COVID Fundraiser and Resource List

Due to the recent coronavirus surge across the globe, the fair trade community is coming together to support those most impacted through funding, donations, and continued business, where safe. See the below details regarding a number of FTF member-led or member-supported initiatives. Our hearts are with those affected.

• Matr Boomie, with the help of local authorities in India, will be creating an oxygen supply unit filled with oxygen concentrators, hospital beds, medical staff and supplies. Many rural areas do not have oxygen supplies, and COVID patients are not able to be admitted, leaving most patients stranded with no help or resources to fight this virus. Any contribution that you can give to their COVID Fundraiser will help the lives of so many artisans and their family and friends, and Matr Boomie hopes that you’ll join them in this fight to save lives.
• Tulia’s Artisan Gallery has been funding food and PPE donations for the most vulnerable families with which it works throughout the pandemic. Currently, in Colombia, hospital beds and oxygen tanks are very limited. Additionally, with a curfew and rolling stay-at-home orders, people’s ability to go to work has been impacted. You can contribute to the Tulia’s Giving Fund, especially given the current needs in Colombia, via CAF America.  
• Passion Lilie is partnering with a number of other like-minded brands to do a Virtual Fundraiser. The event is an evening of community care in support of garment workers in Cambodia and India given the ongoing crisis. Additionally, Passion Lilie is raising money for Lydia, a community role model in Bangalore, India who recently contracted COVID, and her family to help with medical and business expenses, through GoFundMe. 
• Sevya Handmade is partnering with its sister organization AIM for Seva to provide oxygen concentrators and other much-needed medical supplies in rural areas throughout India. Donations can be made here.
• Sustainable Threads is providing immediate assistance in India with two projects. The first is Dry Food Provisions, including non-perishables – rice, flour, oil, lentils, sugar, turmeric, and cardamom. Each packet costs $15 and helps a family of 4 with provisions for 2 weeks. The second is an Artisan Support Fund for essential covid medicines and oxygen supply for artisan communities. Local leaders have requested medical help for those most in need. Donations and more information can be found via the links.
• Ganesh Himal Trading‘s sister nonprofit the Conscious Connections Foundation has been providing financial assistance for on-the-ground relief and the long term well-being of its partners in Nepal since April 2020. From food and masks to grants for employee salaries when no government assistance was available, CCF’s strong relationships in Nepal have allowed for quick response to COVID needs of the past year. CCF will continue to provide financial assistance to its partners in Nepal as the humanitarian crisis of India spills across the Nepali border. Donations can be made here, and to learn more about how you can fundraise for CCF, visit here.
• Rover & Kin will be resuming the distribution of Food Ration Kits and Medical Kits like last year to the underserved communities. Previous support allowed over 700 food ration kits to be distributed over the course of the first wave. They are again asking for help to raise funds in order to support families in marginalized communities where they work. INR 1575 or $21 USD supports a family of 4 with dry food rations for a month, and INR 500 or less than $7 can fund a health kit for a family.
• WorldFinds has put together a list of organizations, including UNICEF, Indian Red Cross Society, The Hope Foundation, Association for India’s Development, Oxbridge Student Action for COVID Relief, and more, that are providing coronavirus relief in India. WorldFinds is donating to many of these organizations that are working to get oxygen concentrators, medicine, vaccines, and other urgently needed supplies to communities in need, and they have also started their own fundraiser to benefit their artisan partners in India. 
• Fazl has been granted special permission to keep working in communities in the Himalayas due to the ability of artisans to work safely from home and the positive impact of the work. Given the support of Fazl by the fair trade community, it has been able to provide much-needed income for so many. Many of Fazl’s artisan partners have been directly impacted by COVID and have become the sole household provider now due to the pandemic, especially in the last month. The ongoing support has had a tremendous impact on these communities, and Fazl encourages the fair trade movement to continue to support businesses and fundraisers in the countries most affected.
• Conscious by Kali is a non profit organization that mentors and rehabilitates survivors of sex trafficking. Its center is in a community that has been severely affected by COVID. Although Delhi is in lockdown, its center has been able to keep a skeleton group who are quarantined in our facility to work and live. They make masks for distribution in impoverished communities and are creating products with the limited resources available. Conscious by Kali would be most grateful for any donations that could support these initiatives during this extremely challenging time. Donate here and learn more here.
• Cheppu from Himalaya is doing its part to help their workers and sponsored students in Nepal. The organization has been sending money for rent and food supplies to workers and has been buying laptops and internet connections for the students. One of the graduated nursing students has been working valiantly with COVID patients and recently was diagnosed with a serious heart disease. Cheppu from Himalaya is also paying her salary and medical bills to ensure she is able to take a leave of absence. Lastly, they are supporting and sharing this petition for the U.S. government to send vaccines to Nepal. 
• Sprout Enterprise® is raising funds to support the provision of rations, hygiene supplies, and nutritional supplements to rural communities supported by its NGO partner, the Barefoot College Tilonia, in Rajasthan, India.  Additionally, Barefoot College Tilonia is procuring beds, oxygen, nebulizers, oxygenators, medicine, sanitizers, masks, and other vital supplies to deliver medical services to rural communities which lack access to health facilities. Help save lives and support their Global Giving campaign for COVID relief.
• The Third World Fair Trade Shoppe of Fort Wayne has always prioritized partnering with producers in areas of social crisis. During the COVID pandemic, as sales decreased, the shop was able to provide grants to several projects in several partner communities most affected by the pandemic. Additionally, the Third World Fair Trade Shoppe is seeking support for two projects, VOICE Trust and Dream Production. VOICE Trust is providing food and medical aid to families in the southern State of Tamil Nadu in India, and Dream Production is a COVID-related project working in refugee camps in Uganda. Donations are tax-exempt and can be made through the shop’s fiscal sponsor, Friends of the Third World.
• At the start of the pandemic, Revy Fair Trade‘s artisan partners in El Salvadoran were suddenly confined to their homes for 60 days. The organization jumped into action with a facemask fundraiser, sewing multilayer facemasks from indigo scarves that were sold for $10 each + shipping, and sent the funds for food and other essentials. In April and May of 2020, the organization was able to send nearly $1500 to the artisans, some of which were shared with others in their communities. Now, Revy Fair Trade has continued to place orders to support the artisans with continued work and pay.