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Dear Friends of Stop the Spread,

The year has gotten off to a busy start for our team! Many of the seeds we planted in Q4 to increase our focus on addressing the needs of underserved communities have sprouted and we feel increasingly empowered by a new administration in Washington.

COVID-19 has had disproportionate adverse effects on Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) communities across the US. The number of coronavirus cases, hospitalizations and deaths is significantly higher in these groups. Additionally, members of BIPOC communities are among those hit hardest by the economic and social upheavals caused by the pandemic.

As vaccine distribution continues, ensuring that vaccinations are administered fairly and equitably (meaning, designed specifically for the most marginalized individuals in the community) will be important for mitigating the disproportionate impacts of COVID-19 on people of color, preventing widening health disparities and achieving broad population immunity. 

Unfortunately, the speed at which our nation is moving to vaccinate Americans is all too often at the expense of equity. According to data analyzed by the
The Kaiser Family Foundation, early vaccination patterns by race and ethnicity appear to be at odds with who the virus has affected the most. To address this trend, STS has co-designed a community-based vaccination model with a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) in NYC that enables this FQHC to extend both its reach and impact in some of the hardest to reach communities in the city. Three new vaccination sites will be co-located in community-based organizations (e.g., churches, schools) and vaccines will be administered by individuals from the community. The goal is to administer ~10,000 vaccinations per month for 5-6 months while addressing vaccine mistrust and barriers to access by working with trusted community-based organizations. Leveraging our strengths, STS is leading strategic planning and coalition building. 

Consistent with our
hyperlocal strategy, we are actively seeking funding to replicate this "last mile" model in other vulnerable communities and create a playbook that can be utilized by any community health clinic with access to vaccines. You can learn more about this initiative here.

Support for new models like the one described above offers a unique opportunity for private sector and philanthropic actors to not only address the need for ongoing pandemic response but to also address longstanding disparities that have created the unequal situation that BIPOC communities are now in. On Jan 29, Stop the Spread hosted a webinar with ImpactAssets addressing this opportunity titled COVID-19: The Long Haul - The Critical Role of Philanthropy Right Now.

For those of you who were not able to attend, please see below for resources that highlight the gaps in our nation's COVID-19 response and the critical needs right now:

Next week, we are excited to continue this conversation with Pledge 1%'s COVID-19 Coalition, an organization we addressed back in early December. Please join us on February 25 at 1:30 pm PST for a conversation titled The Race to Vaccinate Americans - Trading Off Speed for Equity. The Zoom link can be found here.

As always, we appreciate referrals and introductions that help support and champion our important work and increase our impact.

Thank you,

Stop the Spread Team
About ImpactAssets
ImpactAssets is a nonprofit financial services firm that increases the flow of capital into investments delivering financial, social and environmental returns. The ImpactAssets Donor Advised Fund and field-building initiatives enable philanthropists, other asset owners and their wealth advisors to advance social or environmental change through investment and granting.

About Stop the Spread
Stop the Spread fosters the private sector’s response to COVID-19. STS addresses the evolving critical needs of the pandemic by identifying and vetting novel solutions and providing innovators with capacity building support including access to impact investment and philanthropic capital through ImpactAssets’ COVID Response Funds. Through research, partnerships and coalition building, STS serves the communities hit hardest by COVID-19 with a focus on addressing the needs of historically underserved populations. STS’ partner network totals over 650 companies and organizations and has resulted in more than 300 value-added connections that have spurred the production of more than 40,000 ventilators and 20 million units of PPE, supported development of novel diagnostics and therapeutics, and promoted equitable allocation of resources.
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