The Coca-Cola Foundation has announced $35 million in new grants, including a $20 million fund to support nonprofit partners working to stop the spread of Covid-19 through vaccine distribution, personal protective equipment and public awareness efforts. The remaining $15 million will support local environmental and community organizations in the United States and Canada.
The grants honor the 135th anniversary of Coca-Cola, which is May 8. According to the CSD giant, the Coca-Cola Foundation will identify community initiatives that meet the requirements of the Foundation’s new Stop the Spread fund.
“We know the Covid-19 crisis is far from over,” said Bea Perez, president and chair, The Coca-Cola Foundation. “Last year, during the initial outbreak phase, we channeled over $56 million of relief funds to organizations positioned to mobilize quickly and provide aid and supplies to healthcare workers and populations. Now, as Covid-19 continues to impact communities around the world, this new fund will allow the Foundation to focus on supporting charities working to stop the spread of the virus.”
More than $6.6 million in grants have been awarded from the $20 million fund to stop the spread of Covid-19, including: $2 million for Project Last Mile to support vaccine rollouts in eight African countries: Liberia, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Ghana, Eswatini, Mozambique, South Africa and Tanzania. $3.6 million for United Way of Mumbai to fund vaccine distribution initiatives and public awareness campaigns in 22 districts in India.
$500,000 for COVAX, a program co-led by the World Health Organization to ensure equitable, global access to Covid-19 vaccines. The contribution was made in support of Global Citizen’s VAX LIVE: Concert to Reunite the World (airing and streaming on May 8), which calls for new commitments from governments, the private sector and philanthropists to equitably distribute Covid-19 vaccines, tests and treatments to the world’s poorest countries.
