Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas (BCBSTX) will support stateside COVID-19 relief efforts with a $1 million donation through its newly created Collaborative Grant Fund, the Communities Foundation of Texas (CFT) today announced.

The COVID-19 Collaborative Grant Fund was established by BCBSTX to help nonprofits across the state provide critical services related to the pandemic. The donation grant to CFT will support child care for first responders and healthcare professionals, personal protective equipment (PPE) for first responders, and services for senior adults, such as meal and grocery delivery, the organization said in a statement.

CFT, which is the largest community foundation in Texas, shares BCBSTX’s goal of investing in healthier communities and improving the health of Texans, Monica Egert Smith, Chief Relationship Officer at Communities Foundation of Texas said.

“This $1 million investment will help address some of Texas’ most urgent needs related to COVID-19,” Egert Smith said.

Communities Foundation of Texas’ Monica Egert Smith

With strong relationships in more than 30 community foundations across the state, the organization is uniquely positioned to identify the needs of nonprofits in their local communities, it said.

That’s something BCBSTX wanted to support.

“Now, more than ever, it’s important to support the areas where our communities need it the most, which is why we established the Collaborative Grant Fund,” said Dr. Dan McCoy, president of BCBSTX. 

Through the grants, BCBSTX wants to move resources to community-based organizations that are directly supporting local residents and families who are most impacted by the emerging health, economic, and social impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic.  

Dave Scullin, President and CEO of Communities Foundation of Texas, is grateful for the partnership with BCBSTX.

“We both have strong local roots in Texas and are aligned and focused on providing resources and support to those most impacted by the pandemic,” he says.

Dave Scullin volunteers alongside company employees at Hunger Busters on CFT’s 2019 Freedom Day / North Texas Giving Day. [Photo: Kim Leeson]

Since it was founded in 1953, CFT has awarded more than $2 billion in grants. During the COVID-19 pandemic, CFT has been involved in the launch of a number of COVID-19 community relief efforts, including North Texas Cares, a collaborative of more than 30 funders with a shared application for nonprofits to submit relief requests to the North Texas Community Response Fund, as well as the North Texas Giving Tuesday Now initiative and the Get Shift Done for North Texas Fund.

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