Big Sunday Nonprofit Launches Unique National "Foot the Bill Fund" to Pay Any Bill Up to $100 Per Household for Struggling People Nationwide as Part of Coronavirus Response; Emmy & Golden Globe-winning Television Writer, Producer and Showrunner Marta Kauffman, Longtime Big Sunday Friend, Kicks-off Fund with Generous Grant

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Apr 22, 2020, 08:26 ET

LOS ANGELES, April 22, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Big Sunday, one of the USA's foremost organizations connecting people through helping and opportunities to volunteer, launched its new national "Foot the Bill Fund" (#FootTheBillFund) last week as the latest part of the organization's ongoing response to a multitude of critical community needs initiated by the coronavirus crisis. As more people are out of work or taking pay cuts, Big Sunday has stepped forward to help pay the bills of people nationwide who are struggling financially through its #FootTheBillFund. The organization is making quick grants anywhere in the country whereby it will pay all or part of a bill up to $100 per household. Big Sunday will consider all or part of any electric, cable, phone, car, medical, rent, mortgage, gas bill, and more – the organization will consider any bill. The payments will go directly to the company to whom the money is owed. This fund, which is completely supported by donations, was kicked off with a very generous grant by Big Sunday's longtime friend and supporter, "Friends" & "Grace and Frankie" Co-Creator and Producer Marta Kauffman. The fund has also received a very generous donation from Wells Fargo.

Big Sunday, one of the USA's foremost organizations connecting people through helping and opportunities to volunteer, launched its new national "Foot the Bill Fund" (#FootTheBillFund) last week as the latest part of the organization's ongoing response to a multitude of critical community needs initiated by the coronavirus crisis. https://bigsunday.org/get-involved/foot-the-bill-fund/

Big Sunday continues to provide virtual programming, as well as a host of new initiatives designed to meet the increasing urgent needs of a variety of organizations, groups, families and individuals grappling with challenges initiated by the coronavirus crisis. www.bigsunday.org

Big Sunday's #FootTheBillFund works in the following way: Big Sunday will make payments directly to the creditor, not to individuals, and the organization will provide this grant one time per household. If two bills add up to less than $100, Big Sunday will pay them both. If the bill is less than $100, the recipient will be able to designate the remaining balance to a choice of a few charitable causes, allowing everyone the opportunity to both give and receive. A grant submission may be made on behalf of someone else. Since funds are limited, the organization is unable to help everyone, but everyone will have a chance to apply and make their case as to why they require assistance. To apply for this fund, people can visit Big Sunday's #FootTheBillFund page. The organization has established a GoFundMe page for people wishing to support this fund – all donations, big and small, are needed and welcome. Big Sunday's goal is to raise at least $100,000 for this Fund initially, with the hope that it will continue to raise as much funding as possible in order to meet the mounting needs of millions of struggling people countrywide.

"I am moved by the humbleness of these requests – people whose lives will be changed by $30 or $50 or $100. And I'm overwhelmed by how many of the people asking have said that they look forward to getting back on their feet so they can help somebody else," said David Levinson, Big Sunday's founder and executive director, and author of Everyone Helps, Everyone Wins, How Absolutely Anyone Can Pitch In. Help Out. and Give Back. to Make the World a Better Place. Levinson, considered an expert in the field of volunteerism, is consulted widely by cities, nonprofits and other volunteer groups.

Launched just a few days ago, the Fund has already received over 800 grant requests from all over the USA. A sample of the requests include:

"I am 69 years old and on social security. Had a part time job as a school crossing guard to make ends meet, but schools are closed. My social security check does not cover everything."

"Due to this virus I've lost everything. All my jobs, Please help. I have a disabled son and I'm pregnant."

"I want to apply for this fund for my oldest brother. He has been the bread winner for my mom and the rest of my 4 younger siblings after my father passed away. I feel he deserves this money and it will definitely help him pick himself up and alleviate any stress he may be encountering. I truly know that he needs the money since his hours have been cut short due to COVID."

Big Sunday hopes that this project – not charity, but kind people helping other kind people -- speaks to the idea that we're all in it together, an idea that has been at the heart of Big Sunday's work and vision for decades. The goal is to relieve some financial stress for people during a very challenging time, remind them that there are others out there who care, and hopefully making their lives a bit easier.

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Big Sunday (www.bigsunday.org) has been connecting people with opportunities to help, volunteer and to do good works together since 1999. Founded in Los Angeles 21 years ago by David Levinson with just 300 volunteers, Big Sunday has touched over a 1 million lives, engaging, empowering and uniting people of every imaginable background all over California, from San Diego to San Francisco, in 10 different states as well as Australia and the UK. Big Sunday has completed in excess of 1.75 million volunteer man-hours and the organization has collected and distributed hundreds of thousands of items of clothing, food, toiletries, and other essentials. Big Sunday has completed over 30,000 volunteer projects worth millions of dollars in donated goods and services. Recognized nationally, Big Sunday, which organizes over 2,000 ways to get involved every year, is one of the USA's premiere resources for helping year-round. Big Sunday functions as an efficient and impactful clearing-house of volunteerism and community engagement, organizing, facilitating and hosting numerous programs and a range of unique ways for people of every age, background and means to help, volunteer and/or give, making it easy for tens of thousands of diverse people to participate in good works together to support the huge variety of causes that they care about. Big Sunday's mission is to connect people and build community via helping. The organization is driven by the belief that absolutely everyone has some way that they can help someone else. Big Sunday events and programs have become more popular than ever, as people search for a way to focus on what we share in common and to celebrate Big Sunday's belief that we are all in it together. Big Sunday was named by the Points of Light Foundation as one of "10 national nonprofits that are making a tremendous impact on our country's most critical challenges by mobilizing volunteers…These organizations also demonstrate a collaborative spirit through partnerships with other organizations to help strengthen communities across the nation."