Over $50,000 awarded to local nonprofits for pandemic relief

Dec. 21, 2020 (Racine, WI) — United Way of Racine County (UWRC) is pleased to announce that nine local nonprofits were recently awarded a total of $62,466 in pandemic relief through the United Way of Racine County (UWRC) COVID Relief Fund.

The first recipients of this fund are the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Racine County, Health Care Network, Racine County, the Racine Zoo, Racine Friendship Clubhouse, SAFE Haven, the ARC of Racine County, Women’s Resource Center and Racine Vocational Ministry. The funds will assist these organizations’ abilities to provide emergency services, access the technology needed to run socially distanced programming and address inequities in health services for the underserved.

United Way launched the UWRC COVID Relief Fund in November to address the community’s greatest pandemic-related needs, with a focus on correcting inequities. Nonprofits affected by COVID-19 are invited to apply for grants of $2,500 to $12,000 from the fund at ;UnitedWayRacine.org/COVID-Relief. Funding is reviewed on a monthly basis.

“United Way of Racine County partners with many local organizations that make Racine County a better place for everyone,” said Ali Haigh, president and CEO of United Way of Racine County. “We are so thankful to be able to provide funds to help these organizations continue their work amidst the challenges of a pandemic. Our community needs this support now more than ever.”

To be eligible, applicants must be 501(c)(3) nonprofits serving Racine County. Organizations do not need to be current funded partners of United Way. Incomplete or improperly submitted applications will not be considered for funding. This is a competitive fund, so application does not guarantee approval.

Monetary support is not the only type of assistance nonprofits need to continue serving the community throughout the pandemic. Nonprofits may submit lists of supplies needed to mitigate COVID-19's impact on their work to Community Investment Director MaryBeth Kallio at MKallio@UnitedWayRacine.org. Community members can visit UnitedWayRacine.org/COVID-Relief to browse the requests and donate supplies. The page will be updated with new supply needs every month.

Last but not least, United Way of Racine County is mobilizing volunteers to create 28,000 hospital-grade, single-use, disposable face masks through a Season of Caring volunteer project. The masks will be distributed to local nonprofits for staff and client use. Volunteers and volunteer teams must commit to assemble masks in bundles of 700, a commitment of around 15-20 hours per bundle. To volunteer or request completed masks, visit UnitedWayRacine.org/Masks.