Emergency Relief for Those Impacted by COVID-19; Pledge Your Support
March 24, 2020
  • Redwood City, Calif. – The San Mateo County Board of Supervisors today provided $3 million in seed money to launch a fund to provide emergency relief to local individuals, families, nonprofit organizations and small businesses.

    The fund – San Mateo County Strong Fund – is immediately accepting donations to help those who can least afford to weather the economic impacts from the coronavirus outbreak. A new website for the San Mateo County Strong Fund has been launched at www.SMCStrong.org.

    “We know that many of our neighbors are being hit hard financially by layoffs, cutbacks in hours and shutdowns,” said Warren Slocum, president of the Board of Supervisors. “We ask that anyone who has the means to help today make a donation right away. We are all in this together and we are San Mateo County Strong.”

    Seeded with funding from the Measure K half-cent local sales tax by the Board of Supervisors, the San Mateo County Strong Fund is accepting 100 percent tax deductible donations that will be spent solely in San Mateo County to address immediate needs for the following groups:

    Individuals/families: Helping those most in need to cover basic household expenses;

    Small Local Businesses: Helping small business owners avoid layoffs and pay rent, support self-employed residents who do not qualify for state unemployment benefits; and enable as many small businesses to stay open or reopen once California’s state-wide COVID-19 Shelter in Place order is lifted;

    Nonprofits: Funding to help nonprofit agencies with operating expenses so they can continue assist and serve our most vulnerable residents.

    Silicon Valley Community Foundation will support the County of San Mateo on how to allocate funds to nonprofits, how individuals can apply for support, and in close collaboration with the San Mateo County Economic Development Association (SAMCEDA) how small businesses and self-employed residents who qualify can access grants. Silicon Valley Community Foundation is also working across the Bay Area in all other counties to raise funding for COVID-19 response to support low-income individuals and families.

    The San Mateo County Strong Fund will have a dedicated website where individual donors can contribute to the fund through a dedicated PayPal site hosted by Silicon Valley Community Foundation.

    100 Percent of the Funds Raised by the San Mateo County Strong FundWill Stay in San Mateo County

    The County, SAMCEDA, and the Silicon Valley Community Foundation will launch a parallel effort to seek major contributions from San Mateo County’s large companies, philanthropic foundations, and other entities and individuals who can support the fund with significant contributions.

    “In less than two weeks,” Slocum said, “our lives have changed beyond anything we might have expected to slow down the coronavirus and ensure our healthcare system and local hospitals can manage what’s coming.”

    He added, “Every city, school district, hospital, companies of all sizes, chambers of commerce, and legions of volunteers have come together to make sure we weather the crisis and come out stronger on the other side – that’s what makes San Mateo County special.”

    The Board of Supervisors voted 5-0 to approve the San Mateo County Strong Fund.

    Connect with SMC Strong on social media:

    Facebook: http://facebook.com/SMCStrong Instagram: SMCStrongFund Twitter: @SMC_Strong

    Contacts

    Board President Warren Slocum 650-363-4570 wslocum@smcgov.org

    Silicon Valley Community Foundation Erica Wood, Executive Vice President, Community Impact 650-450-5400 ekwood@siliconvalleycf.org

    San Mateo County Economic Development Association Rosanne Foust, President and CEO 650-413-5600 ext. 1 rfoust@samceda.org