COVID-19 Response

The COVID-19 outbreak is taking a devastating toll on lives and communities around the world. To help those affected, we are supporting and scaling effective solutions throughout the course of this pandemic - from immediate relief to long term recovery and future preparedness.

Woman in science lab wearing lab coat and medical gloves inspecting vial.

Our commitment

We’re committing $100 million and technical expertise to the global COVID-19 response, focusing our efforts in areas where our resources and people can have the most impact - health and science, economic relief and recovery, and distance learning.

Man in science lab wearing lab coat and working with samples.

Health and science

We are supporting the people and organizations on the frontlines battling this disease.

Immediate humanitarian relief

We’ve committed up to $10.5 million to benefit the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund for the World Health Organization (through the UN Foundation) and Center for Disaster Philanthropy to support preparedness, containment, response and recovery efforts.

Data tracking for disease spread

Data is critical to understanding and managing a pandemic’s spread. We’re supporting efforts by La Fondation Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors without Borders) and Boston Children’s Hospital’s HealthMap with grants and Google.org Fellows to develop new epidemiological models to monitor the spread of COVID-19 and provide real-time information to governments and healthcare systems.

Two women sitting together at a table and talking.

Economic relief and recovery

Millions of people around the world have been laid off as businesses close their doors. These closures are likely to hit small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) hardest1, along with households that live paycheck to paycheck or rely on food assistance programs.

Small business lending

In addition to a $200 million investment that Google has committed to provide small businesses access to low-interest loans, Google.org is giving $15 million in cash grants to Opportunity Finance Network, Youth Business International, and Common Future to support underserved SMBs.

Direct cash assistance

Direct cash transfers are one of the most effective ways to give relief during a crisis.2 We’re supporting nonprofits like GiveDirectly, Family Independence Initiative, and GiveIndia which deliver cash directly to vulnerable families.

Boy and his father working together on a tablet.

Distance learning

At the peak of COVID-19, more than a billion students were out of school.3 Teachers, parents, and schools are responding through a massive shift to online education. We announced a $10 million Distance Learning Fund, to support organizations around the globe that help educators and parents access resources needed to provide high quality learning opportunities to children, particularly those from underserved communities.

Scaled global learning platforms

We made a $1 million grant to Khan Academy, who will reach over 18 million learners a month with new COVID-19 specific resources for parents and teachers in over 20 languages.

Local education efforts

We’re granting $2.8 million to INCO to accelerate grassroots nonprofits across Europe and Asia that support families of children who are at risk for severe learning disruption. INCO will distribute sub-grants and provide tailored coaching on high-quality distance learning to parents.

Google.org Fellowship

The Google.org Fellowship enables Google employees to complete up to six months of full-time pro bono work to accelerate the social impact of nonprofits and civic entities. Fellows use their technical expertise to build scalable solutions to tough challenges.

Man working at laptop. Women standing together in support and holding signs. A group of people in a medical lab listening to one talk about testing. A profile shot of a woman looking at a computer screen.

  • Supporting Boston Children’s Hospital to improve data modeling and visualization

    A team of 10 Google.org Fellows is supporting the Boston Children’s Hospital to improve data modeling and visualization for an epidemiological data modeling platform that aggregates and tracks the spread of infectious diseases such as COVID-19.

  • Helping National Domestic Workers Alliance support domestic workers through direct cash transfers

    Seven Google.org Fellows are helping the National Domestic Workers Alliance expand their benefits tool to distribute an emergency cash fund for essential workers.

  • Assisting Médecins Sans Frontières to adapt and deploy a syndrome tracking system

    Google.org Fellows are helping La Fondation Médecins Sans Frontières to adapt and deploy a multi-scale symptom tracking system developed by Medic Mobile for COVID-19.

  • Helping the State of New York evaluate and solve COVID-19 related technical challenges

    10 Google.org Fellows are supporting Governor Cuomo’s COVID-19 Technology SWAT Team for six months full-time to help New York residents find and access critical COVID-19 related information during and after the pandemic.

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Google.org grantees are rising to the challenge

Past Google.org grantees are using their resources and tools to help respond to COVID-19.

Three people working on laptops at the Trevor Project office. Man and woman posed outside and looking at the camera. Two young women in a classroom smiling for the camera.

  • Triaging inbound outreach from the LGBTQ community with AI

    Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, Trevor Space registrations have increased by 40% per week. Funding and full-time pro bono support from Google.org Fellows have enabled The Trevor Project to develop AI-based queue triage methods.

  • Using AI for fact checking

    Full Fact is using an AI-based tool created with Google.org funding and improved features created with assistance from Google.org Fellows to provide fact checkers with the information they need to validate or disprove claims on the internet. Full Fact is using this tool to prevent the spread of misinformation around COVID-19.

  • AI for parent-teacher communication

    TalkingPoints has seen an engagement growth of 10-20 times previous rates since the start of COVID-19 on a tool created with full time Google.org Fellows, which enables AI-based translations to be used between parents and teachers.

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Footnotes
1 “OECD: Tackling Coronavirus (COVID-19) Contributing to a Global Effort” Opens in new window
2 “Propel’s response to COVID-19” Opens in new window
3 “UNESCO: COVID-19 Educational Disruption and Response” Opens in new window
4 “VOX: The large and unequal impact of COVID-19 on workers” Opens in new window