On Monday, the United Way and the City of Swift Current announced a new partnership that they hope will streamline the process for getting emergency funding to non-profits that are feeling the impact of lost fundraising opportunities due to COVID-19 restrictions.

Stacey Schwartz, the consultant for community advancement with the United Way, says that the very nature of the current pandemic is striking at the heart of the community, and that flexible community funding is needed immediately.

"Our community agencies and those that they serve are seeing an increase in demand for basic needs. They're having to become innovative overnight with how they deliver their programs. That likely will not change. If anything it's going to evolve over the next six months."

With that need came the birth of the COVID-19 Community Response Fund (CRF).

UWR Campaign SC Logo 01

The CRF, she says, is a way of being proactive; operating as a one-stop drop point for community funding and donations which can then be effectively distributed to where it serves the most need at the right time in each community where they operate.

Since every dollar donated stays local by making use of postal codes, partnerships with local organizations are key in determining where best to make use of it. In the case of the City of Swift Current, for example, it means that the United Way can work around the table with others in the community who can help them assess and target that community's specific needs by creating a local allocation committee.

Schwartz hopes that this targetted approach to donations will have a bigger impact in a time when donations are likely to be lower due to the pandemic and its effects on the economy.

"We know that with the economy right now we're not in a position where we have an excess amount of resources and everybody is hurting at this point whether it be local businesses or families, so we want to make sure that we're really wise and being the best stewards that we can with what community resources we have."

To help with that targetting, The United Way is also making use of 2-1-1 Saskatchewan; a 24 hour a day helpline designed to connect individuals looking for community support with the right local options, whether that is someone struggling with basic needs like food, or needing assistance with mental health or addiction.

Although Schwartz stresses that those calls are anonymous, the calls themselves can show a trend of what needs are most pressing in each community, showing the number of calls for a specific service in that particular area.

A heat-map, for lack of a better term.

In Swift Current and southwest Saskatchewan, for example, the anonymous data from the 2-1-1 Helpline in 2019 showed that most requests fell into basic needs, mental health and substance abuse support.

With that kind of data and the boots-on-the-ground partnerships with expert organizations within each community, the Community Response Fund can be much more efficient with its donated dollars, as well as providing local businesses that are looking to contribute to charity a much more targeted plan for their own corporate donations.

For now, the CRF was created with the intent of relief of immediate aid in the face of a growing economic crisis brought about by the COVID-19 virus. But as Schwartz admits, nobody knows the true impact of where the impact is going or what it is going to look like many months or even years down the line for non-profit organizations that are suddenly locked out of their traditional fundraising activities.

"I definitely think there are opportunities for this to evolve into something that lasts within our community going forward."

If you or anyone you know is struggling, reach out to 2-1-1 Saskatchewan by calling or texting 2-1-1, or visiting their website at https://sk211.ca