United Way of Tarrant County
Corporations, foundations and individuals have contributed more than $545,000 to the United Way of Tarrant County’s Emergency Relief Fund, the organization said, and it announced It allocated $200,000 to 11 agencies focused on providing basic and critical needs to the 120,000-plus Tarrant County residents hurt by COVID-19.
The release of money from the Emergency Relief Fund was the second significant; in late March, the United Way allocated $50,000 to six agencies. The United Way is collecting applications through a new online platform, northtexascares.org.
“The amount of need in our community is unlike anything we’ve ever seen,” Leah King, president and CEO of the United Way of Tarrant County, said in a release. “We are so thankful to our generous donors who recognize that so many of our fellow citizens are unable to make ends meet because of the impact of the virus.”
All recipients are focused on serving the basic needs of vulnerable populations including food, baby formula, rent and utilities, the agency said. “Recipients also include those providing alternative sources of income, access to the internet/technology as well as helping with operating funds for organizations providing essential services and support.”
The recipients:
- Apartment Life, Euless: $25,000
- Arlington Urban Ministries, Arlington: $18,000
- Beautiful Feet Ministries, south Fort Worth: $10,000
- Community Link Mission, Saginaw: $30,000
- Crowley House of Hope, Crowley: $7,000
- DFW Asylum Seeker Housing Network, Fort Worth: $15,000
- LVTRise, west Fort Worth: $15,000
- North Texas Area Community Health Centers, Inc., Fort Worth, Arlington: $20,000
- North Texas Community Table, North Richland Hills: $25,000
- Tarrant County College Foundation: $25,000
- Volunteers of America Texas, Euless: $10,000
United Way of Tarrant County, in late March, announced an initial release of $50,000 from its Emergency Relief Fund to six organizations focused on basic needs. The recipients included:
- Child Care Associates: $10,000
- Combatants Overcoming Income Needs, COIN: $5,000
- Community Action Partners: $10,000
- Community Enrichment Center: $7,500
- GRACE: $7,500
- Tarrant County Homeless Coalition: $10,000
Contributors to the Relief Fund include Alcon Foundation, Bank of America, Folsom Point Charities, Frost Bank, Gaudin Family Foundation, GXA, Lhoist, Lockheed Martin Missile and Fire Control, Tenaska, UNTHSC, and Wells Fargo.
The Texas Rangers baseball team on Friday announced a partnership to raise money for the Relief Fund. Donations to the Emergency Relief Fund can be made at TexasRangers.com/giveunitedway.
“The money raised will be allocated at the direction of United Way of Tarrant County and the Texas Rangers Foundation to Tarrant County organizations for basic needs such as meals for senior citizens and school-aged children, baby formula, rent and utilities and child care for first responders and health care workers,” the team and United Way said.
The Rangers will raise awareness of the Emergency Relief Fund through email outreach to fans, social media and online channels.
The United Way also is helping coordinate a creative relief fund set up by Hear Fort Worth and Film Fort Worth to support musicians, visual artists, and filmmakers who have lost work because of COVID-19.
Hear Fort Worth’s initiative is an extension of Fort Worth musician Rachel Gollay’s Artist & Service Worker Relief Fund, which raised $10,000 and provided support of $200 per qualified applicant.
Visit Fort Worth, parent of Hear Fort Worth and Film Fort Worth, will manage the application process, and United Way will handle collection of donations and fund distribution.
“Members of the creative community have been ambassadors for our city and we need to support them in this crisis,” Mitch Whitten, executive vice president of marketing and strategy at Visit Fort Worth, said in a release. “We want to support musicians, artists and filmmakers who have lost so much work and income.”
United Way of Tarrant County will host the donation and application page on their website here. The goal is to reach a total $20,000, but the fund will stay open as long as donations continue to come in. Gifts to the fund will be 100% tax-deductible, with tax acknowledgements provided by United Way of Tarrant County for any individual donations of $250 or more.
Agencies that want to apply for a grant from the United Way Emergency Relief Fund must be a 501c3 and provide services in North Texas that address immediate or long-term relief efforts in response to COVID-19.
Requests should focus on first responders or support for vulnerable populations such as senior citizens, children, people experiencing homelessness, low-income displaced workers, medical professionals and those without other resources.
Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis and evaluated every week. Recipients will be selected based on the needs outlined in the application, data from calls received at 2-1-1, an emergency hotline that refers individuals to social services agencies and organizations, and a review of our partner agencies by United Way of Tarrant County’s Community Investment team.
United Way of Tarrant County said it intends to allocate funds each week based on requests received, with payments being issued every Friday beginning April 3, 2020. Funding decisions will be made throughout the crisis period to facilitate the urgent need for funding against evolving community need, the United Way said.