Item No. 11.4 - Additional Information

July 10, 2020

Dear Mayor Dilkens and Members of Council

In these unprecedented times, we have seen our region pull together in an amazing way to help those who have been impacted by COVID-19. We want to thank the City of Windsor staff and frontline workers for everything they have done, and for Council and the Mayor’s leadership during this crisis.

In May 2020, United Way was allocated $926,800 in federal funding for community investment and was more recently approved for an additional $382,500 to address emerging needs, totaling $1,309,300 for our region as part of the Emergency Community Response Fund. The Windsor-Essex Community Foundation and the Red Cross of Canada also received a portion of this federal funding to distribute locally.

Over the past month, United Way received 57 applications totaling $3,552,453 in funding requested to support vulnerable community members in Windsor and Essex County. The Windsor Essex Community Foundation has also faced unprecedented demand for support from social service partners. United Way is currently reviewing its second round of applications and will announce final investments on July 27, 2020. This funding will support agencies until the end of the fiscal year, March 31, 2021.

We recognize the financial pressure that the City of Windsor is facing. Our own organization and many non-profits across our region face similar pressures due to the pandemic. That being said, the need in our region is unprecedented.

In the report before Council, a surplus has been identified in the City’s portion of the region’s poverty reduction strategy, Pathway to Potential (P2P). From our understanding, this surplus emerged from the pausing of services and programs due to COVID-19. We are hoping that a conversation can occur around the redirection of those funds to some of the agency requests that United Way is unable to fund. United Way stands ready to coordinate efforts with City Administration and hopefully together we can provide additional support to those in need in Windsor and Essex County.