YMCA of Central Ohio, a longstanding nonprofit dedicated to strengthening communities, announced that Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Bezos are recognizing the organization with a $5 million grant from the Bezos Day 1 Families Fund. This investment is the largest private gift in the nonprofit’s history. YMCA of Central Ohio is part of the eighth annual cohort of organizations across the country receiving funding from the Day 1 Families Fund to deepen their work to help every family have a safe, stable place to call home.
“On behalf of the YMCA of Central Ohio, we extend our deepest gratitude to the Bezos Day 1 Families Fund and the national advisors who identified our organization for this extraordinary gift. Their generosity will immediately strengthen the work of our housing and emergency shelter teams,” said Tony Collins, the president and CEO of the YMCA of Central Ohio, in a press release. “This donation is a powerful statement of belief in the YMCA’s mission and in the thousands of neighbors who rely on our housing and emergency shelter programs each day.”
YMCA of Central Ohio will use its Day 1 Families Fund grant to serve even more families experiencing homelessness in Franklin County, Ohio, with the goal of ensuring no child in the community sleeps outside. Specifically, the YMCA plans to use this one-time grant over the next five years to accelerate the transition of families from shelters into stable homes. This funding will also allow the YMCA to offer essential financial assistance to clients, helping them maintain stable housing and thrive in their communities.
The YMCA of Central Ohio was identified to receive this grant by a group of national advisors who are leading advocates and bring expertise on homelessness, housing policy and effective approaches and solutions to family homelessness.
“The YMCA believes that everyone deserves a home of their own. The generosity of the Day 1 Families Fund will allow us to serve Franklin County’s most vulnerable families, support our dedicated teams and ensure all people have the foundation they need to reach their full potential,” said Melissa Garver, the chief development officer at the Y.
Since its inception in 2018, the Day 1 Families Fund has awarded 280 grants totaling more than $850 million to organizations serving families in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Guam. The Day 1 Families Fund grant recipients have tremendous flexibility to use the funds in the ways that are most impactful in their communities, making the grant a game-changer for organizations on the frontlines of the family homelessness crisis. Recipients will use their funds to support families experiencing homelessness to access critical services, regain stable housing and achieve well-being.
This year, the fund issued a total of $102.5 million in grants to 32 organizations. The full list of awardees is available at https://bezosdayonefund.org/day1familiesfund. Case studies of the impact selected grantees have made with their funds are available at https://www.bezosdayonefund.org/case-studies.
