City Of Sacramento Launches Fundraising Campaign To Respond To COVID-19

The city of Sacramento has launched a new fundraising campaign for people affected economically by the coronavirus.

Donate4Sacramento gives people a place to give money to people and businesses that have been affected economically by government restrictions related to the coronavirus. 

The fund was launched with $150,000 each from Health Net and the Sierra Health Foundation. Sierra Health’s Chet Hewitt says the economic impacts of the virus are hitting people who were struggling economically before businesses closed temporarily and laid off employees.

“I think the COVID-19 epidemic has made it even more clear about how vulnerable some of those populations actually are,” Hewitt said at a news conference Monday at City Hall. “Today is about Sacramento coming together to actually respond to that crisis and those populations in a collaborative and unified way.” 

Comcast donated $30,000. Teichert Construction contributed $10,000.  

Funds will be administered by The Center at Sierra Health Foundation, Sacramento Region Community Foundation, United Way California Capital Region and the City of Sacramento.

As for how the money will be spent:

“We are putting together advisory committees next week aligned with what the city has done thus far,” he said. “We will be transparent and look into those most impacted to help us make those decisions,” said Councilman Jay Schenirer, who led the effort to create the fund 

People who donate can pick one of five government or non-profit-run funds that provide childcare, meals, rental assistance, hygiene stations, or other methods of response. 

The five funds are: 

• family support that goes to the United Way California Capital Region’s COVID-19 Local Relief Fund
• homeless support through area nonprofits by providing emergency shelters, hygiene stations and other solutions
• non-profit support through the Sacramento Region Community Foundation
• general support on an as-needed basis
• the city’s small business emergency relief fund 

The city created the small business emergency relief fund with $1 million last week and received 3,000 applications within 72 hours. Applications for that fund are now closed.