The Hearst Foundations announced on Thursday a grant of over $50 million in emergency funding for over 100 U.S. medical, humanitarian, and cultural organizations severely impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. The funds are expected to be received by the organizations in the next 10 days.
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The announcement was made by William Randolph Hearst III and Virginia Hearst Randt, presidents of the William Randolph Hearst Foundation of California and the Hearst Foundation, Inc. of New York, along with Frank A. Bennack, Jr., the former chief executive of Hearst Corporation (T&C‘s parent company) and the chair of the gift committees of the two foundations.
The foundations are not alone in throwing their financial muscle behind relief efforts against the novel coronavirus. The Chronicle of Philanthropy is tracking a national effort by corporations and foundations, from the luxury world to the hospitality business, that have made large-scale donations into the outbreak. (Individuals who would like to help can find more information here.)
The gifts are in addition to those made annually to many nonprofits all over the nation—in 2019, Hearst Foundations gave 81 grants valued at $9.3 million to organizations in 27 different states, including support for the Juilliard School, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, and multiple major university medical school programs.
Since their inception, the Hearst Foundations have distributed over 21,000 grants to almost 6,000 different organizations
The Hearst Foundation, Inc. was originally founded in 1946 by newspaper and magazine publisher William Randolph Hearst. In 1949, he established the California Charities Foundations, later renamed The William Randolph Hearst Foundation. Both foundations, which are independent of the Hearst Corporation, are guided by the same charitable mission and serve as national philanthropic resources for organizations working in the fields of culture, education, health and social services.
From: Harper’s BAZAAR US
