To our grantee partners,

Over the past few months, as we’ve watched COVID-19 balloon from a few hundred cases around the world to a full-blown pandemic, we’ve all been struggling to adjust to this new reality. Our team has appreciated being in touch with you, and we’re doing our best to be good partners during this challenging time. Based on the feedback we have received from a number of our grantees, we wanted to provide more clarity and certainty about our ongoing commitment to you.

We have signed the Council on Foundations’ COVID-19 Response Pledge, marking our commitment to be as flexible and responsive as possible with existing and new funding. We know many of our grantee partners are working hard to adapt in this moment, and we want to be as supportive as we can to allow grantees to do what they need to take care of their staff and the communities they serve.

Specifically, we will loosen restrictions on our current grants, be flexible on reporting requirements and other demands on our grant partners’ time, and make new grants as unrestricted as possible during this crisis. Our goal is to ensure that our grant partners have the flexibility to respond and adapt to this everchanging situation. And as always, we will continue to lift up the voices and leadership of our partners as they do the critical work of advancing policy, programs and practices that support a more just and equitable world.

We know that the situation is evolving, and new challenges are rapidly emerging for our grantees and the families they serve. We’ve made a contribution to the Seattle Foundation’s COVID-19 Response Fund to address immediate and long-term needs in our community, and our team will continue working to identify additional opportunities for funding and collaboration to address the pandemic.

I want to express my admiration and gratitude to many of you who have responded with urgency and creativity to address the pandemic, and I want you to know that the Raikes Foundation will continue to stand with you. If there are other things you would like us to consider in response to COVID-19, I encourage you to reach out to us.  

The spread of COVID-19 has exposed to everyone the deep inequities in virtually every system in our country, from health care and housing to the economy and education. Right now, our energy and effort as a nation is rightfully dedicated to saving as many lives as possible. However, when we get through this crisis, we cannot simply return to the systems that got us here in the first place. Not when we know how fragile and unjust they truly are. Many of our friends, neighbors, and family members are in harm’s way because of our collective failure to build the kind of society that can keep them safe. As we continue to respond to this crisis, we must think about the long-term changes that are required to prevent the next crisis from having such a devasting impact on our most vulnerable communities.

We will all get through this together, and when we do, we must imagine and work toward a better future. The Raikes Foundation looks forward to building that future with you, but for now, please, take care of yourself, your family, your friends and your community.

With gratitude, 

Dennis Quirin
Executive Director
Raikes Foundation