Published: 18 June 2020
Image by Cachete Jack for Fine Acts, Spring for Hope
Below are some concrete examples of how we tried to help our grantee partners navigate the Covid-19 crisis.
Maximum flexibility: On 13 March we sent a note to all our grantee partners in which we assured them that we understand their work may require shifts in strategy, reprioritisation, and adjustments. We have provided extensions, budget modifications, advanced payments, and allowed for the reorientation of funding to respond to this time of extraordinary challenge.
Reaching out: We set up many informal conversations with our grantee partners to better understand their needs, so that we could provide them with the required support and flexibility. We also organised several informal “virtual coffee & tea chats” for our different grantee cohorts, during which people could connect with their peers, discuss the latest developments in the field, or simply enjoy some time in solidarity with likeminded people.
Joint strategising: We organised several online grantee convenings, during which our grantee partners took stock of the many recent developments in the field and tried to identify solutions and concrete ways to keep their important work going.
Capacity building: We organised a training for our grantee partners on holding successful online gatherings. This training aimed to provide our partners with more confidence in leading online gatherings and to make them more familiar with ways/tools to keep the discussion engaging.
Resource sharing: We created a living resource document with our grantee partners, listing all sorts of useful tools, guides and other resources.
Deadline extensions: We postponed several deadlines, including the one for applications for our Request for Proposals to support independent, public interest journalism organisations. By providing two extra months, we wanted to show our solidarity with journalism organisations, whose efforts are all the more vital at a time of crisis. The grants are still expected to go out by the end of this year, so the additional application time did not negatively impact the starting date of the grants.
These are just some examples of the ways in which we try to help our grantee partners, so that they can do what they do best: trying to ensure that we will emerge from this crisis in the best shape possible. If you want to learn more about the work of our grantees, sign up for our newsletter where we share their stories.