The Sequoia Healthcare District is set to provide up to $3 million in relief and support funding to nonprofit partners serving southern San Mateo County’s most vulnerable populations.
The financial support aims to ensure the nonprofits can continue their life-saving work during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the healthcare district, which funds the work of more than 70 nonprofits annually, providing community and school-based health services to over 60,000 residents. The district’s Board of Directors approved the emergency financial support on March 18, then gave the green light to an allocation plan on Wednesday.
Under the plan, flexible funding assistance will be provided to agencies that serve the most at-risk populations. Current grantees will be allowed to use previously-specified programmatic funds toward general operations, and their reporting deadlines can be extended. Also, no-interest loans will be provided to partner agencies with substantial hardship, the District said. The plan additionally includes continued financial support to pay salaries for school staff currently funded through the Healthy Schools Initiative, including school nurses, wellness coordinators, physical education coaches, and mental health specialists.
The District intends to deploy the funds “quickly and efficiently.”
“These funds ensure that vulnerable populations in southern San Mateo County continue to receive care and support from the organizations they know and count on,” said Pamela Kurtzman, CEO of Sequoia Health District. “The District is in a unique position with financial resources that can be deployed immediately and used flexibly to meet the dynamic needs of our agency partners as they face this unprecedented hardship.”
For more details on the emergency funding plan, click here.
Photo Credit: Sequoia Healthcare District/Twitter
