Supporting Front-line Health Care Workers and Organizations in the Cities Where Our Teams Live and Work
Working with local partners, Bloomberg Philanthropies helped establish three separate funds to support social service and cultural organizations in New York and London.
The NYC COVID-19 Response & Impact Fund, launched with a group of foundations, including the Ford Foundation, Carnegie Corporation, and New York Community Trust, raised more than $110 million to support nearly 800 small- and mid-sized organizations across New York City.
In London, we partnered with London Mayor Sadiq Khan to help launch the Culture at Risk Business Fund and support creative venues and organizations most at risk of closing due to the pandemic. Bloomberg L.P. is also the founding corporate partner for the London Community Response Fund, established by Mayor Khan and City Bridge Trust to support local social service organizations and cultural groups.
We also supported front-line health care workers in New York City with a $6 million gift to World Central Kitchen. Our funding helped serve more than one million meals to 30,000 NYC Health + Hospitals employees during the height of New York City’s outbreak. In addition, Bloomberg L.P. provided more than 2.4 million meals in nearly 100 cities around the world through grants, volunteering, and pro-bono support to more than 150 nonprofit partners.
Together with the Ford Foundation and the JPB Foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies provided a $1.2 million grant to support the Fresh Air Fund’s Summer Spaces and Youth Employment Programs in New York City. Based on the Bloomberg Administration’s Summer Streets program, which gave New Yorkers more space to enjoy the outdoors, Summer Spaces has engaged as many as 26,000 children from low-income communities in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Queens, in safe, supervised activities during a time when the pandemic has limited outdoor recreation options. The program also employed more than 200 young adults to serve as activity specialists, coaches, and counselors.
Podcast
Fatima Shama, the Executive Director of The Fresh Air Fund, Shares How the Organization Innovated Its Programming for Youth During the Pandemic
Bloomberg L.P. also donated more than 50,000 masks — usually reserved for employees during periods of poor air quality — to help protect medical workers in New York City; Frankfurt, Germany; and across the United Kingdom.
Top photo: This partnership between Bloomberg Philanthropies and Fresh Air Fund Summer Space represents an investment in shaping the future of New York City by addressing the lack of appealing options for children to play outdoors safely and for young New Yorkers to gain valuable work experience and earn income due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Pictured above is Jackson Heights, New York.