Leadership Foundations is uniquely positioned to leverage investments aimed to address each phase of the COVID-19 crisis, based on four key assets:

1) COORDINATED, TIME-TESTED NETWORK

Affiliates currently based in 40+ cities throughout the world, with 42 years of field-tested work

2) ESTABLISHED, LOCAL DELIVERY SYSTEMS

1,303 partner organizations and 19,900+ cross-sector meetings convened each year 

3) REPUTATION FOR COLLABORATIVE, CONTEXT-SPECIFIC RESPONSES

Active programming delivered in collaboration with community partners in 3 domain areas:

These domains include services addressing the following areas of need:

Adult Education, Advocacy & Organizing, Capacity Building & Incubation, College Success, Economic Development, Academic Success, Emergency Aid, Environmental Health, Parenting, Food & Nutrition, Foster Care & Adoption, Gang Intervention, Health Care, Mentoring, Mobilizing Faith Communities, Prayer Ministry, Prisoner Reform/Re-entry, Spiritual Development, Workforce Development, and Youth Sports

While the COVID-19 pandemic is currently being experienced as a public health crisis, Leadership Foundations recognizes that the road back to thriving communities will take all of us working together, not competing for resources. Our network has begun a coordinated three-phase response in its 40+ locations throughout the world:

• BRINGING RELIEF

In many areas, basic needs are going unmet and are heightened by COVID-19—in places like Delhi, India where refugees are being forced from their homes, and in cities like Lexington, Kentucky where high rates of children living in poverty place them in even more vulnerable conditions. Our network is currently distributing food, medical supplies, expanding emergency shelter, and coordinating volunteers to meet these needs.

• BEGINNING TO REBUILD

Many have experienced devastating effects from the pandemic. The LF network has already begun to help provide vulnerable groups with the necessary skills and assets to rebuild their lives. Our network is prepping for expansion of our workforce development and affordable housing efforts, given the huge task ahead of us.  

• REIMAGINING REHABILITATION

For our urban communities to reemerge from this crisis with resilience, we must provide vulnerable residents with the necessary skills and opportunities for lives of hope and promise. Leadership Foundations knows this will take communities where neighbor care for one another, that work together to build a strong fabric of trust and mutual support. That’s why all that Leadership Foundations does is in partnership and collaboration with others.

The damage wrought on vulnerable urban communities has created a series of crises, in addition to health concerns.

As social distancing and self-quarantines has become our new normal,  new economic challenges will be felt most acutely by those already in poverty.

Many workers are losing their jobs and many of those jobs are not coming back. For those that were already underskilled or underemployed, this is devastating!

The most vulnerable children are at an even greater disadvantage than prior to the crisis. Closed schools also mean that many children will not have access to healthy food.

For more than 40 years, Leadership Foundations has utlized its proven methods to bring about long-lasting change in cities:  engaging leaders of good faith and good will, building the capacity of others, and developing joint initiatives.

As the damage of the pandemic continues to be seen, we are expecting more than ever the need not only for vital services for those in need, but also the need to build more just, resilient, and trusting communities to provide long-term care for vulnerable individuals and families.