Sturgeon Bay, Wis. (May 1, 2020) – In an effort to provide a coordinated philanthropic response to the current COVID-19 health crisis, the Door County Community Foundation and the United Way of Door County have activated the Door County Emergency Response Fund.
Overcoming the extraordinary challenges of today – and the months ahead – will require an extraordinary effort by the people of Door County. Because we’re asking you to have faith in us, our commitment is to be fully transparent on how every dollar contributed to the Emergency Response Fund is use. We’ll regularly update totals of the moneys raised to date along with a complete accounting of how those moneys are being used to help the people of Door County. Visit our website for video interviews of the grantees as well as more information.
While we will be completely open as to how we’re using your contributions, we do have a request of you. We ask for your patience and understanding as we work through the challenges we’ll face in the months ahead. Almost inevitably, the size of the problem will be larger than the moneys we have available to address it. Difficult choices will need to be made as to which organization or coalition is a higher priority at any given time.
Further, as significant as the problem is today, it will grow considerably as the crisis begins to impact our season and people remain out of work for longer periods of time. That means we’ll need to spread the distribution of the money you’ve contributed over many months. Regardless, you have our commitment to distributing every dollar you’ve donated to the Emergency Response Fund to help people who live right here in Door County.
Finally, since we’re being completely honest, we’ll almost certainly be asking you to give again. We’re facing some rough waters ahead, and we won’t make it if we try to sail alone. We may have to stay apart for a while, but we’ll get through this if we come together as a community.
Please join us and give to the Door County Emergency Response Fund.
Emergency Response Fund Accepting Applications
The Emergency Response Fund is accepting applications from 501(c)(3) public charities, faith-based organizations, and other public entities serving the people of Door County. Individual people who need help during this crisis should visit www.Get211.org or dial 211. For-profit businesses that need financial assistance should contact DCEDC.
501(c)(3) public charities, faith-based organizations, and other public entities that serve the people of Door County are eligible to apply to the Emergency Response Fund.
While the dynamic nature of this crisis may cause the Emergency Response Fund to shift its emphasis over time, the following are the current priorities of the Fund:
1. Our first priority is to provide support for organizations offering immediate relief and assistance to people who are struggling during the stay-at-home order.
2. Our second priority is to provide support for organizations helping people in the months ahead who continue to struggle as Door County’s dramatically shortened season and the national recession threaten their family’s economic security.
3. Our third priority will be to provide support for the non-profit organizations themselves, whose long-term viability is threatened by the economic crisis in Door County. Note that we do not anticipate allocating significant resources to this third priority until the first two priorities have been adequately addressed.
Requests will be reviewed on a weekly basis. Submissions received by Monday at 8 a.m. will typically receive a decision by Wednesday evening. Once a distribution is approved, you may request a check at any time. Checks are typically mailed within 10 days. Please only submit one request at a time, but you may submit multiple requests during the duration of this crisis and the subsequent recovery period.
For more information or to informally discuss your request before submission, please call the Community Foundation at (920) 746-1786 or email to responsefund@givedoorcounty.org.
ALL CONTENT © 2025 BY DOOR GUIDE PUBLISHING
