FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Melissa Feldsher,203-615-2086
June 23, 2020 mfeldsher@wearerally.com
Corporate Foundations, Nonprofits, Individuals Pledge an Unprecedented $45 Million to All In WA Since Launch Before Statewide Concert Airs
To enable localized giving, All In WA partners with PowerOf.org, a new tool created by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to make it easy to help people and communities during the COVID-19 crisis.
WASHINGTON – Corporate foundations, nonprofits and individuals are generously responding to the needs of impacted workers and families across the state who are affected by grief and economic insecurity due to COVID-19, with an unprecedented giving effort pledging more than $45 million donated toward its $65 million goal since the relief effort launched on May 27, 2020. Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos will match individual donations under $1 million to All In WA causes, up to a total of $25 million (making a $100 contribution worth $200 to local and state funds).
All In WA is a coordinated, statewide relief effort launched by nonprofits, community leaders, businesses and philanthropies across the state that support workers and families who have been acutely affected by the COVID-19 crisis. All In WA will help address the needs of a range of causes and communities including those facing food shortages, health disparities, those in need of housing assistance, small businesses, families and children, and essential workers.
Contributions to the COVID-19 relief funds include corporate sponsor gifts from the Microsoft Corporation, Laird Norton Company, SeattleGenetics, Avista, Madrona Venture Group, Nordstom, Premera, Puget Sound Energy, the Seattle Seahawks, Zillow, BECU, JP Morgan Chase & Co, Pemco Insurance, and Russell Investments. This is in addition to generous launch commitments from the Ballmer Group, Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Howard & Sheri Schultz, Perigee Fund, Nick & Leslie Hanauer, and Jim and Jan Sinegal.
To enable localized giving, All In WA is partnering with PowerOf.org, a new tool created by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to make it easy to find opportunities to help people and communities during the COVID-19 crisis. PowerOf has customized a page for All In WA so individual donors can easily find the funds supporting the causes and communities they care about.
“We’re thrilled that PowerOf.org is the tech platform powering the All In WA giving campaign, said Victoria Vrana, Deputy Director, Philanthropic Partnerships, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. “Millions of people want to give their time, talents, and money to support the COVID-19 response. But givers of all kinds struggle to identify vetted giving opportunities that address the most urgent needs — both in their local communities and across the country. Together with our partners, we’ve launched PowerOf.org to connect everyday givers to trusted organizations with opportunities to donate, volunteer, advance equity, support schools, contribute to healthcare, and serve their communities.”
“At a time of unprecedented and critical need, implementing new innovations to support effective giving is one of the highest priorities. Our partnership with PowerOf does that in so many ways. With the crisis facing our society, philanthropy has arrived at its moment of truth. Innovations, like PowerOf, will help us all meet that moment by increasing both the velocity and effectiveness of giving simultaneously. All In Washington represents the realization of urgency and broad, but productive collaboration, between many partners across the state in aligning ourselves to serve those most vulnerable at such a challenging time,” said Tony Mestres, President and CEO of Seattle Foundation.
Donations can be made through the PowerOf tool at AllInWA.org to the All In WA Fund, an aggregate fund that will address funding gaps across the state, or directly to Community funds and Cause-specific funds across Washington, including the Black Future Co-op Fund, a first-of-its-kind fund to support the Black community in Washington state by responding to the disproportionate impacts on COVID-19, increasing resilience to economic and other shocks, and building generational wealth. A full list of participating funds can be found at allinwa.org.
“Thanks to the generosity of so many, WA Food Fund has raised over $8 million to supply food banks and fight hunger across our state, and because of All In WA’s efforts, we’ve already been able to leverage a $1M match. We could not have raised this money without the matching contributions of our corporate and philanthropic neighbors,” said Kiran Ahuja, CEO of Philanthropy Northwest, which manages the WA Food Fund. “The fact is, even as our state recovers from this crisis, our communities will continue to feel the daily health, social, and economic impacts of COVID-19. We must continue stepping up – and we urge our philanthropic and corporate community members to continue filling support gaps and helping Washingtonians in need.”
“As part of the All in Washington campaign, our donors and corporate funders have given more than $800,000 to our COVID relief fund. Southwest Washington has always responded to challenging times with generosity and compassion,” Jennifer Rhoads, President of the Community Foundation of Southwest Washington said. “We are constantly inspired by the thoughtful and creative ways that local people are pitching in to support their neighbors and our entire region.”
“The Relief Fund for Undocumented Individuals was born out of the collective lived experiences of young undocumented or formerly undocumented organizers.,” said Paul Quinonez, organizer at the Washington Dream coalition. “Since joining All In WA, we’ve been able to raise an additional half a million dollars. Despite our successful fundraising efforts, we still have a funding gap of $11 million to fund every family in need with just a one time disaster assistance payment. Your support will allow us to show them that there’s a group of people that are thinking of them and fighting to ensure they also survive this pandemic.”
To promote All In WA, on Wednesday June 24th at 7:00 PM, there will be a virtual benefit concert. The concert, All In WA: A Concert for COVID-19 Relief by Presenting Sponsor Amazon and Community Leadership Sponsor Microsoft, will feature performances by Pearl Jam, Macklemore, Brandi Carlile, Ciara, Russell Wilson, The Black Tones, Dave Matthews, Sir Mix-A-Lot, Pete Carroll, Mary Lambert, Joel McHale, Ben Gibbard, Allen Stone, Sleater-Kinney, Travis Thompson, Prometheus Brown, The Head and The Heart, Noah Gundersen, Mark Diamond, Jessica Dobson and more. All In WA: A Concert for COVID-19 Relief is executive produced by a team led by Washingtonians Jason Koenig and Jenny Koenig, Anonymous Content’s Bedonna Smith and Nina Soriano and David Jammy, Melanie Fletcher and Nikki Varhely Gillingham for Done + Dusted.
The virtual concert will be streamed on the allinwa.org website and air statewide on KING 5 (NBC, Seattle), KONG (Independent, Seattle) KREM (CBS, Spokane), KSKN (CW, Spokane), KVEW/KAPP, and KGW Portland Subchannel 8.2 (Justice Network). Immediately following the live stream, a recording of the concert will be available on Prime Video. KEXP will be a radio media sponsor.
To contribute to the All In WA Fund or directly to Cause and Community funds, visit www.allinWA.org.
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All In WA is a coordinated, statewide relief effort powered by a coalition of philanthropic and community leaders, companies, community foundations, United Way organizations, frontline nonprofits, individuals, and public officials across Washington state. These groups are coming together to provide immediate critical and emergency support for workers and families most affected across Washington State, and to mobilize committed community and philanthropic groups to go All In for WA.
ABOUT POWEROF.ORG
On May 5th, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation launched PowerOf.org to unleash the power of giving in response to COVID-19. PowerOf.org connects people who want to make a difference with trusted organizations addressing the impacts of COVID-19. These core partners – including DonorsChoose, VolunteerMatch, #GivingTuesday, Candid, GlobalGiving, and Charity Navigator – provide hundreds of meaningful opportunities for people to donate, volunteer, advance equity, support schools, contribute to healthcare, and serve their communities. PowerOf.org connects you to these organizations; any money you donate goes to the causes you choose. Visit PowerOf.org to learn more.