Responding to the severe and unprecedented challenges posed around the globe by COVID-19, the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) has announced a major new initiative which aims to help address the impacts of the pandemic.

This initiative, rooted in SNF’s philanthropic philosophy of public-private collaboration and working closely with grantee partners around the world, will focus both immediately and in the long term on some of the most pressing issues related to the pandemic.

The first area of focus is medical research. Knowing that combating the virus effectively at the global scale will require both new vaccines and new treatments, SNF will provide support for research efforts focused on effective testing, treatment, and prevention. To this end, SNF has provided an immediate grant of $3 million to The Rockefeller University to support the world-class institution’s round-the-clock research related to COVID-19. Rockefeller’s Nobel Prize-winning researchers are well positioned to speed development and deployment of vaccines and treatments that could have global impact.

The pandemic has wide-reaching socioeconomic implications that have already stretched far beyond the immediate health crisis, and SNF is committed to being part of the movement to help address the pandemic’s many dimensions. In times when isolation is part of the solution, we must continue to stand by the most vulnerable to ensure that their essential needs are met.

A multifaceted effort will aim to promote physical wellbeing, mental health, and the socioeconomic welfare linked to both. SNF will work with public and private entities and our grantee partners to ensure food security for those in need. The Foundation will also work with organizations around the globe to address the mounting psychological needs arising from the pandemic. In addition, SNF will support organizations working to alleviate the multifarious effects of the socioeconomic crisis deepening along with the current health crisis. This means both strengthening the social safety net and sustaining systems that encourage us to help one another recover.

Special attention throughout will be payed to the evolving situation in Greece, which is not only the homeland of SNF’s founder, but is also where a significant part of the Foundation’s grantmaking is focused. Having only recently emerged from a draining, decade-long socioeconomic crisis, Greece is particularly vulnerable to the economic and social impacts of the pandemic, and SNF is committed to remaining a strong partner to public and private organizations in avoiding relapse.

In addition to this new initiative, SNF has continued its particular focus on health in Greece. The Foundation is in the midst of a $450 million health initiative which includes the construction of three new hospitals, emergency and diagnostic equipment, trauma care training, nursing education, and infectious disease training. In addition, SNF is looking for innovative and meaningful ways to address the growing needs of frontline hospital workers in the near and long term. Overcoming difficult and dangerous conditions daily, these brave individuals deserve the best protection and support available and must not be abandoned.

“A rare bright spot in this unsettling time is the number of public and private institutions stepping up to confront the pandemic together,” said SNF Co-President Andreas Dracopoulos. “SNF considers it our duty to do whatever we can to help alleviate the impacts of COVID-19 and support those on the front lines of the fight. We will keep listening and responding to the evolving needs of our grantee partners as they continue their critical work under these difficult conditions, and we will support them to the best of our ability.”

This initiative to combat the devastating effects of COVID-19 aims both to contribute to overcoming the immediate challenges posed by the pandemic and to bolster the response to its impact on essential needs, socioeconomic structures, and the social fabric. SNF is committed to working together with our current and future partners across the nonprofit, philanthropic, and governmental spheres to address current and emerging needs in the most effective manner possible. This global crisis will require unprecedented collaboration, and we are committed to staying the course.

See how SNF’s current grantee partners are adapting their work to respond to the crisis, finding new ways to continue serving vulnerable populations, sharing information and analysis on the pandemic, and making world-class art and educational resources accessible from home.