The First Coast Relief Fund was originally created in 2016 to respond to the devastation brought to Northeast Florida by Hurricane Matthew. Since that time, the Fund has been reactivated when natural disasters have struck the region, including Hurricane Irma in 2017 and Hurricane Dorian in 2019.
When COVID-19 struck in early 2020, the United Way–which administers the Fund–set an initial funding target of $2 million for distribution to non-profits addressing a range of urgent needs in the wake of the pandemic. By March 26 of 2020 the Fund had exceeded its goal, due in part to major gifts from the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations, the Jessie Ball DuPont Fund, the Jim Moran Foundation, the Weaver Family Foundation Fund, The Community Foundation of Northeast Florida, the Lucy Gooding Charitable Trust, and GuideWell.
“The Arthur Vining Davis Foundations are fortunate to be located in a region with many other partners who have been able to work together to address some short-term needs in our community,” said Foundations President and CEO, Michael Murray. “We are grateful to the First Coast Relief Fund for their tireless efforts to address the significant needs in the Jacksonville area.”
“In addition to its other major program areas,” Murray added, “the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations make annual donations to many organizations throughout Northeast Florida, and these First Coast Relief Funds represent additional dollars we are allocating to this region.”
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