(JNS) A survey found that a large percentage of Jewish philanthropists have increased their charitable giving in response to emergency needs brought on by the global coronavirus pandemic and that nearly all expect to give at the same or increased levels over the next 12 months. Conducted by the Jewish Funders Network, which includes some 514 individuals, foundations and federations as members, the survey found that 76 percent of funders increased their spending in the first six months of the crisis and that more than half broadened their scope of giving to address emergency needs like food insecurity. In addition to providing monetary aid, many of the funders have offered technical and mentoring assistance to their grantees to ensure that they could access federal programs like the Paycheck Protection Program. The study also found that funders are feeling the impact on Jewish communal needs versus general communal needs and between funding Israel and Jewish overseas needs versus needs for aid at home.

Main Photo: A computer generated representation of COVID-19 virions (SARS-CoV-2) seen under an electron microscope, Feb. 5, 2020. Credit: Felipe Esquivel Reed via Wikimedia Commons.