Our Approach to Addressing the Impact of COVID-19

Updated as of JULY 9, 2020

Our hearts are heavy, but our commitment to our people, our work, and our world remains strong.

Across The Omidyar Group (TOG), teams have mobilized to respond directly to the impacts of COVID-19. TOG organizations around the world have identified areas of need and, often in partnership with existing grantee and investee communities, deployed resources to tackle a wide range of emerging challenges presented by the virus.

TOG’s decades-long approach to philanthropy is to address a diverse set of needs across geographies and focus areas through the efforts of independent, nimble organizations. In many ways, this has enabled teams to quickly pivot to support the relief efforts of their partners, create new funds on diverse issues, and immediately deliver helpful tools and resources to people in need around the world. In that spirit, TOG teams are:

Working to ensure our 2020 elections, media ecosystems, and government are equipped to meet the urgent challenges of social distancing and the coming economic downturn while also supporting current grantees as they navigate new, uncertain environments. (Democracy Fund)
Supporting documentary freelancers impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and corresponding economic shutdown. (First Look Media/Field of Vision/Topic Studios)
Calling attention to the millions of financially vulnerable Americans and advocating for action by both government and the private sector. (Flourish)
Addressing the rapid rise of loneliness affecting teens and young adults in the United States through the development of innovative digital tools and resources. (Hopelab)
Deploying emergency funds and support for grantees, partners, and communities impacted by the COVID-19 crisis. (Humanity United)
Supporting the needs of home-based child caregivers and providers impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. (Imaginable Futures)
Ensuring COVID-19 modelling and responses are open, transparent and protect individual and collective privacy. Supporting independent and public interest media to continue providing trusted information. Backing advocacy efforts to ensure short-term relief and long-term policies protect the most vulnerable in society. (Luminate)
Supporting advocacy and labor organizing efforts to address the immediate economic toll of the COVID-19 pandemic while providing individual grants to organizations focused on relief and support. (Omidyar Network)
Supporting ideas that strengthen containment, detection and treatment, support crisis management capabilities, and enhance resilience and recovery in the wake of COVID-19—focused on the lower 60% of India’s income distribution in managing and mitigating the challenges that come with the pandemic. (Omidyar Network India)
Serving the needs of communities across Hawaii and strengthening local food production to create a more self-sufficient and resilient state. (Ulupono Initiative)
Also in Hawaii, the Omidyars have partnered with the Hawaii Community Foundation to launch the Hawaii Resilience Fund to rapidly deploy resources and encourage community giving.
The Omidyars have contributed $8.6 million to the Partners in Health Emergency Coronavirus Response, which is working globally to contain and control the spread of the virus through testing and contact tracing, ensure that patients are provided with dignified care, and demonstrate to the world what aggressive action in vulnerable settings can achieve.
Pierre and Pam have also dedicated $700,000 to Last Mile Health, an organization focused on saving lives in the world’s most remote communities. The Omidyars’ support helps provide training, open source materials, tools, and best practices to health workers and leaders battling COVID-19 in Africa.

In addition to what TOG organizations are doing now, they are also looking at the long-term, knowing that the impacts of this crisis will be with us for many years to come. Below are further details of the work of TOG organizations. This page will be updated as responses develop.

$550,000 for a rapid response fund: $10,000 grants to existing grantees with budgets less than $1.5 million.
At least $1.5 million in funding to support the immediate crash in local journalism advertising and the new election processes needed to protect the 2020 election.
At least $2 million in ongoing COVID-19 funding to support the democracy field as it faces the economic downturn.

First Look Media’s Field of Vision and Topic Studios are partnering on a $325,000 relief fund to distribute unrestricted grants of up to $2,000 to support personal financial needs during the COVID-19 pandemic to freelancers who have experienced hardship from loss of income or opportunity as a result of the pandemic.
Field of Vision has also launched a resource guide and virtual mentorship and consultation service for the documentary community, especially those affected by festival postponements and production changes caused by the pandemic. In addition to a list of resources, guides, and deadlines, the team offers video meetings and calls each weekday to provide insights on a wide range of areas—including feedback on proposals and grant applications, career guidance, pitch training, and production and distribution advice.
First Look Media’s Press Freedom Defense Fund (PFDF) has partnered with the National Press Photographers Association to enhance and extend the two organizations’ extensive legal advocacy programs and provide counsel, training, and resources for journalists who have been arrested or injured while covering news stories. The PFDF has also launched a $200,000 emergency financial assistance program for journalists as the COVID-19 pandemic’s economic fallout continues to deepen across the country. The program provides cash assistance up to $1,500 to help journalists deal with the dire financial conditions they are facing today.

Flourish contributed $1 million to Fresh EBT and GiveDirectly’s Project 100 initiative to deliver $100 million to 100,000 struggling American families in the form of $1,000 cash payments. This first-of-its-kind donation from Flourish aims to act as a signal to others in the venture capital ecosystem that they, too, must look for ways to help during this critical moment by leveraging their assets and know-how to help those in need.
Flourish has invested in Summer, a mission-driven, B corporation specializing in enrolling student borrowers in best-fit Federal and state loan assistance programs. With more than 45 million borrowers holding $1.6 trillion in outstanding student debt today (more than triple 2006 levels), student loans are now the single largest source of non-mortgage household debt in the U.S., outpacing growth in both credit cards and auto loans.

