CrowdStreet News

CrowdStreet Community Cares: How You Can Help

Our team has put together a list of regional, national, and international organizations managing the COVID-19 crisis that could use your support.

by Shawna Wright-Smith

COVID-19–also known as the coronavirus–has changed life as we knew it. There is no telling exactly when we’ll go back to “normal,” and that makes this a very frightening time for many.

Many in the CrowdStreet community have been asking, “How can I help?” Our community of investors and sponsors has the means to mobilize in support of those on the front lines, as well as those most deeply impacted by the economic uncertainty of the times. As Bill Gates recently said, “There is no time to waste.”

So we put our review skills to work. Our team has put together a list of regional, national, and international organizations managing the immediate crisis on the ground, making it easier to find worthy causes that will put your donation to work in helping solve this crisis. 

We’ll routinely update this post as the situation unfolds with other groups in need of your support.

Feeding America

Feeding America is responding to this crisis by doing what they do best – feeding people in need. Nearly 37 million people face hunger in the U.S. today — including more than 11 million children and nearly 5.4 million seniors. Hunger knows no boundaries — it touches every community in the U.S., including your own. Feeding America supports 200 food banks and 60,000 food pantries and meal programs across the United States.

The International Rescue Committee

The International Rescue Committee has launched coronavirus preparedness and response programs in over 40 countries, including the US, Greece, Italy, Syria and Yemen. Our health teams are working around the clock to rapidly detect, respond and prevent further spread of the disease.

Donations support our work, and help us contain the coronavirus outbreak. Your gift will help us reach families in coronavirus-affected areas and support our work worldwide. The world’s more than 70 million displaced people, the highest number ever recorded, require more than “aid as usual.” Their growing and increasingly complex needs mandate a transformation—a creative rethinking—in the global humanitarian response. The International Rescue Committee has taken on this challenge.

National Alliance on Mental Illness

National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) is the nation’s largest grassroots mental health organization. They are dedicated to improving the lives of millions of Americans affected by mental illness. NAMI strives to create a better tomorrow—a tomorrow where all people affected by mental illness can experience hope, recovery and wellness in a world free of stigma.  

The NAMI COVID-19 Mental Health Support Fund is giving NAMI the ability to utilize their full suite of COVID-19 response efforts ensuring vast access to timely, practical mental health information, bolstering the capacity of NAMI’s HelpLine, and fortifying their grassroots network of NAMI Affiliates and NAMI State Organizations.

Guide on “How to Protect Your Mental Health during the Coronavirus Outbreak”

World Central Kitchen

World Central Kitchen (WCK) is working across America to safely distribute individually packaged fresh meals in communities that need support, for children and families to pick up and take home, as well as delivered to seniors who cannot venture outside. We’re now serving tens of thousands of meals daily in New York City, Washington DC, Little Rock, Los Angeles, Newark, Oakland, San Francisco, New Orleans, Miami, Puerto Rico, and USVI — with more to come

WCK is in the process of integrating into their food relief efforts restaurants and meal delivery companies so they have large-scale, distributed reach, while also supporting these industries that are suffering.

WCK has also joined forces with initiatives across America to deliver fresh, hot meals to hospitals and clinics fighting on the frontlines.

The Robin Hood Relief Fund

The Robin Hood Relief Fund has funded 299 organizations and issued over 339 grants in its response to the COVID-19 pandemic in which New York City is at the epicenter. With nearly 1.8 million New Yorkers living in poverty, this demographic will continue to be hit hardest. Before the pandemic, nearly half of New Yorkers had less than $400 in savings. Now, many have lost their jobs.

The Robin Hood Relief Fund is helping New Yorkers by supporting nonprofit organizations on the frontlines. 100% of donations will provide emergency support through food, housing, job security, and more.  

Heart to Heart International

Heart to Heart International strengthens communities through improving health access, providing humanitarian development and administering crisis relief worldwide. They engage volunteers, collaborate with partners and deploy resources to achieve this mission.

Heart to Heart International has launched international, domestic and local responses to COVID-19. HHI deployed a team of infection prevention and control experts to the Marshall Islands to develop the country’s COVID response and continues to support remotely. HHI’s Haiti team has a community health worker program focusing now on COVID-19 information campaigns. In Puerto Rico, HHI is working with partners to implement virtual monitoring and a helpline for those experiencing symptoms. Volunteer medical providers are currently in New York helping relieve staff shortages at hospitals in the hardest hit state. HHI’s mobile medical unit with doctors and nurses will deploy to support community members experiencing housing instability, as cases have now been confirmed locally in this vulnerable population. Across the U.S., HHI is distributing hygiene kits for those in quarantine or unable to leave their homes. While personal protection supplies are limited globally, HHI has collected and distributed items, including masks, gowns, and sanitizers. HHI remains an active member of healthcare coalitions, providing gap support so that service organizations can continue to operate.

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