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COVID-19 RESPONSE FUND AND ASSISTANCE UPDATE

  • Published
  • On July 28, 2020

As of July 17th, we have raised over $1.1M for the Covid-19 Response Fund! This is an unprecedented display of generosity. The past four months of giving demonstrates a profound sense of compassion for those in need.  We are continuing to raise money for the COVID-19 Response Fund, as we are not expecting the need from individuals, nonprofits, or businesses to end any time soon. We know that, while many people have returned to the workforce, many are under-employed. These low-wage workers struggled before to meet their basic needs. We also know that the benefits of the CARES Act PPP and EIDL loans have been fully absorbed.

Over $550,000 has been spent to date from the Covid-19 Response Fund on Good Neighbor assistance.  These cash assistance grants to individuals and families experiencing layoffs or illness have been instrumental to keep families intact, by providing critical human needs such as rent assistance, food, and medicine. Over $300,000 has been spent on nonprofit emergency grants; many of these grants to upgrade broadband are proving to be critical as students return to school with hybrid approaches and the potential for a quick pivot to on-line learning.  Our most recent emergency grant supported free summer lunches for Norwood students.  The Lone Cone Library has been preparing sack lunches for pickup through July and August, providing an average of 10 to 15 lunches daily.  This summer program has been a pilot to determine the feasibility of providing Friday lunches during the Norwood school district 4-day school week.

We receive constant reminders of how important the Good Neighbor assistance program is and wanted to share a few with you:

  • “Thank you very much to all those who donated to the foundation for the help of families. I thank you deeply with this help. Now I think there are still many very good people. God bless you.”
  • Thank you so much for this wonderful gift. I cannot begin to tell you what a help this is both financially and mentally. It brings tears to my eyes just thinking of the support I feel from my community. I have always been dedicated to my work and my community and this opportunity has redoubled my efforts to give back to my community. Please pass on my sincere gratitude to all involved.
  • Again, thank you so much. I can’t tell you how much this helps me right now.  I’ve never received help like this before.

We have had a chance to analyze the local data on the CARES Act PPP loan program. We are especially proud of the Foundation staff that worked so hard to help nonprofits and small businesses access the program. The PPP loan program did have a positive impact on our community. The number of businesses receiving PPP loans and the reported jobs saved are as follows:

Town Number of PPP Loans Jobs Saved
Telluride 222 722
Norwood 21 70
Nucla 12 76
Naturita 7 57
Ouray 42 141
Rico 6 13
Total 310 1079