Specials Editor, Kansas City Business Journal

A group of Kansas City-area foundations and organizations created a fund to raise at least $10 million for coronavirus relief.

The fund is being coordinated by the Greater Kansas City Community Foundation, United Way of Greater Kansas City, LISC Greater Kansas City and the Mid-America Regional Council, according to a Tuesday release. The Hall Family Foundation and the Sunderland Foundation said they would partner and match donations up to $5 million.

“The coordinating organizations hope the potential grant will be a catalyst for the community to give, and strongly encourage everyone who has the means to donate to the fund,” the release said.

The effort comes as many area nonprofits have canceled events, which provide much of their annual funding. For example, Kansas City domestic violence shelter Newhouse is launching an online fundraising campaign to raise $50,000 for domestic violence survivors. One of the organization’s major fundraising events was canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Grants from the Kansas City Regional COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund will be made to public charities and public organizations, according to the release. Grants will be released as soon as possible, and funding will target housing support, including mortgage, rent and utilities, food insecurity, health care access and other human services. The money will support charities’ operations and services and increase their ability to serve people affected by COVID-19, the disease caused by a strain of coronavirus.

Organizations in Cass, Clay, Jackson, Platte and Ray counties in Missouri, and Johnson, Leavenworth, Miami and Wyandotte counties in Kansas are eligible for relief.

A 15-person advisory board made up of foundations, community representatives and civic leaders will oversee the effort and approve grants. The board will release reports to donors and the community.

“This fund is a powerful tool to combine philanthropic generosity, the capacity of vital community service providers and the goodwill of the public at large to help everyone in Kansas City endure this challenge,” MARC Executive Director David Warm said in the release.

In addition to the coordinating organizations, these companies and organizations are founding funders:

You can donate to the fund by clicking this link. Institutions who want to join the effort can contact Denise St. Omer at the Greater Kansas City Community Foundation at stomer@growyourgiving.org.

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