Coronavirus (COVID-19) Resources
This page is being updated daily and contains information about the anticipated effects of COVID-19.
The rapid progression of COVID-19 and its recent upgrade to pandemic has required everyone in our community to react and respond to new information and restrictions every day. The recommended practice of social distancing is a particularly challenging requirement during these uncertain and chaotic times when so many of us turn to our Jewish communities for comfort, care, and connection.
Although we are daunted by the enormity of the threat of COVID-19, we also have deep confidence in the ability of our community to face it. Here are some initial updates, with more to follow in the coming days.Ways to Give
The Federation has established a COVID-19 Response Fund to enable our donors and community to help meet both individual and organizational needs. Even as we assess the medium to long-range impact, we know these needs are already felt by our community organizations. Your support of this fund will enable a response to emerging community needs, with a view of the full ecosystem of Jewish organizations in the Bay Area.
You can also recommend a grant from your donor-advised fund to the Federation (Tax ID# 94-1156533). Please indicate COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund as the Grant Purpose. If you have a donor-advised fund at the Federation, click here to recommend a grant.
The Federation’s offices remain closed during shelter-in-place. Working remotely, we are still processing mail and sending out grantee checks and acknowledgment letters, but at a slower rate. Please consider making your gift electronically through wire transfer and emailing us any forms, as checks and documents mailed or faxed to our office will have further delays. For any urgent needs, please email daf@sfjcf.org.
Giving during a crisis can seem overwhelming; there are many choices to navigate. Our latest Giving Insights provides guidance on strategic funding approaches and identifies organizations that fit into several categories.
Bay Area Jewish Agencies
All of our Jewish agencies need your support at this time. The organizations below have urgent needs for based on their response to the crisis.
-
Bay Area Jewish Healing Center is preparing for an increased demand for their services, and to deliver care and services intermediated by technology when necessary.
-
Jewish Family and Children's Services and Jewish Family and Children’s Services East Bay are first responders to community members who are especially vulnerable during this pandemic emergency.
- The JCC East Bay, JCC of San Francisco, Oshman Family JCC, and Peninsula JCC have all closed their facilities. They have urgent needs for support to weather this period without earned income—and to be prepared to reopen when permitted.
Local Response
Bay Area Food Banks are providing food to those who need it most during this crisis and are experiencing unique challenges, including getting food to the families of children who normally get their only or main meal at school.
- Alameda County Community Food Bank
- Redwood Empire Food Bank
- SF-Marin Food Bank
- Second Harvest Food Bank
Glide’s Daily Free Meals program has been adjusted to utilize takeout containers to deliver hot meals three times daily. Their walk-in center services, including shelter bed reservations, continue via a triage desk in the lobby to avoid congregating unsafely in the building.
Larkin Street Youth is combating COVID-19 and the effects on the youth they serve. They are committed to providing essential services to young people during this time.
Tipping Point COVID Fund addresses increased needs for all of their grantees across the Bay Area.
Samaritan House in San Mateo is committed to fighting poverty and lifting lives amidst the COVID-19 outbreak and will be open and providing essential services as long as circumstances permit.
Some of our communities are also organizing funds to help address the needs of low-income families facing additional hardship from this crisis, including:
-
The Oakland Students and Schools Fund through the Oakland Public Education Fund has an initial goal of $1.1 Million to ensure continuity of teaching, safe, clean spaces, and food for vulnerable families.
- Redwood City Education Fund has reached its initial $200,000 goal, although as this crisis goes on we expect this need to grow significantly.
Global Response
American Jewish World Service (AJWS) is supporting its partners in 19 countries to address the pandemic. In particular, they are monitoring the Cox’s Bazaar refugee camp with approximately 1 million Rohingya refugees who are extremely vulnerable.
IsraAID has initiated a Global Coronavirus Emergency Response focusing on mental health support for health care workers in China, Italy, and South Korea. They are currently also supporting urgent migrant and refugee needs in Greece and Venezuela.
The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) is the leading Jewish humanitarian organization, working in 70 countries to lift lives and strengthen communities. As the global Jewish 9-1-1, JDC's expertise and experience are needed now more than ever. They are addressing emerging needs and continuing to serve the tens of thousands of people who depend on them every day.
Volunteer Opportunities
-
Jewish Family and Children's Services offers safe opportunities for Emergency Service Volunteers, including making phone calls to isolated homebound seniors through the Safe At Home program, and purchasing and delivering groceries, including special Passover Care Packages, to Holocaust survivors, other frail seniors, and homebound disabled adults.
- Jewish Family and Community Services of the East Bay is looking for volunteers to offer phone support to vulnerable, isolated community members, most of whom are older.
