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.
One of the best ways to support San Francisco’s COVID-19 response and relief efforts is by donating to Give2SF. You can make both financial and in-kind contributions, including N-95 and cloth masks, hand sanitizer and disinfectant supplies, face shields, and company-branded bags.
- 23,291 confirmed cases in California
- 676 confirmed deaths in California
- 4,993 confirmed cases in the Bay Area
*As of 9:00am PT on 4/13
COVID-19 Updates from the SF Tech Community
UPDATES FROM THE TECH COMMUNITY
Last week, sf.citi continued hosting roundtable discussions between our members and key City leaders around San Francisco’s COVID-19 response. We discussed support for small and medium-sized businesses with the Director of the San Francisco Office of Economic and Workforce Development (OEWD), Joaquin Torres. We also brainstormed ways to improve connectivity and digital equity with San Francisco’s Chief Information Officer, Linda Gerull, and Digital Equity Manager at the San Francisco Digital Equity Initiative, Alex Banh. If you have a suggestion of a key leader for the sf.citi community to speak to, please let us know by emailing info@sfciti.org.
We also added a useful, data-driven coronavirus map to our list of tech tools being developed to track the spread of COVID-19 and find COVID-19 testing sites. What other COVID-19 tech tools should we know about? Drop us a line at info@sfciti.org.
- Optimizely is providing itssoftware for free to nonprofits who haven’t used it before to optimize online engagement and fundraising. In San Francisco, Optimizely employees are raising money for local nonprofits and food banks, donating laptops to low-income families whose children are learning from home, and conducting virtual read alouds for students at its Circle the School partner, E.R. Taylor Elementary.
- Salesforce will give out 500 COVID-19 grants—each amounting to $10,000—to small businesses across the United States. Applications for the Salesforce Care Small Business Grants will open in mid-April. To further support small businesses affected by COVID-19, Salesforce is offering free access to its Salesforce Essentials and Tableau services.
- Twitter and Square CEO Jack Dorsey is using $1 billion of his Square equity to create the Start Small fund for COVID-19 relief. Dorsey is listing all disbursements and contribution recipients in a public spreadsheet. One of the first recipients listed is America’s Food Fund, an effort to provide meals to those in need during the COVID-19 pandemic.
More Tech Resources for COVID-19
UPDATES FROM THE CITY OF SAN FRANCISCO
- On April 7, Mayor Breed and the San Francisco Department of Public Health (DPH) released a COVID-19 Data Tracker to provide San Francisco residents with more frequently updated information about COVID-19. Updated daily, the tracker offers easy-to-understand data sets on the number and demographics of patients with COVID-19 in San Francisco, testing results, and how many COVID-19 patients have been hospitalized.
- On April 6, Mayor Breed announced the opening of CityTestSF, a new drive-thru COVID-19 testing site intended primarily for San Francisco’s first responders and health care workers. Located at Pier 30-32, the most recent drive-thru COVID-19 testing location was launched in partnership with Color and Carbon Health and began service on April 6. Testing at this location will be prioritized for San Francisco police officers, firefighters, sheriff’s deputies, 911 dispatchers, health care workers, and other employees who are essential to the City’s COVID-19 response.
To stay up to date with all City of San Francisco updates, follow the Mayor’s updates here.
UPDATES FROM THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
- On April 9, Governor Newsom announced that California workers who are receiving unemployment benefits will receive an extra $600 on top of their weekly amount. Intended to support Californians financially impacted by COVID-19, this benefit is part of the new Pandemic Additional Compensation (PAC), initiated by the CARES Act.
To stay up to date with all State of California updates, follow the California Department of Health’s updates here.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
- Make sure San Francisco business owners, employees, and nonprofits are aware of all the resources available to them through the San Francisco Office of Economic and Workforce Development! You will find important information on the Paycheck Protection Program, unemployment insurance, the Economic Injury Disaster Loan, and more.
- The City of San Francisco needs technology hardware to help bridge the digital divide during the COVID-19 outbreak. People and companies can work with Tech Exchange to pick up extra laptops, securely wipe them of confidential data, and distribute them to low-income, Bay Area families in need. Learn how you can donate old computers and hardware here.
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.
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