By Beth Sirull
SAN DIEGO — Estimates of the number of lost lives directly resulting from the coronavirus outbreak range from the horrifying to the truly unimaginable. That doesn’t consider those indirectly impacted by the outbreak. As businesses of all kinds close or severely curtail service, the number of San Diegans who are without a paycheck or with a severely diminished one is growing, leaving them unable to meet basic needs. Prescriptions need to be refilled. Families need groceries to eat. First responders need safe childcare, so they can work in the hospitals and clinics that are facing a flood of patients. These are unprecedented times.
San Diego is blessed to have many, many generous charitable donors. In the aggregate, Americans donated over $425 billion to charity in 2018. That’s more than the gross national product of almost 100 countries in the world. Extrapolating from national statistics, San Diegans likely donated over $4 billion to charity in 2018 alone. That’s a lot of money!
But globally, the United Nations estimates that the economic cost of the coronavirus outbreak will top $1 trillion. The costs to the United States and San Diego will be proportionately dramatic.
Clearly, philanthropy is essential, but alone it is not enough to address these mushrooming needs. While Congress appears to be acting, government spending—federal, state and city—won’t cover all the needs either. Recently we have seen private corporations start to devote funds to disaster relief and other needs, but alone, it too will not be enough.
As San Diegans hunker down in the face of the coronavirus, every resident of the county is affected. Some are more able to deal with these challenges; for others the impacts are daunting. Addressing these needs requires more than one sector can provide. Meeting the challenge of the coronavirus requires that the private sector—businesses and private investment—join with government and philanthropy, each doing their part.
Philanthropy is fast and flexible capital. The needs are now. Philanthropy can provide the funds to meet those needs. Philanthropy can help where restricted government dollars cannot. We will undoubtedly see remarkable innovation in social service delivery. Philanthropy can fund these ideas until they are proven and scalable.
San Diego’s two largest philanthropic funders, the Jewish Community Foundation and the San Diego Foundation have both established funds to provide emergency funding for families that need to make rent payments and access healthy food. Combined, these funds have raised over $3 million. But more is needed. If you can, please donate.
Businesses can do their part as well. There have been projections that the coronavirus outbreak will cause many more bankruptcies than deaths. It is critical that we stem the tide of bankruptcies—business and individual—so that we have a viable economic foundation to build upon when this emergency subsides.
This is a perfect time to adapt the Golden Rule: Do unto your customers as you would have your vendors do unto you.
If you are a business owner, provide as much leeway around payment timing and terms as you possibly can. Ask your vendors to do the same for you. If you have a mortgage or other bank loan, call the bank now to let them know that you will be behind and that you would like to work with them to get through this. And, the banks must work with customers—individuals and businesses—to ease payments, extend the term of loans and the like. If you are a landlord, give a break to your tenant. Better to receive late and lower payments than to see your customer go into bankruptcy and see your entire investment become worthless. Ultimately, patience will prevent bankruptcies—and you will likely get your money or most of it, albeit later than preferred.
Government—federal, state and local—of course plays a critical part in addressing the coronavirus challenge. First and foremost, this means meeting the public health needs of our community, what some call the 4 Ts–testing, tracking, treating and transparency. This has gotten off to a slow start and must quicken. Government must also undergird our economy and we are starting to see the Federal government act.
But the impact of government action will not be felt immediately. Philanthropy can meet the immediate existential needs of individuals and families literally unable to put food on the table. Business can help minimize the number of people who find themselves in that predicament. We must all do our part.
At a time of unprecedented division in our society, bringing government, nonprofits and businesses together to meet the extraordinary challenges unfolding before us ought to be something we can all agree on. Adapt the Golden Rule.
Beth Sirull is the President and CEO of the Jewish Community Foundation of San Diego, the Miriam and Jerome Katzin Presidential Chair. She can be reached at bsirull@jcfsandiego.org.