Yale University is partnering with the United Way of Greater New Haven and the Community Foundation for Greater New Haven to raise $5 million for its host city during the time of crisis.
The “Community for New Haven Fund,” announced in a letter from university President Peter Salovey to the Yale community Thursday evening, seeks to raise $5 million from faculty, students and staff.
The university administration has already pledged $1 million for the fund, which aims to channel financial aid to needy New Haveners during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The City of New Haven is preparing for the likelihood of a high number of cases of COVID-19 in the coming days and weeks,” Salovey wrote on Thursday. “The Yale community is responding on a number of fronts: through the clinical work of our doctors and nurses; the research and public service of our laboratory scientists, epidemiologists, and other public-health experts; and the devotion and care of a staff working tirelessly to keep Yale operational.”
Through the new fund, Salovey said, Yale will support the delivery of health care, assistance to local businesses, community educational needs, and area non-profits focused on such pressing issues as the well-being of children and families, homelessness and hunger. New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker, Salovey added, has articulated these needs as among the city’s most urgent concerns.
Earlier this month Elicker criticized the university for not paying its “fair share” to its host city, whose budget struggles to make ends meet are partly due to the high proportion of tax-exempt property owned by Yale and other non-profit property owners in the Elm City.
The new fund will be managed by Yale’s Office of New Haven Affairs and overseen by an advisory committee. The objective, Salovey said, was to begin distributing aid to beneficiaries as soon as possible.
To contribute to the fund, click HERE.
“In the days ahead,” wrote Salovery, “we will all be further challenged in ways we shall never forget.”
