Collaborative Philanthropy in the Time of COVID-19

The National Center for Family Philanthropy is dedicated to serving families who give and those that work with them. In response to the COVID-19 crisis, we are offering conversations on topics of interest to all philanthropic families associated with family foundations, donor-advised funds, family offices, and other philanthropic vehicles. For questions about this series, please contact Jen Crino at jen@ncfp.org.


Creating an organized collaboration among funders has proven to be a powerful mechanism to collectively achieve greater impact. As COVID-19 continues to spread across the globe and affect nearly every corner of society, collaboration is needed more than ever. In response to COVID-19, philanthropy must quickly adapt to the crisis and coordinate efforts among funders to identify priority areas, pool funds, and enable informed decision-making across stakeholders.

This conversation will explore how three COVID-19 funds are supporting the response at local, national and global levels. Representatives from Seattle Foundation’s COVID-19 Response Fund, the CDC Foundation Emergency Response Fund, and the COVID Solidarity Response Fund will discuss how they are navigating this crisis and effectively aligning resources to better serve those hardest hit by the pandemic. The panel will be moderated by Gabrielle Fitzgerald, CEO and Founder of Panorama, an action tank dedicated to achieving ambitious goals and solving the world’s toughest problems. Gabrielle has spent her career working to increase awareness, change policies and raise resources in an effort to reduce the number of deaths globally from infectious diseases, with a focus on pandemic preparedness.

Featured Speakers

Elizabeth Cousens

Elizabeth Cousens

Elizabeth Cousens became the UN Foundation’s third President and Chief Executive Officer in 2020, leading the…

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Gabrielle Fitzgerald

Gabrielle Fitzgerald is the founder and CEO of Panorama and co-founder of Pandemic Action Network. With…

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Tony Mestres

Tony Mestres

Tony Mestres is the President and CEO of Seattle Foundation, one of the largest community foundations…

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Judy Monroe

Judith Monroe

Dr. Judith Monroe, president and CEO of the CDC Foundation, has dedicated her career to protecting…

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Additional questions? Contact NCFP