The ‘Worcester Together' fund announced today that the George I Alden Trust has donated $1 million to the fund to support the community's response to COVID-19. The fund, a partnership between the Greater Worcester Community Foundation and the United Way of Central Massachusetts, will support the needs of local nonprofit organizations working with communities disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 public health crisis in Worcester County.

The George I Alden Trust was established in 1912 to support a variety of philanthropic causes in the Greater Worcester area. The Trust granted over $10 million in 2019 to Worcester based community organizations and higher education related activities.

“The Alden Trust is happy to be able to step up to the plate in this way to help our community,” said Warner Fletcher, chair of the George I. Alden Trust. “We hope that this donation will encourage our community to join the Alden Trust in stretching to meet the unprecedented challenges we as a community are currently facing and will continue to be facing in the immediate future.”

“We have seen an amazing outpouring of support from across the Worcester Community during the last week,” said Carolyn Stempler, chair of the GWCF Board of Trustees. “Worcester Together is grateful to the Alden Trust for stepping forward, for their leadership and their generosity as we continue to provide support to those who need it most.”

“We are thrilled to receive this donation to our Fund,” said AiVi Nguyen, chair of the United Way of Central Massachusetts Board of Directors. “The leadership of the Alden Trust is setting an outstanding example for our community during these challenging times.”

Contributions are now being accepted at www.greaterworcester.org and https://unitedwaycm.org/.

Grants from the Worcester Together funds will target organizations with deep roots in the community. Many of these groups serve residents without health insurance and/or access to sick days, people with limited English language proficiency, healthcare workers and seniors, among others.

Grants will be released by the funds on a rolling basis as fundraising continues throughout the outbreak and recovery phases of the crisis. This will make it possible to move resources quickly and adapt to evolving needs in subsequent funding phases. The application process will be designed to be as simple and responsive as possible.

GWCF invites foundations, businesses, individuals and family foundations to contribute to the Worcester Together fund at www.greaterworcester.org and https://unitedwaycm.org/. The Foundation, the United Way, the City of Worcester, local officials throughout the County and other funders are all working together to give the Fund the maximum reach and effectiveness. In addition to offering an opportunity to contribute to the Fund, GWCF and the United Way also urge donors to look for opportunities to support the critical needs of nonprofits by making general operating support grants to organizations they wish to help.

“This is great news,” said Barbara Fields, CEO of the GWCF. “This is an extraordinary gift in response to extraordinary times.”