Member Spotlight – Randall Charitable Trust

We are hearing from a lot of our members about how they are changing their giving in response to COVID-19. Stories inspire and we want to share some of them with you. Each week, we will introduce you to a member of GOSW who has responded to COVID-19 and what that looks like through sharing.GOSW is committed to connecting you to your colleagues in philanthropy and sharing how they are changing their giving in response to COVID-19. We believe that stories inspire and we want to share some of them with you. Each week, we will introduce you to a member of GOSW who has responded to COVID-19 and what they are learning as we navigate the pandemic. This week, Brian Riffel, Executive Director of the Robert D. & Marcia H. Charitable Trust answers a few questions about how things have evolved in the midst of this crisis.

 

Before COVID-19, what were your priorities as a foundation/funder?

Our top priorities were, and continue to be, education, youth development, and community building/social services with a typical grant size of $10K.
In brief, how has your foundation been able to respond to COVID-19 (for example, changed guidelines, relaxed requirements, etc.)?

 

How has your foundation been able to respond to COVID-19?

Because we are relatively small, we can be fairly nimble, so in addition to completing the grant cycle that was already in progress, we distributed some “immediate needs” grants to a handful of organizations working with populations we viewed as particularly vulnerable during this crisis.

 

Have you changed the process of how you give and, if so, how have you changed it?

No, other than making additional immediate needs grants, we have not changed our normal process, except for the fact that site visits are now phone visits.

 

In what ways, if any, have you partnered with other funders?

We are experimenting with matching grants for the first time, including a matching commitment to United Way.

 

Are there any situations/stories that you find nonprofits are facing that really resonated with you  that you feel capture what they are going through or how they are responding?

During one of my recent phone visits, the person I was talking with informed me that it was her last day prior to being furloughed; I would have never known based on how she was advocating for her organization and its participants – it really put this situation into perspective for me

 

If there was one learning or realization that you would like to tell other funders, what would that be?

To consider not only the immediate impact but also the ripple effects; for example, knowing that Urban Gleaners receives leftover food from Moda Center events, I expected a reduction in their food donations, but was shocked to learn the decrease exceeded 75%.