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Insights

United we stand: An update on our COVID-19 response

Susan Dell

It has been a rapid and devastating few months for the world as COVID-19 has swiftly changed everything as we know it, and heartbreaking to bear witness to the magnitude of loss and suffering. The gravity of this challenge requires thoughtfulness and care in how resources are deployed. Michael and I have carefully considered how to maximize our impact to help as many people as possible.

The impact will be far-reaching, and our efforts must be far-reaching as well. In total, we are committing $100 million to fight COVID-19 and its subsequent economic fallout.

First and foremost, the medical need is to care for the sick and to eradicate the virus. We are committing $20 million to the global COVID-19 Therapeutics Accelerator launched by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Wellcome, and Mastercard to identify potential treatments for COVID-19 and accelerate their development. We are confident that the Accelerator will help us find the fastest and most effective path toward progress.

With this in mind, we are committing $80 million to help ensure that our healthcare workers on the front lines are protected, that the vital work of our nonprofits, schools, and social enterprises continues, and that people and families across the world can get back to their daily lives. This work will be focused on four key areas: Health, Nonprofits & Social Enterprises; Education; and Livelihoods & Small Businesses. In addition, some of this funding will be used for loans and guarantees to augment relief efforts and medical capacity, and to reach small businesses and microentrepreneurs.

Our priority is making sure the people we serve continue to have opportunities to succeed: health professionals who are on the front lines, teachers who are now running virtual classrooms, college students who have been displaced from campus, families struggling to find a balance during the lockdown, and people who simply need to get back to work.

It will take all of us working together to push back this virus. Everyone can contribute to the effort to defeat COVID-19. Whether caring for others on the front lines, donating money and resources, or simply the very important act of staying home, we all have a part to play. If we continue to come together as a world community, we will succeed in both stamping out the virus and creating a more unified and humane world.

Our thoughts and prayers are with you.

Stay well.
Susan Dell


If you have a request for funding that is related to COVID-19, please know that we are committed to fighting this pandemic and its subsequent economic fallout. Our immediate available funding has gone to accelerating the development of therapies, increasing the supply of PPE in Texas, stabilizing small business, and assisting our portfolio of current grantees.