Worldwide: The Airbnb Community Fund will distribute $100 million to global organisations over the next 10 years.
The Airbnb Community Fund will support over 150 organisations from more than 40 countries and six continents. $10 million of the $100 million will be distributed before the end of the year.
A few of the organisations that Airbnb is working with include Mann Deshi Foundation in India, the Affordable Homeownership Foundation in the United States, Urban Refugees in France, and the India Covid-19 Relief Fund.
Airbnb’s host advisory board – a group of hosts who act as the voice of the host community – selected the grant focus areas of Covid-19 relief, economic empowerment, and education. The board worked with GlobalGiving, Airbnb’s program partner, to create a list of organisations working to meet these needs. From there, members of host clubs around the world voted which organisations that had the greatest impact in their regions.
Pascale Hasson, host advisory board member from Bordeaux, France, said: “I really liked how the Community Fund process was shared between different groups – not just Airbnb, but also the host advisory board, community leaders, and other hosts. We are all equally responsible for our community. I feel honoured to be part of the process.”
Patricia Feehely, Daily Bread Food Bank, ON, Canada, said: “Covid-19 has exacerbated food insecurity. Daily Bread’s member agency network is seeing over 105,000 food bank visits per month across the city of Toronto – 50 per cent increase compared to the year prior. Airbnb’s donation will help to ensure that more than 15,000 people can access a supply of fresh produce, dairy, proteins, and shelf-stable groceries. It will also help us build new emergency response programs, such as meal delivery services, so that individuals impacted by Covid-19 – especially seniors or those experiencing isolation – can safely access the food they need.”
Donald H. Whitehead Jr., National Coalition for the Homeless, United States, said: “The National Coalition for the Homeless (NCH) is so honoured to receive the generous gift from Airbnb. NCH is a beacon of hope for those that are experiencing homelessness. We can only remain a beacon with the help of amazing companies like Airbnb. We thank you for your willingness to help us bring America home.”
Patricia Larios, Fundacion ProEmpleo Productivo A.C., Mexico, said: “This funding will allow 300 entrepreneurs in Mexico to receive the training and support necessary to rescue, strengthen or boost their microenterprises, given the current economic situation derived from the pandemic. They may choose to focus on transforming their business models towards digital. Others could prefer to improve their sales and customer service strategies. And some may decide to finally launch that business idea that they long for and achieve self-employment. Regardless of which path they wish to take; we will accompany them and get ahead of this crisis.”
Alix Devillers, Urban Refugees, France, said: “This additional funding will allow us to go further in collecting evidence on the impact of strengthening the capacity of Refugee-Led Organisations (RLOs), to support our advocacy work. It will enable us to dedicate time to revising and enhancing our monitoring, evaluation and learning framework, and to involve Refugee-Led Organisations in this process as part of our capacity-building work. This framework will aim to inform international humanitarian actors and funders on indicators of localisation and self-reliance of refugees, and to advocate for further efforts towards those objectives.”
Lois Healy, Affordable Homeownership Foundation, Inc., United States, said: “What will the additional funding mean for the Affordable Homeownership Foundation? We will be able to help more veterans, disabled individuals and seniors in need, and the donation will allow us to expand our North Carolina efforts to house homeless veterans. We are so excited, again thank you!”
Further information about the Airbnb Community Fund can be found here.