Hopelab has partnered with Denver-based Grit Digital Health to develop and distribute a free resource to support the social connection and emotional well-being of young people. The Nod app offers students creative ways to connect while adhering to public health directives, drawing on tools from cognitive behavior therapy, positive psychology, and mindfulness based self-compassion.

Humanity United (HU) created a $1 million emergency response fund to support grantee and community organizations impacted by the pandemic.
Of this amount, $350,000 was provided to support local community efforts where HU staff and partners live and work. In Washington, D.C., support was given to the Far Southeast Family Strengthening Collaborative. In the Bay Area, four organizations were supported that provide services to specific at-risk populations during the crisis, namely Self-Help for the Elderly, Legal Services for Children, La Clinica de la Raza, and United Farm Workers. Additionally, in New York City, HU provided support to the New York Community Trust Emergency Fund and the North Star Fund.

Imaginable Futures has approved just over $3 million across the United States, Africa and Latin America for immediate COVID-19 support.In the United States this includes the launch of the Home-Based Child Care Emergency Fund in partnership with Home Grown, a national collaborative of funders committed to improving the quality of and access to home-based child care (HBCC). Members have committed $1.2 million to provide direct financial support to HBCC providers, helping to ensure access to child care for essential workers and to stabilize the economy and housing status of HBCC caregivers and providers. Additionally, Imaginable Futures is funding $500,000 toward Common Sense Media’s Wide Open School, an online resource aggregating academic and social emotional content from different high-quality providers and structuring resources into daily learning schedules. Imaginable Futures is excited to support the launch of the overall platform, with a focus on the early years, and also continue advocating for connectivity for all children and families.
In Brazil, Imaginable Futures is committing $500,000 with an additional $500,000 from Lemann Foundation,to create an emergency relief fund to provide Brazilian learners with access to high-quality curriculum, along with infrastructure development, like technology platforms and applications, that will have a lasting and long-term impact on learners and their school communities.
In Africa, Imaginable Futures is supporting Shining Hope for Communities, an organization that is working to empower 11 high-density urban slums in Kenya, and Shujaaz, a network of social ventures based in Kenya and Tanzania aimed to inspire, entertain and mobilize 7.5 million young people across East Africa.

Luminate has worked in partnership with Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism (RISJ) at the University of Oxford to help establish the Independent News Emergency Relief Coordination (INERC). This initiative is aimed at helping funders willing and able to provide significant financial support for independent news media better understand where the need is greatest and coordinate their efforts to make the greatest possible difference in this difficult moment. Luminate is a founding partner alongside BBC Media Action, Center for International Media Assistance, Facebook, Google, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, and WAN-IFRA, World Association of News Publishers.
A $300,000 top-up grant to the Open Data Institute supports its focus on openness and transparency of COVID-19 modelling and responses.
Luminate contributed $500,000 to Internews’ Rapid Response Fund, which gives local media — such as community radio stations and online news outlets in more than 80 countries — access to emergency funding so they can continue to operate in increasingly dire economic conditions.
Luminate’s partner New/Mode launched The New/Mode Accessibility Fund to help underfunded organizations working to shape government decisions and advocate for the most vulnerable during the COVID-19 pandemic. With Luminate’s support, these groups will be given subsidized access to New/Mode’s platform to more effectively activate grassroots power, reach decision-makers, and win campaigns.
COVID-19 has disproportionately affected Black communities in the United States, and Luminate provided $150,000 to its partner Color Of Change to support its increase in digital organizing work to shine a light on the persistent injustices that have led to this reality and ways to move forward. Color of Change is working to ensure resources are directed to where they’re needed most and that Black people in the US are not unnecessarily put in harm’s way during the pandemic.
The pandemic has significantly complicated an accurate US Census count, as census workers cannot safely go door to door to count people. In response, Luminate has provided National Conference on Citizenship with a $100,000 grant to scale up its digital outreach efforts to ensure that people are able to complete the census online, focusing on proactive outreach non-English speaking communities and other hard-to-count populations as well as combatting mis/disinformation targeting these groups.
Luminate contributed $2,000,000 in grant funding to Verified, a UN initiative to combat the growing scourge of COVID-19 misinformation by increasing the volume and reach of trusted, accurate information. With the help of recruited volunteers, Verified will tackle the coronavirus ‘infodemic’ by rapidly spreading reliable, science-based information to protect people and communities around the world. Luminate is a founding funder of the program alongside the Ikea Foundation.

