News & Updates
Mar 30

3.30.2020 | SF Tech Community Update

As we begin another week in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, we would like to provide you ongoing updates about San Francisco resources and opportunities available to you from the tech community and beyond.

Special Note from sf.citi:

Have you checked your company’s disaster relief stockpile? Many companies across the City have recently discovered large stockpiles of masks, gloves, and other medical supplies. The sf.citi community is asking tech CEOs and other industry leaders to donate two-thirds of these supplies to local hospitals that are in desperate need.

COVID-19 Latest Report*

  • 6,300 confirmed cases in California
  • 132 confirmed deaths in California
  • 1,903 confirmed cases in the Bay Area

*As of 9:00am PT on 3/30

COVID-19 Updates from the SF Tech Community

UPDATES FROM THE TECH COMMUNITY

Over the weekend, sf.citi joined 125 pro-startup local, state, regional, and national groups in calling upon the Trump Administration to ensure startups can access emergency relief under the newly enacted CARES Act. We encourage you to share this letter with your Small Business Administration (SBA) office, as well as your Congressional delegation, members of the media, and on social media.

25 Bay Area companies—including sf.citi members Dropbox, Intuit, LinkedIn, Okta, Postmates, and Salesforce—joined forces to raise $22 million for organizations on the front lines of the COVID-19 crisis: the CDC Foundation’s Emergency Response Fund , the United Nations Foundation’s COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund , and the Silicon Valley Community Foundation’s COVID-19 Coronavirus Regional Response Fund.

Many sf.citi members have taken leadership on developing their own policies and strategies to mitigate the impact of the coronavirus on their employees, customers, and the general public. We’ve listed the most recent tech-driven efforts below.

  • Airbnb announced it would provide free and subsidized housing for 100,000 healthcare professionals, relief workers, and first responders working to combat COVID-19. Already piloted in Italy and France, the program allows Airbnb hosts to use Airbnb’s Open Homes platform to open their home for free.
  • Cruise Co-Founders Kyle Vogt and Daniel Kan, as well as Cruise employees, are committing up to $300,000 toward COVID-19 efforts, including recovery and response initiatives led by Mayor Breed in San Francisco.
  • Google launched a Teach from Home resource hub to help educators continue teaching their students amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • Lyft is working to create new opportunities for its fleet of drivers while serving the broader community by expanding delivery and transportation partnerships with healthcare, government, and businesses. Through its LyftUp program, Lyft is also donating rides to people with essential transportation needs during the COVID-19 pandemic, including families and children, low-income seniors, and doctors and nurses. Keep up with Lyft’s latest COVID-19 initiatives here.
  • In addition to offering Okta core services for free to new customers, Okta’s social impact arm, Okta for Good, has committed $150,000 in unrestricted, rapid-response grants and matching funds to Bay Area organizations serving the most vulnerable populations.

More Tech Resources for COVID-19

UPDATES FROM THE CITY OF SAN FRANCISCO

  • On March 27, Mayor Breed announced that three new drive-thru COVID-19 testing locations will soon open in San Francisco. These mobile testing sites will be used to test first responders and health care workers showing symptoms of COVID-19, as well as members of the public with a clinician referral. Two of the testing centers will open in the Outer Sunset early this week, while the third site is scheduled to open near Oracle Park at the end of this week.
  • On March 24, Mayor Breed temporarily waived regulations related to planning, permitting, fees, public notice, or other restrictions that would otherwise apply to coronavirus relief efforts.
  • On March 23, Mayor Breed announced a $2.5 million Arts Relief Program to support working artists and arts and cultural organizations financially impacted by COVID-19.

To stay up to date with all City of San Francisco updates, follow the Mayor’s updates here.

UPDATES FROM THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

To stay up to date with all State of California updates, follow the California Department of Health’s updates here.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

  • Help World Central Kitchen raise $100,000 needed to support Bay Area seniors, restaurants, and delivery drivers. A longtime partner of sf.citi member Dropbox, World Central Kitchen has teamed up with Uber, Postmates, DoorDash, and Grub Hub to test a pilot program to (1) feed isolated seniors nutritious, warm meals with minimal physical contact and (2) support restaurants and delivery drivers financially. Already piloted in Washington, D.C., World Central Kitchen would like to expand this program to San Francisco and Oakland. If you’re interested in joining or supporting the coalition, please reach out to Jacquelyn Horton of Dropbox at jhorton@dropbox.com.
  • The City and County of San Francisco welcomes your support for the Give2SF COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund. You can make a tax-deductible monetary or in-kind donation by visiting Give2SF.org or emailing Give2SF@sfgov.org.
  • Support our local restaurants (and give yourself a break from cooking) by buying La Cocina Community Food Boxes. La Cocina is a local nonprofit that empowers low-income, mostly women food entrepreneurs in San Francisco.

More Ways to Help with COVID-19 Relief

GRATITUDE AMID COVID-19

sf.citi would like to recognize the many courageous San Franciscans holding our City together during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Which other San Francisco heroes need recognition during these challenging times? Let us know by tagging sf.citi on Twitter (@sfciti ) or Instagram ( @sf.citi) and using the hashtag #OneCitySF, or by filling out the form below.

Thank Our COVID-19 Heroes