The Federation has established two goals for our COVID-19 emergency response:
Goal #1: Address urgent needs of populations most acutely impacted by the crisis
Goal #2: Address short-term needs to help stabilize our Jewish ecosystem
To determine these priorities, the Federation conducted an in-depth needs assessment survey of each core ecosystem sector and the organizations within, followed by 1:1 conversations with the leadership of 34 organizations. We also consulted numerous national sources local foundations, and Federations in other communities
Grants to Support Urgent Human Service and Economic Needs for Affected Populations
Grantmaking will expand the capacity of front-line organizations to respond immediately with essential safety-net services for priority populations including seniors, economically disadvantaged, recently unemployed, at-risk due to social isolation, or COVID-19 illness.
Hebrew Free Loan Pooled Recoverable Grant
Donors with assets in donor-advised funds and supporting foundations managed by the Federation can make a grant recommendation, which is pooled with others into a recoverable grant for a 5-year term.
Grants to Address Needs to Stabilize Our Jewish Ecosystem
Reopening Grants for Jewish Preschools
Resilience Fund for Synagogue Communities
Emergency Scholarship Pools
To leverage significantly more funding to support individuals and families in financial need over the long tail of this crisis. Funds are provided by the unrestricted endowment, endowed, restricted funds, Jim Joseph Foundation, Rodan Family Foundation, and individual donors. Fundraising will continue to meet the needs to the greatest extent possible.
Preschool Emergency Scholarships
Jewish Overnight Camp Scholarships
To be awarded in Fall 2020
Activities Addressing Both Goals of Our COVID-19 Response
Federation Philanthropy Partners ($5,636,596 Granted)*
Our donor-advised community (donor-advised funds and supporting foundations) has stepped up to meet the sudden and drastic health and socio-economic challenges caused by the pandemic.
- Majority of grants are going to human service organizations like Jewish Family and Children Services, SF-Marin Food Bank, and Jewish Home and Senior Living.
- Funders are focusing their COVID response locally with 85% of total funder designated COVID response grant dollars going to Bay Area organizations.
*An additional $2,070,220 was granted to the Federation’s COVID-19 Response Fund, and $328,948 to Hebrew Free Loan. We omitted these figures from the total above because they are already counted on this page. The total granted is $8,035,764.
Get Support
Many of our community organizations remain operational to provide assistance during this time:
-
Bay Area Jewish Healing Center is responding to this pandemic by creating spiritual care resources that can be accessed from home or phone to address the current situation.
-
Hebrew Free Loan: If you're having trouble making ends meet because of the effects of Coronavirus, including child care costs when schools are closed, small business losses, canceled study abroad programs, and lost wages because you can't go into work, Hebrew Free Loan may be able to help.
-
Jewish Family and Children's Services' staff are first responders during this pandemic emergency. If you or someone you care about needs help, please call the JFCS Bay Area Critical Help Line at 415.449.3700. Additional assistance lines:
- Parents – call 415.359.2443
- Families and adults – call 415.449.1212
-
Seniors and disabled care – call 415.449.3700
-
JFCS of the East Bay provides essential mental health and social services through every stage of life. Services include therapy for parents and children, refugee and immigrant support, home care, and services for seniors.
JFCS has also launched a new COVID-19 Emergency Assistance Program, including a Jewish Community Safety Net Program, which offers emergency financial assistance to agency clients and to any East Bay Jew in need. They continue to provide information/navigation services, benefits enrollment assistance, food assistance (including home-delivered groceries for those who need it), mental health support, ongoing telephone support, and follow-up contact. For Jewish Community Safety Net services, contact jcsn@jfcs-eastbay.org or 510.704.7480 x716.
- Shalom Bayit is the Bay Area’s center for domestic violence prevention and response within the Jewish community. Call 866.SHALOM.7 for free, confidential support.
Online Activities
-
View upcoming virtual events on our online community calendar. Want to list your own virtual event? Check out this calendar tutorial.
-
Many Bay Area congregations and communities are offering remote worship, learning and/or other activities. Visit j. The Jewish News of Northern California's Resource Guide to find the website of your favorite shul, synagogue, temple, or havurah.
-
California Pop-Up Virtual Camp: Join our California Jewish overnight camps for some free online fun! Starting Monday, March 16, many of our California overnight camps are volunteering to provide families and kids some much-needed fun and distraction. Join us for a taste of camp and enjoy everything from science experiments to cooking to Israeli dancing. Visit the CA Jewish Overnight Camps Facebook page throughout next week from 9:30 am - 4:30 pm PST to check out various live-streamed content. Please note, there will always be a break from 12:30 - 1:30 pm and not all scheduling blocks may be filled.
-
Hillel@Home: Hillel has virtual meet-ups and online gatherings that bring you together with Jewish and Jew-ish students from around the world in real-time.
