Response to COVID-19

Resolution has created an Emergency Fund for Resolution Fellows in need of emergency support to access their basic needs. The fund will deploy over $60,000 to Fellows who are facing an emergency personal need—where basic needs like food, shelter, water, sanitation supplies, and critical medicine are at imminent risk.

In situations where public programs have failed and where other options have been exhausted, Resolution will provide a last line of defense. At this stage, one in eight Fellows have already expressed an acute risk to their basic needs. 

Resolution is continuing to support its Fellows through its standard systems of funding, mentorship, and access to resources, while providing additional curated opportunities for COVID-19 response efforts.

We are also partnering with a foundation to deploy funding to young leaders working on COVID-19 response and relief projects. Grants of $15,000 will be distributed to Resolution Fellows—they will not need to submit an application, nor will they need to report any progress. This fund is designed to provide rapid investment to young leaders who are building the critical infrastructure and tools to support their communities during this pandemic. This fund will be announced soon. 

Identifying new Fellows builds much-needed local leadership, ownership, and resilience in vulnerable communities for this and future crises that strike. To continue to invest in this talent, we are planning three virtual Social Venture Challenge competitions (SVCs) between June and August, including with the Mastercard Foundation and World Model United Nations. These virtual SVCs present greater opportunities for partners to share their support and for us to recognize them. The requirements of virtual judging also open up the opportunities to many more individuals and allow for broader engagement across geographically distributed groups.

We are continuing to deepen existing partnerships and build new ones to make all of this work possible and to combine efforts for greater results. We have been collaborating with our over 100 social sector Pathway Partners on everything from sharing operational tips to discussing talent pipeline; from sharing virtual event hosting lessons to framing out pilots and remote employee engagement programs. We also moved our Geraldine Acuña-Sunshine Young Leaders Now (YLN) Award Dinner to a day of gratitude, positive news, and giving, titled Giving AMPlified on May 18th, in honor of our 518 Fellows. We were fortunate enough to raise over $170,000 through Giving AMPlified, thanks to the generosity of our community, which will enable us to continue deepening our impact over the coming months. See our Events page for more information.