Gaston Community Foundation: A Collaborative Response to COVID-19

Community Nonprofits:

The application for the Gaston County Virus Relief Fund is now open! The Fund is jointly administered by the Gaston Community Foundation and United Way of Gaston County and is available to any local nonprofit currently meeting the needs of those during this pandemic. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis.

Any nonprofit needing additional funding, Click here to learn more or to apply and contact either Erin Wiggins or Linda Slade with any questions about the application or process.

More about this Fund:

The Partnership consisting of The Gaston Community Foundation, United Way of Gaston County, City of Gastonia, Gaston County, Duke Energy, and the Gaston Business Task Force, announced Wednesday, the creation of the Gaston County Virus Relief Fund to accept and strategically disburse funds to address the COVID-19 pandemic relief efforts in Gaston County.

With an official state of emergency announced by Governor Roy Cooper, demands on the healthcare system and nonprofits are already increasing, and we expect COVID-19 will have a serious economic impact on the region.

The Fund will provide flexible resources to organizations with deep roots in Gaston County as well as experience addressing basic needs and filling public health gaps. The goal is to help regional front-line nonprofit organizations quickly meet increasing demands for help.

Some proactive grants will be awarded. Other nonprofits will use a simple, expedited process to access funds with grants awarded on a rolling basis, as fundraising continues throughout the outbreak and recovery phases of the pandemic.

Members of the community who wish to support aid to those affected by COVID-19 may donate using www.HelpGaston.org.

Donations may also be made through Foundation Donor Advised Funds by specifying Gaston County Virus Relief Fund. Nonprofits providing services for this pandemic may apply for funding through a grant cycle that will be open beginning the week of 3/23/2020 and will continue to be open to grants until no longer necessary or funding is spent.

“We are asking people to give to this effort in addition to, not instead of, their ongoing support for regional organizations. Together, we can expand local capacity to address all aspects of the pandemic as efficiently as possible,” stated Ernest Sumner, President of Gaston Community Foundation.

Gaston Community Foundation works with families, businesses and nonprofits to strengthen communities through the creation of charitable funds and strategic grantmaking. A permanent charitable resource, the Foundation manages over 400 funds and has a total of over $110 million in grantmaking since its founding in 1978.