Panthers owner David Tepper donates $2.65 million in support of COVID-19 response
Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper has donated $2.65 million in total to support the response to COVID-19.
He donated $1 million to the Foundation for the Carolina’s COVID-19 Response Fund, $ 1 million to Atrium Health and Novant Health and $650,00 to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Foundation through the David A. Tepper Charitable Foundation.
The Atrium Health Foundation is receiving $650,000 and Novant Health Foundation is receiving $350,000.
The COVID-19 Response Fund is a community-wide effort to assist those affected by the coronavirus pandemic and it has collected more than $7.8 million in just four days. Bank of America also donated $1 million alongside Tepper.
Foundation For The Carolinas and United Way of Central Carolinas originally launched the fund March 16 to support a range of nonprofit organizations assisting members of the community, particularly those most vulnerable. Donations have come from all over and range in amounts from $5.20 to $1 million dollars.
“David Tepper has emerged as one of our most influential leaders and a champion in the philanthropic field,” said Foundation For The Carolinas President and CEO Michael Marsicano. “This generous gift is an expression of his heartfelt commitment to the well-being of our citizens. Now is the time for us all to come together to help one another.”
Grants from the Response Fund will be awarded by an advisory group of community members and will be open to any agency that meets the eligibility criteria. The advisory committee may elect to make grants directly to organizations based upon the urgency of the need or through a competitive grantmaking process.
The $650,000 gift to the Atrium Health Foundation will be directed to the newly established Atrium Health Essential Needs Fund. It has been established to support Atrium Health’s response to the current COVID-19 pandemic and future essential needs, as identified by the Foundation and Atrium Health.
The $350,000 gift to Novant Health will be distributed by the Novant Health foundations in Charlotte, Winston-Salem, Thomasville, Rowan and Brunswick in a manner that is still being determined.
“I’m grateful that the David A. Tepper Charitable Foundation is providing funding to support the ongoing delivery of healthcare during this pandemic,” said Ann Caulkins, senior vice president of Novant Health Foundations. “This truly is a time of everyone working together for our communities,” she added.
The gift to the CMS Foundation is part of a $1 million donation to the CMS Foundation’s COVID-19 Relief Fund. The John M. Belk Endowment contributed $250,000 and the David Belk Cannon Foundation contributed $100,000. The gift will be used to purchase six thousand mobile hotspots with six months of prepaid internet services for students without access to home connectivity.
The CMS Foundation launched the COVID-19 Relief Fund to meet the critical needs of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools’ students and families while schools are closed. Ensuring students had internet connectivity to access online learning opportunities was identified as an immediate need.
Tepper, the richest owner in the NFL — worth $12 billion per Forbes — has become a leader in the Charlotte community. He joins owners and players around the NFL who have donated to similar funds in their own communities, including Saints owner Gayle Benson, who donated $1 million to establish a fund for New Orleans. Colts owner Jim Irsay pledged $1 million to a food bank in Indianapolis if the community raised $200,000. They ended up raising $300,000.
Tepper’s commitment to the community comes amidst a hectic week in the NFL world as free agency continues. But in Charlotte COVID-19’s impact has only continued to rise. Mecklenburg County’s number of COVID-19 cases more than doubled overnight as North Carolina and the county reported instances of community spread.
North Carolina counties had reported at least 167 cases as of Friday morning, according to The News & Observer’s tracking of cases from county health department announcements
The state also reported Friday that 3,233 tests have been completed.
Donations to the Response Fund can be made at HelpCharMeck.org.
This story was originally published March 19, 2020 at 7:09 PM.
