2020 Year-End Message from the President

Friends,

As 2020 comes to a close, the Philadelphia Foundation wants to offer best wishes and gratitude to our supporters, partners, volunteers, and neighbors.

This year has amplified the region’s greatest challenges as well as its generous spirit.

Greater Philadelphia responded to the pandemic quickly to assist our most vulnerable neighbors through partnership and collaboration, fueled by early financial support from Philadelphia Foundation fundholders and friends, and leadership and support from the Philadelphia Foundation team.

Socially, our region saw residents, government, business, and community organizations step up individually and collectively with new clarity of purpose to remove barriers and accelerate efforts towards racial and social equity and opportunity, with Philadelphia Foundation leveraging resources, networks, expertise and leadership to connect, activate and accelerate change.

Your financial support, service, and collaboration, joined with the wise forethought of our predecessors and the strategic guidance of our board, ensured that the Philadelphia Foundation was ready to provide critical support and leadership when it was needed most. Total grants from the Philadelphia Foundation community to nonprofits will exceed $90 million in 2020, three times more than typical years.

We housed, covered fees and costs, and provided key leadership for the PHL COVID-19 Fund — raising and granting more than $18 million to over 500 front-line non-profits throughout the region, made possible through the support of over 8,500 contributors. A variety of new funds were established by individuals, families, co-workers and others to support their neighbors.  Skills-based volunteerism through our Key Skills Hub soared.  With grantee partners, we also succeeded in securing legislation for persons experiencing homelessness to exempt them from paying for a Pennsylvania ID card – a necessity for a range of critical services.

We are also grateful to our partners at Wells Fargo and Wells Fargo Regional Foundation (WFRF), who have granted the assets of the WFRF to the Philadelphia Foundation to create the Regional Foundation LLC, an endowed, grant-making public charity to keep, continue and grow resident-led, neighborhood development in communities in Eastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware through an extraordinary new partnership.

Moving into 2021, we do so clear-eyed about the work in front of us and confident that with our supporters, partners, volunteers, and neighbors, the Philadelphia Foundation will continue to improve lives and strengthen our community for generations to come.

Sincerely

Pedro A. Ramos
President & CEO