Hi Project Directors,

The global pandemic of COVID-19 continues to be top of mind for all of us this week. As the situation continues to escalate and the realities of provincial and federal advisories unfold, conversations at Tides Canada have shifted to how the pandemic will/could impact projects, and what we're going to do about it.

In light of this, I'm reaching out again to let you all know how Tides Canada is prioritizing shared platform project support, and some specific activities that you can expect from us. I also recognize that at this time we all have more questions than answers, which is a difficult space for many of us. I'm personally committed to being open and transparent with you about what we do and don't know, and most importantly what we're doing.

We have identified immediate priorities based on your feedback

Thank you so much for all the conversations that you've had with Project Specialists and other team members over the past few days, and for sharing your approaches, questions and concerns with us. Our biggest priority this week remains the safety and security of all of our employees, so we are are focusing on the following activities:

• We're working on a coordinated strategy for reaching out to TCI funders to discuss process and timing related to grant decisions, reporting and payments, so that we have a better understanding of the impact on projects. Some funders have reached out to us proactively, which we appreciate. Others are understandably still ironing out their approach and we're doing what we can to support them too.
• We are creating and maintaining a log of the various relevant federal, provincial and territorial programs for supporting individuals/charities during this time, and how to access them
• The People & Culture team will reach out to every Project Director this week to discuss support for employees, including relevant policies and procedures e.g. working from home, sick leave
• We have set up a TCI COVID-19 Working Group for departments across Tides Canada to come together specifically to discuss and move forward the above priorities. Our first meeting is Friday March 20, and we will be meeting on a weekly basis for the foreseeable future.

We're committing to keeping the conversation going

I'm sure all of your inboxes are flooded with emails right now (I know mine is!), and I want to strike the right balance between sharing information with you all in a timely manner, and contributing to email overload. As a result, I'm committing to a weekly email to Project Directors every Monday which will contain updates from the latest TCI COVID-19 Working Group as well as other pertinent information as we have it. There may be weeks we need to send out additional communications as context changes, though I promise I'll be respectful of your inboxes.

In addition to weekly updates, please keep lines of communication open with your Project Specialists, as well as myself and our other team members as you need (particularly People & Culture). Let's support each other.

We recognize the important work that you're doing

Finally, I want to take a moment to recognize that so many of you really are on the front lines right now, balancing the desire to follow health advisories with the desire to provide incredibly important support to vulnerable populations at a time when they need it the most. You are making difficult decisions every day, and I continually find myself humbled by your purposeful leadership and unwavering commitment to your  communities.

I have received many, many emails from TCF staff in the past few days asking how they can support projects during this time, so please know that everyone at Tides Canada is committed to the Shared Platform and the work that you do. And don't worry, we'll be taking them up on their offers 😉 

My warmest and healthiest wishes to you and your loved ones and I'll be in touch soon,

Lizzie