Omidyar Network (ON) has created the COVID-19 Economic Response Advocacy Fund, which will infuse 501c(4) funding into national, state, and local advocacy and organizing efforts aimed at passing economic stimulus to address the immediate toll of the COVID-19 pandemic. Between now and the end of this year, ON plans to award $1.5 million to groups working to realign this nation’s economic policies and systems so that they work better for everyone. The Fund will enable organizations to step up immediate short-term advocacy efforts while establishing the new contours of the structural economic changes needed for all Americans to prosper.
In addition to the COVID-19 Economic Response Advocacy Fund, ON is supporting the following organizations:
- National Domestic Workers Alliance ($800,000)
- Paid Leave for All ($100,000)
- Africa Check ($142,000)
- Consumer Reports ($50,000)
- Meedan’s Digital Health Lab ($200,000)

Omidyar Network India created the Rapid Response Funding Initiative to tackle the challenges posed by COVID-19 and the consequent socio-economic impact, particularly with India’s most vulnerable communities. While continuing to support additional projects, to date, the $1.4 million initiative is supporting a number of organizations and projects including:

- Rapid Community Response to COVID-19 (RCRC)—a collection of 20 grassroots civil society organizations. The group will work with migrant labor and their dependents in rural areas by providing information, enumerating and counseling migrants, supporting those at starvation risk, channeling food, and motivating frontline workers.
- Jan Sahas and Jan Vikas—organizations working on providing holistic support for migrants, with a special emphasis on aiding minorities and disadvantaged communities.
- GiveIndia for its retail fundraiser on Facebook to help India fight the pandemic. The funds raised would be used to provide safety kits for healthcare workers, supporting daily wage workers, provide humanitarian aid and distribution of prevention kits.
- SAFA Society, an organization working to provide COVID-19 relief kits including food, medicines, and essential supplies in four major cities in India.
- Change.org’s citizen-based campaigns to persuade government bodies to listen to concerns and adopt ideas during implementation of COVID-19 relief programs.
- Gram Vaani, an organization working toward ensuring easy and effective multi-way knowledge sharing between communities, health workers, governments, and health experts that help flatten the curve.
- Vidhi Legal, which is developing a public health emergency data-sharing protocol for lawful and ethical sharing of data for formulating critical health responses.
- Radio Mewat to run a COVID-19 focused outreach and mobilization campaign in the local dialect.
- Gaon Connection to help disseminate information about the pandemic within the rural areas. They are doing this through a vast grid of rural influencers and opinion leaders across several states via a multi-media storytelling campaign.
- J-PAL & Rao et al. is in the process of developing research-based solution that can be scaled for delivering mental health support in response to the pandemic.
Through its Rapid Response Funding Initiative, Omidyar Network India is a part of the Action COVID-19 Team (ACT)—a Pan-India Initiative formed by leading VCs and entrepreneurs to work with government and other stakeholders to set up an INR 100 Crore fund, to support startups, non-profits, and entrepreneurs with innovative ideas to create maximum on the ground impact.

Serving the needs of communities across Hawaii and strengthening local food production to create a more self-sufficient and resilient state. Ulupono Initiative is supporting a number of organizations and projects including:

- Grant to the Hawaii Farm Bureau Foundation, which will administer and distribute the needed financial capital to local farmers and non-profit organizations that purchase food from local farmers. ($150,000)
- Grant to the Hawaii Department of Agriculture to provide immediate and vital funding to help Hawaii’s hog farmers purchase feed. Even as restaurants and hotels were suddenly shutting down their on-premises dining operations, these farmers—who largely relied on restaurant food scraps as animal feed—needed immediate access to funds to purchase feed to sustain their operations at a time when it was most needed. ($20,000)
- Grant to the Waianae Coast Comprehensive Health Center, a non-profit organization that purchases produce from local farmers to aid in providing freshly prepared meals to families in need. ($30,000)
- Grant to Aloha Harvest, another non-profit organization purchasing produce from local farmers for freshly prepared meals for families in need. ($20,000)
- Grant to The Food Basket, Hawaii Island’s food bank, to help fund the “DA BUX Double Up Food Bucks” program, a pilot program that doubles the value of benefits from the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) spent on local food at participating retail grocers. Administered by the Hawaii Department of Human Services in partnership with The Food Basket, the program empowers low-income consumers to eat healthy food, helps local farmers sustain their operations, and promotes more local food production in Hawaii. ($50,000)
- Grant to The Kohala Center, a community-based center for research, conservation, and education, to empower farmers and farm operations with needed agricultural grant/loan writer support. In 2019, that program brought in more than $5 million in federal and state grants/loans to local farmers, a record year for the program. ($100,000)
- Grant to the Hawaii Farm Bureau Foundation to likewise provide farmers and farm operations with agricultural grant/loan writer support to help sustain Hawaii’s agricultural industry by connecting the farmers available federal and state funding. ($60,000)
- Grant to Kapiolani Community College (provided through the University of Hawaii Foundation) toward the preparation of emergency school meals. Funds specifically helped purchase local beef and, from La Tour Café (another Ulupono partner), “grab and go” products made with local beef. The College is currently preparing 1,000 school meals a day. ($60,000)

Hawaii Projects

Through Hawaii Data Collaborative, working to unlock the power of publicly available data to support informed decision making for shaping the community’s response both during and in the aftermath of COVID-19.