March 18, 2020
Lloyd A. Fry Foundation Response for COVID-19
Dear Lloyd A. Fry Foundation grantee,
During these uncertain times, the Board and staff of the Lloyd A. Fry Foundation send our best wishes to you and your staff and the people you serve. Given this uncertainty, we recognize that the programs you operate with Fry Foundation support are likely to be challenging to administer as originally conceived and designed. The Foundation wants to provide flexibility to help grantees maintain the staff capacity needed to continue to operate strong programs as Chicago navigates the COVID-19 public health crisis.
If your organization is unable to operate programs supported by the Foundation as described in the most recent grant proposal, Fry Foundation grant funds may be applied to support staff work related to the original grant. Examples of these activities might include planning, evaluation work, research activities or other projects related to the goals of the original proposal. If you have questions about how funds could be used to support staff work, please contact your program officer. Our offices are closed until the end of March, but all staff are working remotely and checking email and voicemail regularly.
After the chaos has settled, please let us know the changes and adaptations you made, as well as how this situation has affected your organization. We will use that information as we consider ways in the future to support your work. If your grant report is due within the next cycle, including it in the grant report would be fine.
This flexibility applies through June 1st, 2020. We will evaluate this time frame as we monitor the ongoing impact of the crisis on Chicago and the communities we all serve. Thank you for your important work supporting our Chicago communities.
Sincerely,
Unmi Song
President