COVID-19 Resources and Our Response

The impacts COVID-19 have pervaded nearly every aspect of daily life. For the nonprofit sector, this has meant restrictions on in-person meetings, adapting programming, flexing and reshaping budgets, and so much more.

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The Black Equity Coalition

Going beyond responding to COVID-19, The Black COVID-19 Equity Coalition is comprised of a group of physicians, researchers, epidemiologists, public health and health care practitioners, social scientists, bioethicists, community funders, and government officials concerned about addressing COVID-19 in vulnerable populations.

Black Equity Coalition

The Forbes Funds serves as an intermediary for the nonprofit sector and has served several-thousand individuals representing organizations in Allegheny and Washington County. In these contacts, we are better able to contextualize the needs of Southwestern PA nonprofits.

More About The Coalition

Our COVID response and priorities for 2021 primarily focus on optimizing existing expertise, using the following:

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International Anti-Racism Wireframe Cohorts (ARC)

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Needs Assessment Data

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Weekly Call for Community Solutions since March 2020

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Technology

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Grantmaking Pivot

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Virtual Coaching

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GPNP Policy Agenda

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Catalytic Community Cohorts

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Social Innovation Learning Cohorts

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and more...

The role of nonprofits in COVID response

As is often the case with the nonprofit sector, the expectation is to do more with less. Responding includes, and will continue to include cross-sector collaboration and innovation. The Forbes Funds maintains its commitment to capacity building, programming, and supports that bolster the nonprofit sector in one of the most crucial periods for human services to date.

To that end, the nonprofit sector is uniquely positioned to respond to needs arising from the COVID pandemic, as they possess community knowledge, infrastructure, and resources for helping when hard times hit. Given the sweeping impact of the pandemic, the need for nonprofit services and resources is at an all-time high, while funding and capacity hang in a delicate balance. This requires creativity and collective solution-building. In other words, COVID-19 has required The Forbes Funds, the Greater Pittsburgh region, and the entire world to become agile, iterative, collaborative, innovative, and transformative!

Are you part of a human service and community-based organizations in Allegheny County?

Within this work, it is critical that we center at-risk groups and organizations that support communities with vulnerable populations. We know that workers with highest risk of exposure are also some of the most economically vulnerable, therefore it is of utmost importance to continue serving and supporting the nonprofits that are showing up. With resources such as our Equity Indicator Tool and attention to social justice initiatives at The University of Pittsburgh and beyond, we are keeping our ears to the ground for ways to effectuate change and reduce disparate outcomes.
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Fred Brown, CEO

Fred Brown propelled the BEC coalition forward with partners from The University of Pittsburgh and throughout the region. He is a thought-leader in innovation, capacity-building, and sustainable social development. He serves as the current President & CEO of The Forbes Funds. Prior to that, he served as President & CEO of the Homewood Children’s Village, a place-based approach to children’s development through whole family support. He has received global awards and appointments for his innovative work including recognition by the Club Of Rome, and the Environmental Justice Leader award by the Ford Foundation.

FRED BROWN
President & CEO

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