COVID‐19 fund launched to help nonprofits with technology needs

• Author: Nicholas King
• Date: 01 September 2020
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/ban.31152
• Published date: 01 September 2020

2 Board & Administrator

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COVID-19 fund launched to help

nonprots with technology needs

BY NICHOLAS KING

TechSoup, a leading provider of

technology solutions for nonprofit

organizations globally, has launched

the COVID-19 Response Fund to help

grassroots nonprofits make necessary

technology investments—even while

continuing to serve their constituents

in the midst of a global pandemic.

According to the company, the

Response Fund supports technology

hardware and tools, training and ser-

vices to charities, with priority going

to small organizations that provide

social services. The fund has already

secured support and funding from

a number of companies, including

VMware and Microsoft Corp., as well

as foundations like the Funders 2025

Fund.

“As a nonprofit network operating

in 236 countries and territories, we’ve

heard from NGOs around the world

that COVID-19 is placing unprec-

edented demands on their operations,

just as they are needed most,” said

TechSoup CEO Rebecca Masisak.

The Response Fund’s launch comes

as TechSoup has seen a substantial

increase in demand for services from

its nonprofit clients, which has led to

surges in website traffic, increased

engagement with organization news-

letters and a change in technology

acquisition patterns.

In addition to making new products

available to nonprofits, TechSoup will

host virtual workshops on manag-

ing the impact of COVID-19, covering

tools, strategies and resources to help

nonprofits manage remote workers.

For more information, visit https://

www.techsoup.org. ■

Federal Reserve eyes expanding loan program to nonprots

The Federal Reserve Board is mulling a

proposal to expand its Main Street Lend-

ing Program to provide access to credit

for nonprot organizations. The proposed

expansion would offer loans to small

and medium-sized nonprots that were

in a sound nancial condition before the

COVID-19 pandemic and could benet from

additional liquidity to manage through this

challenging period, the Federal Reserve

said in a statement.

The minimum loan size would be $250,000,

while the maximum loan size would be $300

million. Principal payments would be fully

deferred for the rst two years of the loan,

and interest payments would be deferred for

one year, the agency said. Borrower eligibil-

ity requirements for the proposed nonprot

facilities would be modied from the for-prot

facilities to reect the operational and ac-

counting practices of the nonprot sector

and would include:

• a minimum of 50 and maximum of

15,000 employees;

• nancial thresholds based on operat-

ing performance, liquidity and ability to

repay debt;

• an operational history of at least ve

years and

• a limit on endowments of no more

than $3 billion.

Additionally, each organization must be a

tax-exempt organization under Section 501(c)

(3) or 501(c)(19) of the Internal Revenue Code.

For more information about the proposal,

visit https://bit.ly/2Z1ae7Y. ■