PFC News Philanthropy and COVID-19: Let’s roll up our sleeves Jean-Marc Mangin PFC News 2 mins read March 13, 2020 News & Insights PFC News Philanthropy and COVID-19: Let’s roll up our sleeves Jean-Marc Mangin It has been a hell of a week that is leaving all of us, including philanthropic foundations, dizzy and disoriented. Our endowments are suffering catastrophic losses; we are scrambling to make alternative arrangements to continue operations; we worry about loved ones who are suddenly unable to return home or belong to groups that are highly vulnerable to the pandemic (our elderly; those with compromised immune systems). A normal human reaction to massive stressful change would be to retreat and to regroup to weather the storm. I believe that it would be a historic mistake to do so. Instead of retreating, we need to step up and to become more engaged. This is the hour of need for many of our partners, for marginalized communities with weak resilience and for strengthening the ties that make up Canada. There is much to learn from our collective experience during the Great Recession in 2008-09, from the response to previous epidemics (from SARS to Ebola) and from what is happening in the USA, Europe and East Asia. PFC will step up its role in helping its members to learn from each other and from emerging international good practice. PFC is also reaching out to our partners who support philanthropic and non-for-profit platforms, including Imagine Canada, Community Foundations of Canada and the Ontario Nonprofit Network to support a coordinated response. As a first step, PFC is organizing a one-hour webinar next Wednesday March 18, 14h00 to 15h00 ET on Philanthropy’s Response to COVID-19. The agenda and speakers will be shared early next week. While Monday’s March 16 Foundation House webinar will focus on how to adapt and maintain internal operations, Wednesday’s webinar will concentrate on programming and the changing needs of grantees. PFC will convene another webinar on investment practices at a later date. Canada remains better positioned than most countries to respond to this crisis, to minimize human suffering and to protect all of its citizens. Public Health Agencies across the country have done an admirable job so far. Our public institutions including the social net supported by not-for-profit community organizations will need our collective contribution to prepare, manage and recover from this emergency. I am convinced that we are up to this historic challenge. Share This Article Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email
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