COVID-19 has not been an equal opportunity pandemic. It has impacted Latinx, Black, and Indigenous communities; immigrants, older adults, and the uninsured more profoundly than the general population. At the start of the public health crisis and several weeks after, the impact on these communities remained invisible with devastating health consequences. While it is a challenge that cannot be solved by philanthropy alone, it has become clear that the sector must work harder to know and respond to communities whose needs are hidden for many reasons, especially as the pandemic rages on and we work towards recovery.

As a health conversion foundation that serves parts of Chicago and its western suburbs, the Healthy Communities Foundation invests in communities that have not typically attracted substantial health and human service investment from philanthropy or government before the pandemic. Our service area has one of the largest Latinx communities in the country, one of the largest metropolitan native communities in the country, a Black population that is quickly shifting to the western suburbs, the largest Palestinian community outside of Palestine, and a fast-growing Asian population.

Early in the pandemic, we heard from our grantees about the mushrooming impact of COVID-19 on the Latinx population long before it was recognized publicly. We used this information to bring significant resources to these communities across several priority areas by playing a leadership role in local funding collaboratives. Along with our own commitment, we leveraged more than $8 million of additional investment to support emergency services, direct assistance, and recovery in our region. As has been our practice and commitment since our foundation’s journey began, and in the early weeks of the pandemic, we listened and partnered with communities to guide our actions, especially those that have been historically invisible in public health data and policies.

Read the full article about addressing inequities exacerbated by the pandemic by Maria Socorro Pesqueira at Grantmakers In Health.