An emergency grant from the Theology Program to the Graduate Theological Union will provide support to an initiative that partners with local, faith-based and community organizations to provide relief to people severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Funds will allow organizations serving on the frontlines to bring essential services to disadvantaged communities and communities of color.

The Graduate Theological Union gratefully acknowledges that it has received a grant from the Henry Luce Foundation as part of its initiative to provide rapid support for community-based responses to the COVID-19 pandemic and its effects. The grant of $150,000 is intended to enable the GTU to partner with local faith-based and related organizations assisting communities most impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the wake of the novel coronavirus, many mosques, churches, temples and community organizations — particularly Black and Brown communities and other communities of color — find themselves working on the frontlines to meet not only spiritual needs, but also providing communities with food, housing, transportation, education and access to health services. These organizations serve those who are already facing disadvantage which has been further exacerbated by the pandemic, including the elderly, single-parent families, children and youth, women’s shelters, the homeless, refugees and the incarcerated. The urgent needs grant will be distributed to local communities.

The GTU is grateful to the Henry Luce Foundation for their leadership at this critical time, and for this grant, which will provide opportunities to assist and work with those most in need, to lift up their voices, and to strengthen community partnerships.

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