-
IAC @Home: The Israeli-American Council brings you the most innovative content online while continuing to build a national community with Israel at heart. With activities for kids, teens, young professionals, and adults, you can stay connected to Hebrew, Israeli, and Jewish heritage, online activism, and to one another.
-
Holocaust education: The JFCS Holocaust Center is providing educational programming online to meet community needs.
-
JCCSF Online Hebrew classes: While we shelter in place, beloved JCCSF Hebrew teacher Yael Ronen will be teaching live classes online. Choose from one of four levels of mastery in day or evening language courses taught by a native speaker who provides an engaging and supportive environment.
-
Virtual Programming for Young Adults: We can still be together while practicing social distancing (or as we like to call it, “physical distancing”)! Congregation Emanu-El’s Young Adults are excited to present you with a wide variety of virtual offerings.
Health
News
-
ABC 7 News special 'Finding Faith: Better Together': Bay Area Interfaith Community Worship
- All coronavirus coverage from j. The Jewish News of Northern California
Resources
We encourage you to visit JewishTogether.org, a hub of virtual community and informative resources, powered by The Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA).
CARES Act
On Friday, March 27, 2020, the President signed into law the Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, the largest emergency aid package in U.S. history. The CARES Act includes more than $2 trillion to help individuals and businesses struggling amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The bill includes a provision for $350 billion in Small Business Administration (SBA) loans. 501(c)(3) nonprofits with less than 500 employees are eligible for these loans. Known as the Paycheck Protection Program, these loans are intended to help small businesses keep workers employed amid the pandemic and economic downturn.
To ensure that our communal institutions will be able to access these funds, we encourage you to consider applying and to take steps now to prepare for that.
For more information:
- JFNA has set up a national resource bank of professionals and volunteers who can assist institutions with this process. If you have questions, please email SBALoans@jewishfederations.org or call 212.284.6625.
- You can learn more about the loan program, find a list of qualified lenders, and find a useful guide to help crunch some numbers on JewishTogether.org.
- We are in the process of putting together a local list of local financial professionals available to provide pro-bono support to Jewish organizations. If you are interested in learning more or have an urgent need, please email Community Impact.
- How Nonprofits Can Utilize the New Federal Laws Dealing with COVID-19 – Nonprofit Quarterly
Webinars
-
Recording of Federal, State, and Local Nonprofit Policy Update (Wednesday, April 1, 2020): Hear from the Federation’s advocacy partners about fast-moving federal, state and local public policy that directly relates to the people you serve and the stability of our nonprofit Jewish infrastructure.
-
Recording of Jewish Communal Response to COVID-19 Webinar for Jewish Community Leaders (Wednesday, March 11, 2020)
CDC Info
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has periodic updates on COVID-19 and helpful guidance. The CDC’s advice on prevention focuses on hygiene, especially handwashing, and limiting contact with others if you are sick.
The Federation's operations will shift to best protect our employees and the community.
- Starting Monday, March 16, most of our employees will work remotely and will continue to be available by phone and email during normal business hours of 8:30 am to 5:00 pm.
- Our offices remain closed during shelter-in-place. Working remotely, we are still processing mail and sending out grantee checks and acknowledgment letters, but at a slower rate. Please consider making your gift electronically through wire transfer and emailing us any forms, as checks and documents mailed or faxed to our office will have further delays. For any urgent needs, please email daf@sfjcf.org.
- Planned events over the next few months are canceled, and meetings will be conducted virtually.
Security and resilience of the Jewish community continues to be one of our key strategic priorities.
We know that each of our agency and synagogue partners is focused on these priorities for their organizations and communities and we have great respect for the manner in which they are addressing this challenge. Some key activities that took place the week of March 10 included:
- Convening a teleconference of almost 100 local Jewish organizations to provide real-time updates, exchange ideas and information, and assess specific needs and threats likely to arise in the weeks ahead. We will continue to host these webinars on a regular basis as the situation evolves.
- Sharing a contingency plan for the Federation’s response to COVID-19 that is easily transferable to any organization.
- Convening with local foundations to discuss urgent and emerging funding needs in the community and how we can work together to address them.
Announcing our Initial COVID-19 Response
For the past few weeks, the Federation team and lay leaders reached out to organizational partners to understand their needs, formed a community volunteer task force to provide guidance and mobilize resources and partners, established a Response Fund, and set up an innovative opportunity with Hebrew Free Loan. On Thursday, April 2, we announced an initial $6.6 million commitment to COVID-19 response. Read our press release.
We hosted a virtual Community Briefing on Monday, April 6 where we shared additional details around our COVID-19 response and answered questions. You can watch a recording of the briefing, or view a copy of the presentation.
We will update with more information on operational changes, ways in which we are supporting the community, and opportunities to help as the situation evolves.